changing oil in K46 transaxle...

For whatever it's worth. I emailed TT with questions regarding oil change in my K58. They told me the to fill through vent cap too. Said it would be slow going though because fluid had to fill one chamber before it would overflow to next. Just be sure of how much you take out so you know how much to put back.

For my k58 he recommended synthetic. I asked him why does JD use regular then. He said to keep cost down. COME ON, REALLY??!!. How much more could synthetic be especially when ur talking bout 2 qts??

thebanjoman said:

I paid $6.99 for a quart of Mobil 1 synthetic when I changed mine. I didn't price the conventional but it was more than $1 cheaper per quart i'm sure.

Just remember that you may see it as a small monetary difference between synthetic and conventional oil for one tractor.

JD sees that cost multiplied by each and every tractor that is built.

Same reason why they don't pay for the drain plug in the K46 or other transaxles. I think I read somewhere that it was less than $1 additional per unit but again that is another $1 multiplied by every one built and they are looking at the bottom line.

Given the volume of tractors sold that can add to a significant amount of money.

Is it right? Not when you look at it as 'cutting corners', but it is a reality...

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Maybe they should pay the extra few bucks for the oil and draing plugs then pass this on to the customer at twice that and double their money. When you are up in the 3 -4k range on a mower, most people would gladly pay and extra $10.00 for these convienences that will extend teh life of their tractor. Knowing what I know now, I would have paid and extra $100.00 to have a serviceable trans even on a LAWN tractor even on the k58.

sproulman said:

i tore off pan on 4 transaxles and it would be very easy to put a drain in bottom of pan .all that is needed is a self tapping screw with gasket on it.i actually did this on my sears mower without taking pan off but i did not like idea i may have left a shaving in the pan from the drilling .best way would be to remove pan and drill hole.

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That is my plan once warranty is up. Tuff Torq sent me instructions via email. I plan on taking bottom half of housing to machine shop and having plugs installed. That way I know it is done right and I won't worry about shavings. There are already two "punch out" areas specifying where plugs should go. Will replace mesh filter while it is open. However, I don't like the idea of scraping of old silicone sealant and replacing with new stuff. I can be kind of clumsy at times and worry about scraping something into open transaxle. Yeah this is all cheap to do and shouldn't take more than a few hours BUT I shouldn't have to do it for what little it would have cost to have it done from factory. I think JD at least has sold themselves on the idea that these are really nonserviceable units. I think it is all part of the up sell plan to get those really concerned about fluid changes into the x500 whether they need that much machine or not.

sproulman said:

i think the sealant was on pan and came off easy.what kind of plugs are you getting and where are locations they want them installed.

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Sproulman, I have a photo from TT with the locations. If you have the k58 and would like, I can email it to you with the photo attachement.

I dont know how similiar the K58 is in removing compared to the K46 but if it is quick and easy then I may not have plugs nstalled. However, I do like the idea of changing out the internal filter. Anywayss, for my 35 hours a year, Iwould only have to do this once every 3 years and that is worth a few hours work. I think with these measures, I could get at least 1000 hours out of my mower and that is all I am really shooting for because that would be 20 years for me. I told my wife it would last 15 years but I think I will be ready for a zero turn way before then.