Grease Lawn-Boy transmission

[Hokiefyd]

I have the transmission from my Lawn-Boy 10330 out and on the bench. I've cleaned the entire thing out and need to re-grease it. It calls for 2.5 to 3.0 fl oz of #2 grease. It doesn't say WHERE to grease it in the service manual. It simply says to apply the grease and install the cover.

I hate this type of design. Extra lubricant does no good; it will just accumulate on the case wall and never see a gear. To me, adding JUST enough lubricant to coat the gears, and not have any extra to fling off, is perfect. But 2-3 fl oz is over 1/4 cup of grease. To me, that's a ton of extra grease on the case walls not doing anything.

What do you guys do when you have to grease something like this? Just enough for the gears to run on? I'd much rather the gears ride in a bath of 90W oil and have to mess with Permatex sealant on the case cover than try and properly grease these types of units.

All suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Tom_T]

Pick a spot on the transmission case that you can reach when installed in the mower and drill/tap/install a zerk fitting. Worked for me 3 times over.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Here is the transmission case and main bevel gears. The small spur gear mates with a larger spur gear on the axle, which passes through the two large openings in the transmission case.

I guess I just don't see the benefit of all the extra "unused" grease in there. Does it help to keep the unit cooler when running? For what it's worth, this unit whines a little bit when under load, but it seems to get worse after running for a while, after it gets hot.

The picture above was taken after I cleaned all of the old grease out and applied a very small amount of new grease (the dark green that you can see on the small spur gear).

 

[clarklawnscape]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

Just enough for the gears to run on?
All suggestions are appreciated!

My mantis tiller has a somewhat similar gear case design, i have always filled it with white lithium grease to the top of the bottom half of the split case. I have never had any issues doing it this way (i change it every other year) and use that lil bugguer alot. If you dont like that idea, I would use a grease of your choice making sure the bottom gear (shown in your pic) is completely submirged in grease. Just coating the gear as you wondered in your first post, to me that is putting ALOT of faith in a little amount of grease.

 

[dwcopple]

that is a Toro trans. Hope you used a US made bearing in there on the pinion. I packed mine nearly full of bearing grease. Worked like a charm for me.

 

[Best F100]

Since this is BITOG, I can (without shame) say that I went whole hog on greasing my transmission. I used the Amsoil Series 2000 Racing Grease, that I had laying around my garage.

I have two Lawn Boys with this transmission. Packed them with grease like there was no tomorrow! That was two years ago - and everything is still peachy. In another two years, I will open it up again and do it again.

Those 6 1/2 HP Lawn Boy engines are the most powerful 21" mower engines ever made. But I can't vouch for the long term durability of the transmission. So, I want my Lawn Boys to be "the last boys standing."

 

[Hokiefyd]

Thanks guys. Interestingly, the bottom bevel gear in this photo is actually on the "top" of the case as installed, because the case is inverted. The bottom cover is removed in this photo, and you're looking "up" in to the transmission.

I really don't have a problem packing the thing full of grease. I guess I just continue to wonder, how will any of the "extra" grease that I pack it with get to any of the gears? Does NGLI #2 grease have any "flow" characteristics to it?

I'm not trying to be stubborn...just trying to understand the benefits of packing it full. Actually, maybe I can think of two: noise abatement and cooling capacity.

By the way, this one doesn't have the 6.5 hp Duraforce on it. This originally had a 4-cycle Tecumseh (blown when I got it) and I swapped that for a Honda GCV160. I will post a full photo log of my maintenance efforts when I'm done. Until then, here is a sneak peak of the photos on Picasa:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103288155661515994137/LawnBoy103302012Overhaul

 

[calvin1]

FWIW I have the same Toro transmission in my LB and it whines a little under load, only noticeable when I have ear-plugs in. I had it open at the beginning of the season and filled it up with the Ford spec moly grease that was loaded in my gun at the time. So far so good.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Calvin, thanks. Did the Ford moly grease quiet the whine? And did you pack the unit full? Thanks!

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Calvin, thanks. Did the Ford moly grease quiet the whine? And did you pack the unit full? Thanks!
It whines about the same, maybe a little less but it's still there. I packed it full and one of the (maybe wrong) thoughts I had in doing so is that it doesn't really seem to be sealed that well. I was hoping the extra grease would help keep out any rain water.

 

[Hokiefyd]

You are correct that it doesn't really have a water-tight seal. There's not even a gasket on the lower cover...or a recommendation for a strip of RTV. It just keeps the dirt out.

I will pack it full and will plan to install a grease fitting. Thanks guys.