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John Deere Lawn Tractor L130 - dying hydrostatic drive

339K views 213 replies 81 participants last post by  rdaisley 
#1 ·
Over the last 6 months, I've noticed the hydrostatic drive getting weaker and weaker, to the point where if the ride-on has been mowing for an hour or less it cannot get up slopes it used to handle with ease. If I continue mowing I'll be lucky to get the machine back to base.

Two years ago, about 2 years after purchasing the new L130, I noticed the same problem, resulting in the John Deere agency replacing the hydrostatic transmission under warranty.

I expressed my concern at the time that the same fault may happen again, with us having to foot the out-of-warranty bill next time. The agency's response was that this was most likely a 'one-off'.

When I contacted them before Christmas about the present problem, the service guy said, "Oh, we don't bother repairing these transmissions - we just throw them out and put in a new one."

This did not reassure me at all, and made me wonder how many other L130 owners are being taken to the cleaners by John Deere with having to replace their transmissions about once every two years!

It also makes me wonder if there is some underlying fault in this transmission that JD are not being straight about.

Any insights very much appreciated.
 
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#102 ·
Its a TRANSAXLE..

There is a "cap with a plug and breather" and a flat plug, both black

The 'cap' has a rubber cover that pulls off and then a cap underneath. The cap itself interlocks with the plug underneath. Pull the cap and then take a dull flat bladed screwdriver and pry the plug with a breather (white in the center) up and out.

Don't try and take out the FLAT plug.
 
#103 ·
I recently purchased a new LA115 John Deere. I have 17 hours on it so far and am really enjoying it. Today just out of curiosity I decided to read up on the Hydrostatic transmission. I ended up on this thread and am kind of disappointed at what I am hearing about this transmission, and wondering now if I made a good choice. I have a big yard with a couple of good sized hills and also plan to pull a DR Power leaf vacuum in the fall.

My previous riding mower was a 14 HP Murray which did a great job with no problems at all, in fact I still have it and am wondering now if I made a mistake by getting this 19.5 HP engine with a sissy transmission that is going to die just about the time I need it the most, in the fall. The Murray has a standard geared transmission which is still going great after some 15 years.

I don’t see much info on the LA115 model, in fact I haven’t found any reference to it so far, but kind of suspect that it is probably a lesser machine than the L130.

Any ideas or comments would be appreciated.
 
#104 ·
Billdh435, :Welcome1:

the k46 is a decent tranny. the problem comes in when folks overwork them like Wally and i both have done. and you need to keep in mind it is only designed to run so many hours. most of the folks who have problems either have put a LARGE number of hours on a low end machien not designed for it, or used it and abused it or both.
 
#110 ·
If you can call a failed tranny at 340-hours decent, I have a bridge I would like to sell you. If you call a six-year old lawn tractor with 340-hours that was used for mowing a relatively flat lawn overworked; you don't know what work is! This is a manufacturer problem, period! If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck...its a duck! JD screwed up by now by not developing a maintanence schedule for the tranny. Tuff Torq (the OEM tranny supplier) requires service intervals at 50-hours and every 200-hours after that. :sidelaugh
 
#105 ·
Today I set up a monitoring program for myself to track the temperature of my LA115 Hydrostatic transmission temperatures to try and get a handle on how the temperature rise varies with various types of loads etc. It is pretty simple but should give me some idea of how badly the transmission may be affected by how I treat it.

For example today I mowed for .7 of an hour on all level lawn. The outside ambient temperature was 80 deg.F. Before I started, the surface temperature of the transmission was 73 deg.F. After mowing continuously for .7 hr the surface temperature was 107-114 degrees depending on where I measured it. So the temperature rise of the transmission was 27-34 deg.F. This seems quite reasonable to me. I will use this as a base line to measure future information against. Any comments/questions?
 
#107 ·
you could do it if you have a sleeve hitch attached to the frame reinforcement brackets from the G110. But you can't do it every day for 20 years - the rest of the tractor won't take it.

Having said that, I never actually did this. What I did do, was pull a middle-buster that was down maybe 8 inches into virgin soil that is quite hard. had to use chains for traction.

cheers!
 
#108 ·
heck, i did it for an entire summer with the K46 in my L130! i DO NOT recommend it for the K46 though.

like wally said, the rest of teh tractor is not up to it either so don't expect it to work that hard for years. but occassional light duty ground work will be fine.

my problem is the darn front axle, they keep snapping on me every couple hundred hours or so. and this latest one i never did anything more than cut and pull a sprayer, but the mower did ride on a trailer for a couple hundred miles or more each week.
 
#111 ·
don't get me wrong,i agree that the oil should be changed in it. given that i KNOW what i have put mine thru and it still goes strong, i have to say that most of the outright failures are due to running too long on old oil.

by your own admission the tranny should last longer than that IF PROPERLY MAINTAINED. yes, JD should list it as a scheduled maintenance. but keep in mind that the avg joe out there does not even change their oil like they should ain't no way they would change the tranny oil! we have a large number of folks who WILL do maintenace as required, but odds are the vast majority of the population with the throw away mindset will just run it till it pukes, then buy another machine.

JD sold these machines(though WAY overpriced for their quality) to compete with the Craftsman/Husq/Etc.. LT line, i don't think they have a scheduled maint on their trannies either though i could be wrong. and for the avg homeowner 340 hours is at least 7-8 years, if not more. they would not complain if it failed after that amount of time.
 
#112 ·
Hey! I don't want to get into a ******* match, but when the JD dealer tells you that this is 12-year to 15-year tractor, you take his word and the JD reputation of quality. That's what you're buying. The analysis is simple: in order to operate my John Deere LT160 to date, it has cost me $7.64 per hour to operate and to make the additional repairs it will cost me over $10.88 per hour to operate at this time. When I compare it to the Wheel Horse, my cost was only $0.81 per hour; thus, to maintain the John Deere in operating condition, I will experience a 1,243% increase in cost per hour. I had the Wheel Horse for 15-years and it was a real work horse. I put in an acre-lawn, landscaped with it, heavy dump carts of gravel, stones, topsoil, grading, snow removal, etc...it did it! I sold it for $1,400.00 after 15-years. In comparison, my JD LT160 has been babied! No ground engage, no heavy loads, just cutting.
:beatdeadh :beatdeadh
 
#116 ·
I you are looking for a nice way to dump your K46 transaxle and replace it with the robust K66, I am offering a "One-Stop" conversion kit on eBay. It has everything you need, plus an excellent 28-page Installation Manual.

Everyone that has installed the kit is VERY pleased. Take a look at it and consider this route.

http://shop.ebay.com/colonelroger/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
:greendr:
 
#120 · (Edited)
I have a Husqvarna LOGTH 2448 T (96045000300) (2005-11) with a Hydro-gear 192587 (316-0610) that has just started getting very weak. It has 250 hours on it. I am wondering if this conversion would be possible for my application?

I have also replaced the B&S 24hp with a B&S 27hp engine.

Saint
 
#118 · (Edited)
:beatdeadh Ok, I am going to throw in my 2 cents. I don't have a hydro newer tractor like what you have all been talking about. I have a 2006 John Deere 102. It is the only 5-speed John Deere made that year in a lawn tractor series and is the smallest tractor they made in the lawn tractor series(17 hp, 42 inch mowing deck). According to the John Deere spec sheet I have a Transaxle Model Dana 4360. But let me tell you it is a good little tractor. I don't baby it. I don't abuse it but I use it. I modified a manual MTD sleeve hitch for it. Then converted it later to electric lift. Like others have said it isn't made for heavy work. But sometimes mine does heavy work and does fine. If it was everyday it wouldn't last. But it does fine for me. I left the turf tires on the rear so it can slip to keep the torque down. I have pulled a mounted dethatcher, homemade aerater weighing in a 175 lbs, a box blade, a two wheel cart stack two feet higher than the sides of the trailer with sod to be laid and even pulled a disc for a short while to say I did. I couldn't be happier. A good little John Deere. I have just reconditioned a Brinly plow that I would like to try to pull with the 102. But for the real heavy work I have a 1986 420 John Deere hydro.
 

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#119 ·
completed my k66 conversion. Only problem is I have a L118, no PTO or sleeve hitch on engiine and smaller stock pulley then the G110 so it moves slightly slower then stock. Climbs great though. Would like to change engine pulley. DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A NON PTO GARDEN TRACTOR JD MIGHT HAVE PUT OUT AROUND THE G110 SET UP????. Any input would be helpful. otherwise conversion done in one day with wally2q parts list and instructions. And while the right tranny torque support bracket was simple and useable from my L118, I am going to buy the left one as it was not even close. Also carlisle tires closest size to original is a 23x10.5x12. And found the same tranny online reservoir and drain plug with $7 shipping after I bought mine from the link on this forum. If you buy from the link don't call them as they only deal with dealers so you must buy online and represent yourself as a business which went without a hitch. Thanks again wally2q from the awesome info
 
#122 ·
Hey David

Thanks for the welcome to the forum and your quick reply.

Tonight I have gotten an idea from one of my buddies at work that did some swapping a few years back in that he got a hold of the replacement parts sheets of the different models that were similar and made what he wanted from them. Initial review of a couple different models looks like it will be a great project to do.

Saint
 
#123 ·
HEY MAN I READ YOUR POST FRIDAY AND I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM ON MY 155C LOOKS LIKE A LA165,I READ A RESPONSE TO YOUR ADD, SOMEONE WROTE YOU TO DROP YOUR TRANNY AND CHANGE THE FLUID WITH FULL SINTHETIC 10W 30,OR JD 30,OR ANY 30 WEIGHT,WELL ANYWAY IT WORKED GREAT ON MINE,ITS LIKE NEW.IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT AN HOUR.HOPE IT HELPS SOMEONE:MTF_wel:
 
#126 ·
Seaweed,

Welcome to the forum! :Welcome1: Have you checked the linkage?
 
#128 ·
After assessing the situation, and talking to some local JD mechanics, I've determined that the hydro tranny is OK. The drive belt is in terrible shape, and I have a new one. I'm pretty sure its slipping.

My next question: Does anybody have any tips/tricks on the best way to change the drive belt? I believe I need to remove the fenders and seat, and get at the belt from the top. I guess I could do it from underneath the tractor, but that looks like it might be a pain.

Any advice is appreciated.
 
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