[flash5153]

I bought a lt 4000 craftsman ,,with the trans stuck in 3rd gear. And believe me,,it would not budge.
I was about to buy another used trans,,but figured I would tear it apart first,,and since I could buy parts for this trans ,,maybe I would get lucky and find the problem.

I opened it up,,,,and it had allot of grease in it,,,except right where the the part that shifts it. It was bare of grease completely. And there is a yoke that slides on that shaft to shift it.
The shaft was rusty,,locking it in 3rd.

The only spot in the whole assembly not covered in grease. Amazing! How?? I have no idea. And the shaft was rusted with heavy surface rust. About a 2" area around the yoke that slides on it.

I sprayed it with PB blaster. Got it to move by working it,,then cleaned the shaft,,and this trans was fixed !!! Shifts and works like new!!

I was very surprised and lucky I suppose!!
I wish I would have taken some pictures. It is hard to believe,,but true!! lol

I keep wondering how a area in the middle of all that grease got completely bone dry. It was like a hole dug into the grease with a dry rusted area right there.lol It couldn't be done by hand,on purpose,, without making a mess of grease. And you still couldn't remove it all from it.
And the trans was sealed,,no leaks!! Or at least no sign of water anywhere.

There is also a plastic cap on this trans. That can be removed to pump grease into it. I have never seen this before.

 

[Dude11]

Was the grease kinda hard & waxey?That's what I've found in just about all of'em I've opened up.I'm still wondering why they use grease rather than lube,like 90wt.guess it would last longer and work better:dunno:--humm,can't have that,use the waxey stuff.:sidelaugh

 

[flash5153]

Was the grease kinda hard & waxey?That's what I've found in just about all of'em I've opened up.I'm still wondering why they use grease rather than lube,like 90wt.guess it would last longer and work better:dunno:--humm,can't have that,use the waxey stuff.:sidelaugh

No it wasn't waxy,,,oily is better name for it. I didn't see anything wrong with the grease.

I don't see why a feller couldn't put some gear lube in there. Just as long as there are no leaks it would be fine. And maybe not fill it all the way. Just the lower half would be good.

The reason I think they don't use oil, is there are seals at the ends for the axles to spin. There is no way to keep a good seal there. The oil would eventually leak out. The seal used is enough to keep grease in.

 

[rhenning]

I am assuming it was a Peerless transmission and if so that is a special grease called Bentonite grease. It is designed to work in those transmissions and works well. Roger

 

[Oo-v-oO]

Most transaxles like that use bentonite grease.

And yes, there are no real bearings and no seals where the axles exit so a liquid lubricant would just leak out.

 

[7sleeper]

Great that it was so a simple fix!

Don't want to hijak this thread, but I have a can of engine oil moly additive lying around and thought about adding it to the transmision grease. Would that be a smart idea?

7

 

[flash5153]

If you add anything to it,,most that will happen is it will leak out. Well,,as long as it don't break down the grease , and bring it with it. If that happens it would be a bad idea.
But I don;t think oil breaks grease down,,not sure,,never tried it.

As far as bentonite grease,,I know all about it,, and I don't care for it or believe in it for a transmission ,,,,that will wear out no matter what grease you put in it. That is my opinion ,,it's OK if you disagree.
But they want some crazy amount of money for it,,like $10 a ounce.lol It cost close to $100 to grease a trans.

I will pass,,and I have used wheel bearing grease before. And it worked just fine. I used that tractor hard for over a year and sold it.With nothing wrong with it.