Just serviced my "unserviceable" Tuff torq K51

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gd9704

gd9704

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Holy smokes what a pain that was......My John Deere LT155 is about 8 years old and has 300 hours on it. I HATE that the transaxle that JD put in it is "unserviceable." That is, you can't (easily) change the oil, and if it dies, you're supposed to toss it and put a new one in it.

So upon the advice of a few tractor forums I frequent, I dropped the transaxle and pried off the fill cap, turned the unit over and dumped out the old, dark oil. I replaced it with M1 extended performance 15w-50.

So far it seems to be working fine.

I sort of wish I had ponied up a few more bucks and bought a shaft-drive Cub with a "servicable" transmission.

Oh well, live and learn......
 
Suction extraction my not get enough of old fluid due to shape and reach issues. Can you put a hole and tap and plug it somewhere on the bottom to ease the next draining?
 
Good work gd! The only way to get it "all" out is by doing what you did. TT typically spec'd 10w30 for their hydos, but that M1 15w50 will surely hold up better. FWIW, I've got no complaints with the 'servicable' trans on my Cub 2544, but I would personally feel better if it was a serviceable Tufftorq unit. TT's are well proven, reliable units. Cubs are a Hydrogear drive coupled to a mixture of unknown outsorced Cub Cadet parts.

Joel
 
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Even if the transaxle had a drain plug (which I found out JD could have spec'd for the unit if they would have been willing to spend $2 more) there's no way you could access the fill plug unless you have the hands of a two year old.

While I've not had probelms with this unit, I've read many accounts of guys burning them up--usually due to the unit being covered in grease & grass, or the cooling fan being broken.

However, it just seems dumb to me that a unit that uses 10w-30 motor oil for it's lifeblood is "sealed for the life of the unit." We all know that oil has a finite life span and eventually needs to be replaced.

FWIW, my oil was pretty dark looking. It didn't smell burnt, but it definitely LOOKED like it had given it's all......
 
Originally Posted By: gd9704
Even if the transaxle had a drain plug (which I found out JD could have spec'd for the unit if they would have been willing to spend $2 more) there's no way you could access the fill plug unless you have the hands of a two year old.


What you can do with a drain plug only, is fill up through the drain like you would a marine outdrive/lower unit. You just put in the amount you drained out. Messy, but it would work. Does your Tufftorq have a little expansion bottle up top or just a vent hose?

Joel
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: gd9704
Even if the transaxle had a drain plug (which I found out JD could have spec'd for the unit if they would have been willing to spend $2 more) there's no way you could access the fill plug unless you have the hands of a two year old.


What you can do with a drain plug only, is fill up through the drain like you would a marine outdrive/lower unit. You just put in the amount you drained out. Messy, but it would work. Does your Tufftorq have a little expansion bottle up top or just a vent hose?

Joel



This particular unit just has a vent and a fill cap up top.

Actually, while the transaxle was a huge pain to remove, I'm glad I did it. The case was really dirty, so it felt good to clean it up real good. I'm sure it will run cooler now.

The linkage on either side had tons of grass and dirt jammed everwhere, and I would think eventually cause problems down the road.

It was sort of a man & machine bonding experience. I probably won't wait another 300 hours to do it. (provided the machine lasts that long) Like a lot of "tough" jobs, once you do it and get a system down, future attempts should take much less time to complete.
 
my cub cadet lt 1045 serviceable transaxle calls for 20W-50 motor oil.when i change it this spring,i`m going to go with the m1 15W-50 as well
 
Originally Posted By: lexus114
my cub cadet lt 1045 serviceable transaxle calls for 20W-50 motor oil.when i change it this spring,i`m going to go with the m1 15W-50 as well


Yup, your Cub has a Hydrogear brand hydrostatic trans. They typically spec 20w50. A quality 15w50 would be fine.

Joel
 
Just as a quick followup--Last weekend I gave the transaxle a workout by moving 7 yards of mulch around my yard. The tranny seems very happy with it's new oil, and it feels good to know that that old stuff is out of there.

I would highly recommend anyone with an "unserviceable" hydrostatic transaxle to do this procedure. No doubt it will extend the life of your tractor.

PM me if you'd like a link to the procedure in detail.
 
Originally Posted By: gd9704
Holy smokes what a pain that was......My John Deere LT155 is about 8 years old and has 300 hours on it. I HATE that the transaxle that JD put in it is "unserviceable." That is, you can't (easily) change the oil, and if it dies, you're supposed to toss it and put a new one in it.

So upon the advice of a few tractor forums I frequent, I dropped the transaxle and pried off the fill cap, turned the unit over and dumped out the old, dark oil. I replaced it with M1 extended performance 15w-50.

So far it seems to be working fine.

I sort of wish I had ponied up a few more bucks and bought a shaft-drive Cub with a "servicable" transmission.

Oh well, live and learn......



Here are some pics from the job--always makes a thread more interesting!


First, transaxle out and cleaned, awaiting the drain:
012109047.jpg



Note on this pic that the fill cap is the bigger one in the center of the unit--the little one the left is the vent.
012109048.jpg



And here the old oil is out, the fresh new M1 waiting for it's turn in the case.
012109049.jpg




Just another thought: My tranny had a spring and a mesh screen under the fill cap--I hadn't read about this before in any posts about these units, so be aware as you take stuff apart that you may find something different from what you're expecting.

I just cleaned the filter with some solvent and made sure it was dry before putting it back in.
 
Nice pics! The old oil doesn't look extremely bad, but you can bet that little Tufftorq will benefit from the new. It's a good idea to keep those cooling fins nice and clean and make sure you don't loose too many blades off the cooling fan that rides on the drive pulley.

Joel
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Nice pics! The old oil doesn't look extremely bad, but you can bet that little Tufftorq will benefit from the new. It's a good idea to keep those cooling fins nice and clean and make sure you don't loose too many blades off the cooling fan that rides on the drive pulley.

Joel


Great advice, Joel. I was surprised just how much grime and grass collects on top of the unit. Because it is so shrouded by everything around it, it's hard to see how dirty the unit is.

Taking the wheels off really helps you see the top of the transaxle better, with a good view of the cooling fan as well. On my tractor, I had to pull the mowing deck to have a decent place to use jackstands.

Not a bad idea to take the wheels off once a year and try to clear out the debris as best as you can.
 
What I do with mine is fire up the gas leaf blower and give the tractor a good blow-off after each mowing. I know on mine, I can kind of get the blower nozzle up over the rear hitch plate to clear the rear axle/diff of all the debris that will collect up there. That's the worst part of of a 42-44" deck. They barely stick out the sides of the machine, so clippings get everywhere.

Joel
 
If you have an air compressor, you can use a blow gun every now and then and blow all the junk out of there. Also a good idea to blow out the cooling fins on the engine as well.
 
I have not done this procedure yet but I am seriously thinking about it.

I called my local John Deere Dealership and spoke to one of the techs to ask about it and they of course said that they did not recommend that a homeowner should do it and they said that they have a "high quality" oil in them that is supposed to last for the life of the transmission.

I mentioned the procedure outlined here and they did admit that on a rare occasion they have done this in their shop by their techs and that they used a 30wt oil for replacement.

They stated that the main thing is air in the transmission when this is done and that you MUST make sure that ALL of the air is out of it otherwise any trapped air will eventually ruin the transmission. The did not have a capacity amount to give me on how much replacement oil was needed but agreed with me when I mentioned that one should measure the amount removed then add that amount back in.

On the air I would assume as you are adding the new oil if one was to rock the transmission back and forth gently to let any trapped air escape during the refill you would be OK.

Ditto on the Amsoil recommendation above http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/ath.aspx as that is the same oil I would/will use when I try this procedure out.
 
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