Hydro Trans

[chefwong]

What's your take on Hydro Trans. The fill is supposedly lifetime.

From the trans service manual,

Typically, an engine oil with a minimum rating
of 9.0 cSt (55 SUS) at 230°F (110° C) and an API
classification of SL is recommended. A 5W-30
engine oil has been selected for use by the factory
and is recommended for normal operating
temperatures.

 

[heyu]

If your asking about lawn tractors with hydro gear, I called them a few years ago about a Husqvarna 26/54 mower and i was told to top off with a 20/50 synthetic oil

 

[joegreen]

My John Deere 330 mower has over 1000 hours on its hydro unit.I use JD hygard in it. It's a pretty stout unit. Has held up to alot of abuse. Mine has a filter and a drain plug so I change it out every year or 2. I never take anything as a lifetime fill.

 

[Rickey]

"The fill is supposedly lifetime."

I suppose it depends somewhat on the definition of "lifetime".

Several years ago I purchased a riding mower with one of those "filled for lifetime" hydro units.

There was no drain plug or external filter on the hydro trans unit.

Being the obsessive compulsive oil changing type, I removed the hydro and drained it through the filler opening after about 25 hours of what I considered break-in.

The drained oil contained a LOT of shiny but tiny metal particles.

After flushing the hydro I replaced the fluid with Mobil 1 15W50 which worked just fine..... until the engine developed a "death rattle" with less than 300 hours on the mower.

In this case "lifetime" of the

engine came into play.

YMMV.

Good day.

Rickey.

 

[Eddie]

MY John Deere L111 with 20HP B&S engine has a hydrostatic trans. There is no service interval, nor do I see any drain plug. Presently have only 125 hours so I have some time to find out how to service the hydro. Ed

 

[Rickey]

Ed,

I have no experience with Deere.

However I can tell you that removing, servicing, and replacing the Hydro on a Cub LT-1045 was a chore for me!

Looking back I wonder if servicing my un-serviceable hydro was worth the effort.

Good day.

Rickey.

 

[yeehaw1960]

Anybody know if the hydro on a D125 Deere is serviceable? The books say no, but it seems like there would have to be some way of changing the fluid. I realize it's pretty much the bottom of the line Deere, and it's working great after 75 hours, but can't help wondering.

 

[Fastzntn]

I have a hydro gear in my Craftsman G5500. There is no maintenance interval in the manual. I was able to find a separate hydro gear manual in PDF form online. It specs 20w50 mineral or 15w50 synthetic. Going on memory I think it recommends a fluid and filter change at 75 hours, then every 400 thereafter.

Currently the mower has 68 hours, so after a few mows next season I'll service it.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: yeehaw1960
Anybody know if the hydro on a D125 Deere is serviceable? The books say no, but it seems like there would have to be some way of changing the fluid. I realize it's pretty much the bottom of the line Deere, and it's working great after 75 hours, but can't help wondering.

Google it, but basically you just take out the trans and dump it through the fill hole.
The 1 series JD mowers were some of the worst for killing their HST, many less than 100hrs... The same basic HST in other mowers spec'd with better internals and better factory fill oil lasted far longer.

 

[JTK]

As long as the operator isn't super heavy, you don't push or pull heavy things with the mower, mow lots of hills, leave the unit outside indefinitely, or never clean the machine off, these lifetime fill hydros can last for years.

Very few riders meet that criteria. The simplest thing you can do is take it as easy as you can on it and blow the whole mower and trans off with your leaf blower after each use.

Like said, on almost all of them, the arse-end has to be dropped from the machine, which isn't too bad a job, then you drain the factory oil out the top breather or out a designated fill port.

Add back the amount you took out with fresh oil, usually 20w50, or go by what info you can find over the interwebs.

There's really only three manufactures of riding mower hydrostatic drives; HydroGear, Tufftorq and Peerless. They're all good.