[zuren]

The "general" zero-turn forum doesn't seem to get much traffic, so I will try this here...

I'm starting to research zero-turn mowers. One of my major requirements would rebuildable transaxles. My neighbor had an Ariens "homeowner" level zero turn and one of his transaxles went bad. In the end, he bought a new mower. He told me that the transaxle couldn't be rebuilt, and a replacement transaxle was discontinued. I have since read that the transaxles in the lower-end zero-turns tend to be non-serviceable, so if one goes bad, you have to search around for a used part. Otherwise, the mower is essential for scrap/parts. If I get a zero-turn, I don't want to face that situation.

What models of zero-turn transaxle are easily rebuilt? How long do parts tend to be available? Parts can be challenging to find for my 40 year old tractor, but they tend to be available. I keep seeing Hydro-Gear 2800 transaxles mentioned as being rebuildable, so should I be looking at a 2800 or higher model number?

Thanks!

 

[dave_r]

Hydrogear stuff seems to readily rebuildable. I have some larger walkbehind mowers that use hydrogear motors and controllers, and didn't have a problem finding a gasket kit and parts for the controllers, which are almost 20 years old. And they have pretty detailed parts diagrams/lists and freely available service manuals. If the piece has the hydrogear tag on it, with the model/submodel/serial number, that gets you what you need.

I don't know how long before they stop supporting their various products.

Most likely, your neighbor's unit failed, it probably could have been rebuilt [depending on what make the hydro's were], but would have been pretty expensive for a shop to do, and would have been pretty expensive to replace as well, so he just bought a new one.

 

[zuren]

Hydrogear stuff seems to readily rebuildable. I have some larger walkbehind mowers that use hydrogear motors and controllers, and didn't have a problem finding a gasket kit and parts for the controllers, which are almost 20 years old. And they have pretty detailed parts diagrams/lists and freely available service manuals. If the piece has the hydrogear tag on it, with the model/submodel/serial number, that gets you what you need.

I don't know how long before they stop supporting their various products.

Most likely, your neighbor's unit failed, it probably could have been rebuilt [depending on what make the hydro's were], but would have been pretty expensive for a shop to do, and would have been pretty expensive to replace as well, so he just bought a new one.

Thanks! Maybe he gave up too soon then. As far as I can tell, that mower used a Hydro-Gear hydro. He decided to part it out and immediately sold the good hydro, so then it was really a boat anchor. I took the engine and the rest was parted out.

 

[dave_r]

If he wasn't going to do the work himself of rebuilding it, whatever shop he took it to likely either just said he needed a new one (they didn't know/want to rebuild it), or wanted a bunch of money to do it (probably in the same ballpark as a new one). And relative to how old the machine was, it probably seemed like a lot of money for it (particularly, relative to how much he paid for the unit originally).

 

[T.Cruit]

If you can find the parts they are not complicated, I worked warranty evaluation at Hydro Gear for close to a year back in 2005-2006. The 2200 (EZT), 2400 (IZT)series was common then. The ZT 2800 was new. ZT 2600 was good but I didn't ever see many. Was the same as 2400 but with charge pump. I wouldn't be too nervous about 2400-2800 series, 2200 was very much a consumer unit. 2400 and 2600 units had issues with water getting into the oil. Hydro Gear was sure this was caused by pressure washing. FYI I have a mower with 2400series.

 

[X300owner]

TufTorq sells rebuild kits for even the K46 which is sold as non-serviceable (basically saying no oil change) so they probably have parts and kits for others. Made in the USA in Tennessee.

 

[forkz]

i have a 2006 cub cadet z force with ezt not sure of model # at around 1000 hours had a problem with right side pulled the pan off everything looked good oil was dirty looking put in new oil went right back to working like new

 

[LawnTractorTech]

True! Important point. Before replacing or rebuilding, do the simple, low effort/cost thing first like checking/changing the fluid. I have a Toro TimeCutter Z, Z17-52, Model #74701 what gets weak on the right side when she heats up. I also believe there's a fan underneath there somewhere that I need to check. I need a manual for the Machine and for the Tranny but I'll make a separate post for that elsewhere. This is my first day at this site so I have to learn my way around.

 

[forkz]

welcome from nc