BX2230: Dumb mistake, What's it gonna cost?

[matt167]

you don't need the whole kit.. just get a trans dapt 1028 remote oil filter adapter, and some oil cooler line or hydraulic line if you choose.. The line will cost $30 and the adapter is right around $20

[stladrill]

After longer thought and studying the pictures, you'll have to manage to keep the spring and ball there otherwise you'll open the bypass passage and the oil will circulate there before going to the remote filter.

I'm pretty sure you can put the spring and ball and the hydraulic hose fitting will hold it in place.

You'll have to put a short screw with liquid Teflon to seal the holes.

[chaosracing]

One problem I still see though. If those indeed are cracks next to where the filter mounting stud was, you will push fluid out those cracks. You could also potentially cause metal fatigue from the oil pushing thru (not knowing what kind of stress its under already).

[I'mnofarmer]

Close inspection of those cracks, reveal them to actually be cracks! They do not appear to be all the way through, but there is little doubt there was some force involved to create them. I am also having issues finding the thread sizes of the two lower bolts so I can find hose adapters. I borrowed my works thread gauge and will measure them tonight... I did find the adapter for a hydraulic filter but it won't be an OEM filter.

[Luv2Q]

Sure sorry to hear the bad news. As someone else said, we've all done our share of foul-ups. Hope yours ends up not being too painful.

[TooManyGT]

Not to doubt you but are you sure those are cracks? They look more like the normal lines left from die cast aluminum. Just might want to inspect a little closer before you condemn the cover.

Brad

[I'mnofarmer]

They are cracks. Whether or not they came from the casting process or the impact of the stub shaft is unknown. They are not deep and I don't think they will leak.

I determined the bolts are 14mm x 1.5 pitch. I found a 14mm x 1.5 banjo style barbed fitting on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/14mm-Banjo-Fit.../dp/B0054S6R82 . This will allow 3/8 hose connections. These are low profile enough to provide no loss of ground clearance. Now to find a spot to mount the filter...

[JRC0528]

If you have some fabrication skills, I wouldn't think it too hard to make a small mounting plate attached to the frame and place the filter in the same spot but hanging vertically down. I don't have really good pictures handy of that area, but I think you have a little wiggle room up to the front drive shaft.

[I'mnofarmer]

OK, update time...

I ordered parts to do the above proposed "fix" and also ordered a factory service manual for the BX2230. The manuals came first so I started reading. The manual is a bit cryptic, but one thing it did tell me was the my idea was not going to fly. Turns out those two ports I was going to tap into are sort of critical to the function of the HST! I'll post some more details on their actual function later, but for now the tractor is at the local dealer waiting on the HST front case and all the seals that go in it.
I talked to the mechanic there and he will inspect everything inside the HST and if anything else needs replacing, he will do it now while it's opened up.

He also had a stub shaft he took off a zero turn mower that will work on the BX MMM shaft he would sell me for $50! Turns out the BX and zero turn mowers share a lot of mower parts so that at least is another source for them.

The mechanic also said the dealer would be willing to take my spare MMM deck in trade for labor, but he recommended I keep it. His reason was the gear box on the MMM is VERY expensive to replace or repair. The most common failure is the output seal on the gearbox fails allowing all the oil to seep out and the gears are destroyed. He cautioned me to check the oil level in the gear box every time I mowed and at the first sign of low oil or leaking to replace the output seal. I told him to order a seal for the future.

So It may be a couple more weeks before I get my tractor back. In the mean time I'm back to mowing with the 44" Craftsman. Man I miss power steering...

[I'mnofarmer]

Update: Well the couple of weeks to repair it turned into 6 weeks!

I just got the tractor back Thursday. Total bill was $1099.60. The front case piece was $313.67. They also fixed my brakes while they had it. I knew they were a bit out of adjustment, but when I got it back and they worked like they were supposed to, I realized just how bad they really were!

I drove it around the yard in the 104 degree heat making sure everything worked like it did then parked it. I have to change the oil in the engine and replace the fuel filter. Next is to read the FSM and learn how to adjust the valves.
It's going to be great to have the 60" mower back! My 44" Craftsman does the job but at the expense of my back! Not that I will be mowing anytime soon... All the new grass I planted is dead and dried up due to temps in the 104-105 range and no rain since the end of May...

[stladrill]

Finally you got your tractor back.

A bit hard to swallow the bill thought.

[slkpk]

Glad to hear you got the tractor back and it's working just fine for you. It could've been worse. slkpk

[I'mnofarmer]

Originally Posted by slkpk

Glad to hear you got the tractor back and it's working just fine for you. It could've been worse. slkpk

Yeah, when I went to the shop to pay I was really depressed. Then Joe, the mechanic that worked on the tractor, told me a story that made me feel a bit better.

Seems a guy came to the shop that had just bought a brand new Kubota zero turn. He came with a flatbed trailer and for reasons known only to him, drove it on the trailer, set the parking brake on it, and headed home. He came back about an hour later with a pile of Kubota mower parts... The story he told was this: He was on I-75 doing about 75 when the car in front of him suddenly swerved hard left. He did the same, but too late for the trailer tires to avoid a tire carcass from a semi truck. It bounced the trailer so hard the mower fell off the side of the trailer! Needless to say it was a total loss... The guy was trying to get his auto insurance to cover it...

[I'mnofarmer]

I mowed the weeds (no grass growing due to drought and 100+ degree temps for two weeks) and the tractor seems to respond to speed changes much faster. However...

New problem:Before the work, the fwd/rev pedal functioned perfectly, now it's operation is very jerky and it does not want to return to center ie it creeps forward or backward unless I tap the pedal a time or too. I think there is an adjustment for that I need to check?
Also if you let off quickly while moving in reverse you get whip lash it stops so fast. I remember reading on here that this was a problem on the older BX HST's. What could the dealer have done while replacing the case to cause this? Is there any adjustment for that symptom?

[stladrill]

Check if the pivot point of the pedal mechanism it's grease properly, I read it should have a zerk there.