[wengang1]

I have a John Deere LA175, five years old.

Last time I mowed, it started slowing down, gradually, and eventually could barely move at all. I had to half-push it into the barn.

I found out the hydrostatic transmission is a sealed unit, so there is no way to do anything to it.

I spent hours today changing the drive belt (yes, John Deere conveniently left out the instructions for that in the user's manual, but I found a link to a similar model from this website).

When the mower blasted off out of the barn faster than I ever remember it going, I thought I was good to go. But after half an hour of mowing, it started slowing down again, first only uphill, but then in general.

So what should I try next? What would eliminate some possibilities?

I don't want to have JD fix the mower. They fixed a problem two years ago, kept the mower the entire summer, and charged me 500 for the repairs (unrelated).

Thanks.

 

[Paul7]

Sounds like a K46 rebuild is in your future. Sounds like you're pretty mechanical. You could contact Tuff Torq directly for guidance.

 

[SonnyT]

Probably time for a repair on it or a new one.
Several threads about how to repair... here is one of them.
Sticky: K46 Transmission Repair Successful (

1 2)

Jim_WV

 

[njdeerefan]

I know the k46 has a bad rap here...but Instead of immediately suspecting a dead or dying trans here, I would use a bit of logic here. A dying hydrostatic pump would not "Spring" out of the barn no matter what kind of belt you put on it! I rather suspect belt stretch, some replacement belts stretch shamefully after even a VERY short time (I've seen it after only one use!!).Given the intitial performance, I would suspect the belt tension pulley, bearing, and spring. A dragging or miss adjusted tensioner would prematurely stretch the new belt, restoring the performance prior to you replacing the belt. If it were me I'd replace the Tensioner pulley, bearing, and spring.

Heres a good explanation of how to do it as well as diagrams
http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/deere_110a_yellow_drive_belt.asp

 

[krazystang]

I had a very similar situation with my hydro. (k66)

It would work fine for 15-20 mins, then slow down quite a bit.

I also was worried that my hydro was messed up, until one day my drive belt snapped off. Had a new drive belt installed and its running like a champ ever since.

I know you said you changed the belt already, but just throwing out my .02 cents.

How many hours are on the machine?




Sent from the MTF Free App

 

[TUDOR]

It wouldn't hurt to clean the outside of the hydro and check the status of the cooling fan.

Maybe take its temperature when it runs out of go to eliminate overheating as a possible reason.

My bet is the belt. I'm just covering other options.

 

[Paul7]

My new guess is the tensioner.

 

[Oldoak]

Also check the pulleys for wear. Along with worn belts, pulleys wear out as well. Sometimes, the inside sides of the pulleys wear enough to allow the belt to bottom out in the pulley, they loose their grip. Belts drive by gripping the sides of the pulleys, not the bottom of the "V" groove.

 

[wengang1]

Here is a new clue. On a hunch, I took the mower out again this afternoon. As I suspected, it ran like a champ for about 20 minutes and then started slowing down.
Within 5 minutes, it was barely moving.

So that would seem to eliminate the belt having been stretched. On the other hand, when it tried to climb the hill, it was a quick jerky kind of movement that is similar to a belt slipping and grabbing.

I'm wondering if the problem is on the other end, with the engine getting hot. Do engines slow down when they overheat? I've never heard of it. Could the K46 be getting hot and not working properly? Again, coming in fresh today it worked fine. That would imply that there has been no mechanical damage, and that the problem is related to heat. otherwise, it would stay slow even after it slowed down, right?

Would heat affect the spring/tensioner etc.?

Thanks.

 

[wengang1]

On another note, I called John Deere, and they would want $800 just for the K46, plus pickup and delivery cost and labor. If it turns out to be this, is there a cheaper alternative? Some place for used/refurbished units?

 

[SEVA318]

Did you use the John Deere belt? Saving a few dollars by using after market belts ends up costing you deerely in the long run.

 

[wengang1]

As i was saying, there is little evidence of a belt problem at this point. The mower drives fine when it is cool. How could a stretched out belt do that? Anyway, I bought a John Deere belt from the John Deere store.

 

[Leinie]

. If it turns out to be this, is there a cheaper alternative? Some place for used/refurbished units?

Get the parts and instructions direct from Tuff Torq and do it yourself. Or do you have a good friend you can pay to do it ?

 

[Jim_WV]

When the mower blasted off out of the barn faster than I ever remember it going, I thought I was good to go. But after half an hour of mowing, it started slowing down again, first only uphill, but then in general.

Yep, identical to what I went through. What happens is the tranny oil gets hot and when it does, it breaks down, thus the slowdown. Using it on slopes really taxes the oil, the internal tranny motor/pump and it eventually slows to a crawl.

If you so desire to tackle the job of repair, you'll see in my thread link above what is needed. Tuff Torq will tell you that you should replace the entire motor/pump block, I did not. Would it have made any difference ?, I don't know :dunno:. I do know that I got another two years out of the K46 but it eventually gave up on me again. I elected not to repair it anymore. Instead bought one of the new JD D105's with the CVT transmission just this year. I'll keep my old JD for snow removal only, as the K46 works fine in the winter time.

Bottom line is, you have a decision to make it appears. I wish you the best of luck, but again I can only say that IF you do repair it and still mow the hills with it, don't expect too many more years of service out of it .

 

[TUDOR]

As i was saying, there is little evidence of a belt problem at this point. The mower drives fine when it is cool. How could a stretched out belt do that? Anyway, I bought a John Deere belt from the John Deere store.

Heat.

Insufficient tension allows a little slippage. Slippage generates heat. Belts stretch when warmed. A stretched belt develops slack. Slack belts don't transmit power worth a darn. When they cool down, they also shrink back to the original (or something close to original) size, and then they work again, until the cycle begins all over.

Check the temperature of the belt. The pulleys aren't immune to the effects of heat either.

My MF1655 has a broken spring in the tensioner. Same symptoms. Same results. New belts didn't fix the problem. It gets a new spring when I get around to working on it.

 

[wengang1]

Well, I'm thinking about buying the K46 from Tuff Torq and installing it myself but I also saw something very interesting here:
http://www.rjrtractor.com/

It is offering a kit to allow a K66 to be put on my mower (LA175). This apparently has a lot more power. One of the drawbacks I can see is that I have to buy new rims (I assume included in the price) for the larger axle, and I guess that means new tires too then. They are asking about $1600 for this. I guess if JD fixed the mower, it would run almost that much for a new K46 to be installed.

I'm wondering if there will be any issue with too much power/torque. Will it go much faster or just be more powerful? Could it make steering more difficult, etc.

Anybody done this or looked into it before? It actually sounds kinda cool.

 

[Jdblank]

Need advice on my k46c trans

Hello all,

My k46c trans is weak as can be. When I initially start the tractor it barely crawls. Once it's warmed up it will move on level ground but it struggles big time on inclines.

I just replaced the pump, motor, and center case in the k46c from parts i ordered from tuff torq. but, it doesn't work any better then before. I installed all parts correctly and purged the air as described via tuff torq website. I'm out of ideas. Please help me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TUDOR]

Well, I'm thinking about buying the K46 from Tuff Torq and installing it myself but I also saw something very interesting here:
http://www.rjrtractor.com/

It is offering a kit to allow a K66 to be put on my mower (LA175). This apparently has a lot more power. One of the drawbacks I can see is that I have to buy new rims (I assume included in the price) for the larger axle, and I guess that means new tires too then. They are asking about $1600 for this. I guess if JD fixed the mower, it would run almost that much for a new K46 to be installed.

I'm wondering if there will be any issue with too much power/torque. Will it go much faster or just be more powerful? Could it make steering more difficult, etc.

Anybody done this or looked into it before? It actually sounds kinda cool.

The K66 is better than the K46 for power and torque. The steering will be the same. Depending on the final drive reduction ratio selected, there may be a difference in speed.

Get the optional filter package.

 

[TUDOR]

Re: Need advice on my k46c trans

Hello all,

My k46c trans is weak as can be. When I initially start the tractor it barely crawls. Once it's warmed up it will move on level ground but it struggles big time on inclines.

I just replaced the pump, motor, and center case in the k46c from parts i ordered from tuff torq. but, it doesn't work any better then before. I installed all parts correctly and purged the air as described via tuff torq website. I'm out of ideas. Please help me.

Thanks in advance.

Did you check the condition of the drive belt and pulleys?

 

[all3939]

Well, I'm thinking about buying the K46 from Tuff Torq and installing it myself but I also saw something very interesting here:
http://www.rjrtractor.com/

It is offering a kit to allow a K66 to be put on my mower (LA175). This apparently has a lot more power. One of the drawbacks I can see is that I have to buy new rims (I assume included in the price) for the larger axle, and I guess that means new tires too then. They are asking about $1600 for this. I guess if JD fixed the mower, it would run almost that much for a new K46 to be installed.

I'm wondering if there will be any issue with too much power/torque. Will it go much faster or just be more powerful? Could it make steering more difficult, etc.

Anybody done this or looked into it before? It actually sounds kinda cool.

Allthough $1600 is alot to drop for a tranny I have a k66 in the L120. It became a total different machine.
The answer to your trire question is, NO. You don't need new tires as my original 22 x 9.5 -12 were tranfered to the new wheels which is sized for 23 x 10.5-12 and they fit well.