Well, my Gravely ZT/XL had reached 75 hrs, so it was time to perform the initial “break-in” transaxle fluid and filter change, and my plan was to use M1 15W-50, as that’s what I use in the FR651V Kawasaki 21.5 HP engine on my Gravely ZT/XL, but my local Walmart is either temporarily out of stock of the M1, or has stopped carrying it in favor of 0W-8 (grr…
).
The next closest Walmart (in Fairview) had it in stock, but that’s a 35 mile (one way) drive, and I had no other reason to go down there.
So I looked around here for alternatives and saw a few posts about the NAPA synthetic 15W-50. According to posts that I saw here, it is bottled by Ashland, which is owned by Valvoline. Some of you guys may be able to give more information on this oil. If so, I would appreciate that.
On NAPA’s site, I saw that it is currently on sale for $4.49/qt. $24.64 for 5 quarts, including tax. I saw a couple of posts, from about eight years ago, where people were buying this for three dollars a quart. So, not that much more now. Sold!
I was shocked at some of the prices for these filters - local O’Reilly wanted $35 a piece for the WIX WL10102 transmission filters that are approved for this application. And the NAPA Gold 400102 were no cheaper.
The above can be found online for a little bit cheaper, but, I saw a post by @MParr that the Rotary 12374 are also approved, and I found those on Amazon for $14.99/ea. Sold.
I was surprised to find that my mower had different filters installed on the left and right transaxles (though both were branded Hydro Gear).
Lower: Different Hydro gear filters that were installed from the factory.
Upper: Replacement Rotary brand 12374 filters.
The service was easy. A video I found on YouTube was very easy to follow.
He suggested removing the rear wheels for easier access, and I definitely recommend that; it makes access much easier:
I did fine the transaxles to be a bit quieter, with less whine, after the service.
Also, it does take a few hours after the servicing and purging process for all the fluid to settle down into the transaxles, and all the air to come out. I noticed this because he recommends in the video to fill the expansion tank(s) half-full during the purging process to ensure that they don’t run dry. Well, during the purging process, and, subsequently, driving the mower around for a few minutes, the levels in the tanks did not change. However, after the mower had sat for a few hours, the levels went down to the “max cold” line. And I will check them again next time I do a full mow, which takes a couple of hours.
But I may not have to mow again for a while. It’s been extremely dry, and the grass is brown as heck!
).The next closest Walmart (in Fairview) had it in stock, but that’s a 35 mile (one way) drive, and I had no other reason to go down there.
So I looked around here for alternatives and saw a few posts about the NAPA synthetic 15W-50. According to posts that I saw here, it is bottled by Ashland, which is owned by Valvoline. Some of you guys may be able to give more information on this oil. If so, I would appreciate that.
On NAPA’s site, I saw that it is currently on sale for $4.49/qt. $24.64 for 5 quarts, including tax. I saw a couple of posts, from about eight years ago, where people were buying this for three dollars a quart. So, not that much more now. Sold!
I was shocked at some of the prices for these filters - local O’Reilly wanted $35 a piece for the WIX WL10102 transmission filters that are approved for this application. And the NAPA Gold 400102 were no cheaper.
The above can be found online for a little bit cheaper, but, I saw a post by @MParr that the Rotary 12374 are also approved, and I found those on Amazon for $14.99/ea. Sold.
I was surprised to find that my mower had different filters installed on the left and right transaxles (though both were branded Hydro Gear).
Lower: Different Hydro gear filters that were installed from the factory.
Upper: Replacement Rotary brand 12374 filters.
The service was easy. A video I found on YouTube was very easy to follow.
He suggested removing the rear wheels for easier access, and I definitely recommend that; it makes access much easier:
I did fine the transaxles to be a bit quieter, with less whine, after the service.
Also, it does take a few hours after the servicing and purging process for all the fluid to settle down into the transaxles, and all the air to come out. I noticed this because he recommends in the video to fill the expansion tank(s) half-full during the purging process to ensure that they don’t run dry. Well, during the purging process, and, subsequently, driving the mower around for a few minutes, the levels in the tanks did not change. However, after the mower had sat for a few hours, the levels went down to the “max cold” line. And I will check them again next time I do a full mow, which takes a couple of hours.
But I may not have to mow again for a while. It’s been extremely dry, and the grass is brown as heck!
