question re adding oil to the hydro

1st, turning on the side is going to get oil up into the cyl. Don't tip it to the carb side. And don't tip it all the way on it its side. Try to hold it up about a 45* angle and no more. Be sure to safely block it up and be sure it can't be shoved on over onto its side ......brace off from the low side to the ground surface.


2nd, I'd be looking for the port or what ever might indicate the oil refill port. I have seen a rubber hose on some hydro, which I believe is a vent for the oil system. I'm not too sure whether that is a good point to refill.

Use an oil siphon pump, usually auto parts stores have them and may refer to them as evacuation pumps. They are usually used for draining/refilling the rear ends of a car through the fill plug on the back of the differential, with gear lube.

Deck would be helpful to be off while doing this under neath work.

By slower in reverse, something less than a crisp movement, but more like you might have something stuck under your reverse direction of the pedal?

I'd love for you to fly me there and we could figure this out in person. Ah well, that ain't happening. :sidelaugh


It is very possible there is an adjustment needing to be done. While underneath of it see if you can follow the rod from the foot pedal and notice if there might be an adjustment thread on it with some set nuts. This would be my first guess, that might affect the reverse only problem. Just be aware that if you do find an adjustment and do some adjusting, that it may affect the forward speed to a slower speed.

The possibility of it being low on trans fluid is "possible" - maybe, but I'd think it would affect the forward motion speed as well, in that case. I would try and see if there is low oil in the trans. Again, as I mentioned before, there would likely be some plugs located on the front vertical surface of the transaxle and these would be your fluid level (top one) and your drain plug (bottom one). Again, I don't have a photo or a diagram of yours, so this could all be bad info. I don't want to mislead

Someone else may have better info, I'm certainly not a guru of Hydro's. I just had some issues with one that was worn, and I was able to rejuvenate it using the Synthetic gear lube.

I should add,

forward speed is about 4mph or kph in your neck of the woods.......top speed, reverse would be about 1mph and shouldn't be more than that. So in a hydro, adjustable speed 0 to 1 mph reverse would be probably a good approximate set of numbers for reverse, 0-4 mph in forward.

Every brand has its own parameters of the speeds, both forward and reverse, but the numbers I mentioned are a good representative example of what you should see.

I started pulling plates off to get access to the hydro today, I was going to try to add some oil before pulling it out and I noticed something interesting.

I noticed the brake pedal was very sensitive, you only have to touch it and the drive power reduces dramatically. I'll try looking for some sort of adjustment to make the brake a little less sensitive in case that's playing a role in the loss of power to the wheels.

But whether I fix it or not I'd like to say thanks to everyone for helping so far, it's much appreciated.

Ian

Look for the brake caliper with the brake shoe puck against the rotor. There is a nut directly centered on the caliper. Counter clock wise adjustment loosens the puck from the caliper. Clock wise, tightens the puck.

When you adjust the brake, do it in small incremental adjustment and roll the mower and touch the brake. It should be a stop but not a sudden stop. When you are driving the rider and you are in motion and then hit the brake, it is considered adjusted if it stops with in a few feet. The puck won't stop it on a dime, or if it does, it is likely dragging against the rotor and could cause it to feel like it has no power.

Well I added some oil to the hydro pump and it's really made a marked difference. It's still slow in reverse, well compared to a 6 speed manual ride on that I've used, but it pulls up our slope now quite easily, well until the wheels spin anyway, and if I quickly go to forward it spins the wheels easily.

(I won't go doing that too much, but I was testing to see how the power gets through to the wheels).

It took about 180ml to top up.

So thanks everyone, but I now have a new problem. Engine smoke, but I'll start a new thread to make the answers more easily searchable to anyone else with the same issue.

Thanks everyone !!