GC in a JD Riding Mower Transmission

[Vaca]

Just had the urge last weekend to change the transmission oil in my two-tear old JD riding mower. The transmission is a Tuff Torq K46 (T40A). The tractor is one of their cheap line, the L111 (which is fine for my suburban lawn) and there is no easy way to drain the trans oil. So, I just took the transmission out and drained it throught the vent cap hole on top. I was surprised by how easy it was to pull the transmission and then just as easy to put it back. I'm sure some of the BITOGERS have similar tractors, and if you do, this is actually an easy task.

Anyway, I filled it with the often-touted-on-BITOG Castrol Syntec 0w30 Gold (made in Germany).

I also considered Mobil 1 0W-40, but chose the GC since the original oil is speced at 10w30 and figured to stick with the 30. Even though I realize the GC is just bout the same viscosity as the Mobil 1 0W-40.

I'll likely leave this oil in for several years now. I'm sure it'll be much better than the cheapo 10w30 that was the factory fill.

Any thoughts?

 

[Tom_T]

Synthetic gear lube would have been my over-reaction to the situation. More aw additives.

Now I'm going out to kill ants with a sledge hammer.

 

[Rand]

Is that the hydrostatic or the manual shift?

 

[Slick 55]

Can't use gear lube in a hydrostatic trans- they spec motor oil. I am thinking about doing the same to my JD LT160.

 

[JTK]

For sure a good synthetic is the way to go in the small sumped 'sealed' hydros. Any hydro drive for that matter. It's amazing how hot they get when you work them.

Joel

 

[Vaca]

Yes, it's a hydrostatic trans, so according to everything I've read, motor oil is the way to go. Gear lube would likely be a better, albeit overkill, if it were a regular gear trans.

TuffTorq has a pretty good website and according to info on there, they use motor oil in all of their hydrostatic trans. It looks like they use synthetic on their better, more expensive units, and conventional 10w30 in their cheaper units.

So, I'm pretty sure the GC will work great in there for many years to come.

Brett, If your LT 160 is anything like my L111, then pulling the trans really is simple. Tops one hour to remove and replace it. I took my time draining it, and I had to drive to autozone for the oil, so my total time was about 2 hours or so.

Also, the sump size is 2 quarts. Not as small as I would have imagined. But, yes, it does get pretty hot in the summer. It has a cooling fan on top of the trans that runs whenever the engine is running, even when the trans is idle.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I have a JD LX277 and was thinking of using GC as well. I was going to try and suck the old oil out. The owners manual really doesn't recommend anything other than to say "keep it clean and don't touch it, take it to the dealer for service". I doubt they will keep it cleaner than me when changing it out. I can't see any harm coming from it and it can probably use some new fluid after 4+ years of mowing.

 

[P2E2F]

Did the same on my L118, also has the K46, only difference, I used Esso's XD-3 0W40 (Canadian market diesel rated oil).

Vaca, you are right, it's easy to do, and it's a good chance to clean things under the frame, grease the axels...

Tractor was at ~55 hours, after the oil change, it sure felt (and still feels) speedier.

Old oil looked nasty.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

Well, I got the old fluid out this weekend and used GC as a replacement. It isn't warm enough to do any mowing yet here so I can't really say if the new GC is better than the old fluid in there other than it looks much nicer. The old fluid was a bit darker and had a slightly burnt smell to it. We'll see how it works in a couple of weeks when I need to start mowing.

 

[ERAC94]

I want to change my JD L-120 Transmission fluid also. Is there a reference where I can learn the proper way to remove the transmission and change the oil? How did you guys learn to do this?

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I used a vacuum extractor to do my LX277 but it didn't look too difficult to remove the axle either if you had to do that. My mower deck was off already so it was easy to see under there and I realized there weren't many things to disconnect to remove the entire rear axle. Take a look and see if you think you can do it. Or use an extractor. I did have trouble getting my plastic hose fished down through the hole, I'm not sure how mine compares to your transmission since I have a different model of tractor. If you decide to do it, be sure and keep it clean, if dirt/debris gets in there it could cause a problem. My brother just bought a Club Cadet garden tractor and his has a drain plug and a huge spin on filter on the axle, pretty nice. I wish mine had that.

 

[ERAC94]

Thanks Wish! I will check it as soon as I get some free time..