My Craftsman rider was really needing some tires and I've been getting really tired of spinning my wheels on some of the steeper sections of my back yard (more like pasture) so I slapped a set of knobby ATV tires on the back. Boy-howdy does she hook up now. I haven't had to fire up my Bobcat walk behind to get the hard parts since. I could totally see this wearing out the Tuff Torq transaxle fairly quickly, though. (It's filled with fresh M115w50). Right now, I'm going with the convenience being worth the extra wear and tear. I guess I'll find out.
The Tuff Torq axle in my rider may be living on borrowed time :)
- Thread starter ripcord
- Start date
Knock on wood but those little Tuff Torq transaxles live up to their name especially if you change the fluid in them. My Husqvarna ride-on mower has a Tuff Torq that's going on ~600? hours and I've only ever changed the fluid once... 400 hours ago... 
I have used Mobil115w50 in my 1998 JD with a TT K61 since the first change. Now into it’s 23rd year and 3rd change, mowing from March through September and even pulling a Cyclone Rake Pro vacuuming leaves in the fall, it still runs quiet and pulls like a beast!
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I hear this allot. People that find a way to change the oil getting way more hours out of these hydros than most. Now I will admit that my Kubota HST is a different animal but they insist I change the fluid every 200 hr and it just ticked over 900 hr and I expect at least that again. Why does TT not provide a way to change the fluid. Even the dealer wont do it. You have to almost take them apart to drain them and then mod them with a plug that I understand is already molded into the case just not drilled through. Either that or remove them and turn them over to drain. In a time when supposedly we are trying to either recycle or repurpose to conserve it almost seems criminal to intentionally kill a whole tractor for lack of 1 plastic drain plug.
It is not the transaxle manufactures fault, the lawn tractor outfits specify that they don't want the drain plugs installed.
And the lawn tractor manufactures, don't make it so the seat and fender combo lid will lift up and allow easy access to the fill plug area.
So just like most other modern made things it is designed to fail. No one makes bucks if stuff lasts for ever.
And the lawn tractor manufactures, don't make it so the seat and fender combo lid will lift up and allow easy access to the fill plug area.
So just like most other modern made things it is designed to fail. No one makes bucks if stuff lasts for ever.
Somewhere out there in Internet heaven is a complete tutorial complete with pictures on changing the oil in the Tuff Torques. I can't tell you where it is but its worth finding as it is step by step complete with some very fine pictures. I used it back in 2013 to rebuild a JD so it was there at least at that time. He recommends M1 15-50 synthetic . The hard part is getting the oil out in most of these as only the premium versions come with a drain plug. We commoners have to resort to removing the rear axle and dumping it
Yeah, had to pull the axle out of the machine and tip it upside down to drain. What a hassle.
It is a hassle thats for sure. My AYP built craftsman T3200 has to be dropped. It only takes and hour or less but its infrequent enough you forget the nuances.
