What model tractor do you have?

 

2003 Prestige.

 

Back to the top looking for help.

 

Looks like he power sprayed it with no cover on the reservoir tube so yo want to make sure you get any water out. Remove seat and rear fender and tires so you can see the linkages. Change the hydraulic filter

 

Barbosa,

Not sure what you are asking for help on.

"Anything special I should look for after it is delivered to be sure it is worthwhile installing?"
Drain the oil to see if it is clean and no water in it. Change the internal hydraulic filter if it has one. Check owners manual.

Need help to remove and replace the transaxle?

Need help to dissemble transaxle to change parts?

"I have total disassembly to tackle." Why take apart a new transaxle? Or are you taking the old one apart?

Or are you referring to remove and replace the transaxle as "total disassembly"?

I R confused. Can you clear it up for me?

 

I can come and help. One $ per mile... :tango_face_glasses:

Seriously, it isn't that hard. Keep taking stuff off until the old axle comes out, reverse for reassembly.

You will have best luck draining and filling on the bench, before install. Once it's in, top reservoir to fill line, run/bleed check and top off again. Should total around 5 quarts iirc...

 

Thanks for the advice gentlemen. I have no idea how to even get the seat or seat pan off, then fuel tank then, I presume, the transaxle can be dropped.

The unit is already drained, supposed to only have 5 or so hours on it and should arrive tomorrow.

I am NOT disassembling anything other than the tractor to install this new one.

Happy turkey day to one and all! I am grateful to belong to such a wonderful group of enthusiasts!

 

I've swapped two different K71's several times out of two different DLX's (predecessor to your Prestige).

Here's what I do on my DLX(s).

1. Remove the seat and seat pan. This gives you a nice clear view of everything before disassembly. You'll thank me later.
2. Set parking brake and remove belt. You'll need to unbolt the belt guide to get the belt off.
3. Undo parking brake and remove brake rod and diff lock rod from transmission.
4. Disconnect hydro control rod from lever on trans, should just be a 5/16" carriage bolt connecting them.
5. Disconnect hydro control shock absorber.
6. Drain fluid from trans. It should hold about 4 quarts, drain plug is on front right of transmission.
7. Disconnect auxiliary hydro lines at transmission. These are SAE flare fittings so you can remove the lines while leaving the main fitting in the transmission. The main fitting seals to the transmission with O-rings.
8. You may have enough room to bend the lines out of the way when you remove the transmission, otherwise you'll have to loosen the return line from the rear filter at the filter mount to give you some wiggle room.
9. Disconnect the fill reservoir from the tractor, should be two 1/4-20 nuts, the bolts should be carriage bolts that are captive in the bracket with push nuts. Leave the fill reservoir and fill tube connected to the transmission, you'll swap these on the bench.
10. Prop up the tractor on jackstands to the frame.
11. Remove both wheels.
12. Place floor jack below transaxle.
13. There's only 5 bolts that hold the transaxle in place. Two on each axle, one on the front right side, and then a bracket with a notch in it on the front left side. The bracket catches the frame of the tractor in the notch on the bracket and is a pain to remove as it uses a large centerlocked nut. Use a breaker bar to loosen, in fact might be easier to loosen it before you place the tractor on jackstands and remove the wheels.
14. Once all the bolts and the bracket are removed slowly lower the transmission out of the way paying attention to the hydro lines.

When you go to reinstall the new transmission do it DRY, do not prefil it on the bench. You have to manipulate the transmission to get it into place which means oil will run out of any orifice. Also the hydro lines are on the bottom of the transmission, not easy to plug, and will drain oil once you go to reinstall the lines.

After the new transmission is installed and hooked up it'll take a while to get all the oil into the transmission. It runs good at first, then slowly fills the rest of the way, no easy way about it but to let it take time. Once you think you have all the fluid in run the tractor a little bit with the seat pan off so you can watch the oil level in the tube. Simplicity didn't use the oil reservoir as the fill level, the fill level is in the tube and a pain to see on an old fill tube with the seat pan on. Be prepared to add a little more oil.

Any questions just ask.

 

Outstanding brother! Thankyou! I hope to have this thing in and running by the end of the week. It was delivered before thanksgiving in a cardboard box with some bubble wrap and pieces of cardboard used for padding. Kinda ticked it wasn't at least crated for shipment to Ohio from New York. Positive thinking tells me all should be well.

 

Bench preparation for new transaxle.

Thankfully yours is clean, otherwise clean it thoroughly with brake parts cleaner and WD-40. Why brake parts cleaner? Because it dissolves grease and oil nicely, plus evaporates away. Wear gloves and do it in a well ventilated area or you'll see visions of Jimi Hendrix.

As mentioned previously, that transaxle looks like it was washed off with a pressure washer so you're going to have to flush the transaxle somehow. First try to drain out any water that may be in it. Then just pour oil into the transmission through the fill port and let it drain out of the drain port. It'll probably never be perfectly clear as it's always going to pick up some old oil from inside the transmission, the main thing is to get the water out.

Couple of points to consider in order to get the new transaxle ready to swap in. Taking care of them now will save you headaches down the road.

1. Once you flush it you'll have to transfer over the fill tube and reservoir from the old transaxle. Be careful installing the fill tube as the fill nipple is plastic and only held on by one screw. I've had problems before with the fill tubes that have the spring stiffener in them actually pulling the fill nipple away from the body of the transaxle and causing it to leak.

2. As stated in my last post the auxiliary hydraulic line fittings are flare fittings and they're sealed to the transaxle with o-rings. Two o-rings per fitting to be exact as it has to pass through the transaxle case first before being attached to the pump inside. Any damaged o-ring or dirt in there will cause you fits with a leak. Thankfully the fittings thread into the pump and then are tightened to the case with a lock nut to keep them from moving. Make sure the previous owner didn't loosen these fittings or the locknuts during disassembly. If so use a generous slathering of pipe dope over the fitting as it passes through the case. Mine leaked constantly until I used pipe dope and I haven't had a problem since, just try to keep it on the case and not inside it.

3. The top seal can cause you fits if the transaxle was overheated. It's not hard, nor expensive to replace, but it will throw oil all over the transaxle and make it a pain to trace down where any potential leak is coming from. Thankfully Tuff Torq no longer sells this seal, but it's a somewhat common size, so you can get them anywhere for cheap. I forget exactly which size it is, but the JD guys know as they have problems with theirs leaking all the time. Otherwise you can read the Tuff Torq parts manual to find the seal dimensions and order off that, I think that's what I did. If your transaxle looks like it was overheated at some point (evidence of oil leaks or lots of buildup on the fins) then replace the seal now. Otherwise you can replace it once it's in the tractor, but requires removal of the seat pan.

4. Replace the inner filter if you have a new one. Be careful as they're expensive. If you don't have one I probably wouldn't worry too much about it unless the transaxle has a lot of hours on it, but as you said yours shouldn't.

Installation of the transaxle is the reverse of removal. I would take the time now, however, to clean up the tractor before putting the transaxle in, but that's just me.

When you go to fill the transaxle just take your time. I can usually get about 3 quarts into it quickly, it's the last quart that takes the most time. Don't use a funnel as it'll just make a mess when it overfills. As said before, leave the seat pan off so you have full access to the fill reservoir and fill it to the brim each time. Be careful though, cause if you overfill the transmission you'll have to drain some out. One of those suction drainers work great for that.

Don't worry about filling the differential area separately, oil will get in there from the case. Just don't leave that fitting open as it'll leak out of there when you're getting close to full.

As far as cleaning out the auxiliary lines, you can try flushing them out with compressed air, but there's a lot of bends, twists, ports, and fittings to go through. Basically a lot of places for shavings to get caught up.

 

Almost forgot about installation of the hydro control rod.

As you would have noted during removal the hydro control rod is slotted. This means you can make adjustments to the forward and reverse speeds as you see fit. I have one tractor that goes forward fast, but slowly in reverse. I have another one that's a goes roughly the same speed forward and reverse. All of this was accomplished simply by adjusting the location of this rod. It all depends on how you use the tractor. Hopefully the rod will have wear marks on it indicating how it was installed before, but if not here's a tip on how to adjust it.

The forward travel is limited by how far forward the reverse peddle will rotate. At some point during this travel the reverse peddle arm will hit the bottom of the foot rest. During installation if you want max speed forward then you simply push the forward peddle all the way down, push the transaxle control lever all the way forward and then tighten the nut. This will limit your reverse speed however.

If you want a good balance then you need to find the point were you have as much range of motion on the forward peddle as you like with enough on the reverse. The reverse speed is limited by how far down you can press the reverse peddle, at some point it'll be below the floor board and you can't press it down any further. That will determine your max reverse speed.

 

Stupid questions:

1. Where is the drain plug so I can drain the old unit before removal later today?

2. I'm also replacing the drive belt. How do I get it around the clutch on the engine?

Thanks again guys. So far it is going well. Wheels, Seat pan, seat, cruise control all removed yet.

BTW, is there supposed to be ANY oil in the white plastic reservoir? I saw zero but the tube leading up to the container is full of oil to the top of the hose. I'll post some pics in a few minutes.

 

2. I'm also replacing the drive belt. How do I get it around the clutch on the engine?

Do you have the owners manual for this tractor? Belt replacement should be explained in there.
If you do not have maybe we can help you find one.

 

As promised.

 

These 2 pages should help
Page 35 Line 12 talks about how high the oil level should be in the expansion chamber

 

I just spent some time going through a Simplicity owners manual. They do not show a procedure to replace the Motion Drive Belt.
In the trouble shooting area, for a broken drive belt they show "See Drive Belt Replacement".

Engine runs, but tractor will not drive.

3. Drive belt is broken. See Drive Belt Replacement.
4. Drive belt slips. See cause and remedy below.

But no such things exists in the manual I have.
That's strange.

 

I appreciate the help! Yes, VERY strange indeed...

 

Here is what I found for replacing the drive belt.
Loosen the idler pulleys.
Disconnect the steering arm from the drag link.
Unplug the PTO clutch plug, remove the capscrew and related hardware securing the PTO clutch to the crankshaft. Remove the clutch.
Remove the drive belt from the engine pulley, idler pulleys and transmission input pulley.

Install the new belt.
Install new drive belt on the transmission input pulley and the engine drive pulley.
Install the PTO clutch using the original hardware. Be sure the engine pulley key is installed in the inset. Torque the crankshaft bolt to 45-50 ft lbs.
Install the drive belt in the idler assembly pulleys. Tighten the pulley hardware.
Release the parking brake. Check that the belt has been routed correctly and that all adjustable belt guides are adjusted to within 1/8" of the belt guide.
Reconnect the steering arm and drag link. Coat the steering arm capscrew with thread locking compound and torque to 17-23 ft lbs. reconnect the electric clutch plug.

I hope this will help you out.

 

Awesome...Thanks so much! I think if it weren't the holidays when I chose to start this project, it would be done by now...and now the cold is setting in...dammit.

 

Chuck's right about the fill after install, I was looking at my Eaton manuals... :bonk:

 

What happened to the old K71? How many hours did you have before it failed?

 

A bit over 300... :tango_face_crying: :tango_face_crying: :tango_face_crying:

There's a reason I bought an expensive garden tractor... :tango_face_plain:

 

OK guys...update time. Not really much of an update but still...

Finally got to disassembling the tractor. Wish I had done so prior to buying the transaxle. :tango_face_glasses:

What appears to have happened is two fold - 1st, the cause for all of this, is a phenomenon I have never experienced before. The nylon lock nut that holds the trans pump pulley, somehow, I'm baffled, the nylon insert started coming out thru the top of the bolt. :tango_face_surprise

This separation lead to the much expected loosening of the bolt itself, which in turn allowed the pump pulley to be 'sloppy'. After enough was enough apparently, the pulley inard splines were wiped out...worn smooth even. :tango_face_crying: The splines on the pump shaft itself are in perfect condition still. This was verified by removing the new trans pump pulley and lock nut and placing it on the existing trans.

Roughly threw it back together enough just to start and test and sho 'nuff, no noise, and she goes forward/backward. HURRAY! Right?! Meh...not so fast...

Forward does pretty well but reverse, the pedal seems stiffer and less responsive than it was prior to the issue. It DOES go backwards but much slower than normal. A quick ride around the yard and forward seems fine. Again, no noise. I pulled into the garage where it has been since, due to it being so dang cold and an unheated garage.

So then, it appears I have gone thru all of this for a less than $75 repair and have another transaxle I'm not sure what to do with. The new drive belt and synthetic oil I can use in the spring to redo the existing, but that **** $1100 transaxle...what to do, what to do... :tango_face_plain:

 

Forward does pretty well but reverse, the pedal seems stiffer and less responsive than it was prior to the issue. It DOES go backwards but much slower than normal.

Try adjusting the motion control rod as it attaches to the transaxle. It should be a 5/16" carriage bolt and a nylock nut. If you make a little bit of adjustment for the reverse movement you'll get that speed back, but you may loose a little bit of forward speed.

I mentioned it in another one of my posts too, I've actually got one tractor set up with very slow reverse speed, and another one set up with equal speed forward and reverse (bucket tractor).

So then, it appears I have gone thru all of this for a less than $75 repair and have another transaxle I'm not sure what to do with. The new drive belt and synthetic oil I can use in the spring to redo the existing, but that **** $1100 transaxle...what to do, what to do... :tango_face_plain:

That sucks, I know the feeling. You can always sell the spare transaxle, or keep it just in case. I've still got my K71A just in case the pump goes out on one of my other ones, doesn't hurt to have spare parts...especially on an $1100 transaxle.

 

It's been quite awhile since I've posted...ever since they changed all the passwords, or security update. Mark now has me hooked up again...I'm very sorry to hear about your issues...especially with such low hours! My '03 now has over 800 hours and knock on wood, no major issues. I will be replacing the seat this year as it's separating, and will likely look into replacing the steering universal joint. It has really been an extremely low maintenance machine. Still runs like a champ in all aspects!

Please keep us posted.

 

Hey Prestigious 1 if you don't mind me asking where did you get those baby moons? I don't think you can get them from Simplicity anymore.

 

I'm looking for more myself. I got these from my local dealer many years ago along with the bumper that they happen to have in stock, but kind of forgot about. Nevertheless, they gave me a smoking deal! They actually had 2 sets and hindsight being 20-20, I should've bought both sets as they are getting a little bit of wear on them. The backs are still great, but I have had to pound out a couple of dents on the fronts and they're no longer perfect.

If you run across some, please let me know as I'd like to get a couple of pairs for the front as they will also fit the drive wheels on the Pacer.

 

Hi Barbosa,

I would be willing to lend a hand if needed but it sounds like you may have been lucky enough to continue to use the original transaxle. Not sure where you are located though...most states are confused.

When I blew up the K46 in my Craftsman, I shoehorned a Simplicity K71e into the space that held the K46. So I am vaguely familiar with both setups. When I did my research for the swap, I found a number of stories online about the main nut on the transaxle input shaft coming loose. This often resulted in the shredding of the input shaft splines. This was primarily on tuff torqs and could be found on the K46 though K72 transaxles. Perhaps it is a manufacturing issue or a bad nuts.

I got my replacement transaxle off ebay. The pics you posted look familiar so I assume you may have purchased a transaxle I was "watching". I am a bit shocked that the price for a diff locking K71 series has doubled in price. I got mine for about 500 shipped.

 

Well...all seems to be right with the world again! Been using Mable to plow the drive 4x, the back yard 2X [for the dog ] and not an issue [knock on wood]. Everything seems as good as it ever has... Thanks for all the advice and help! Gonna close this topic now.

Thanks again!!!