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John Deere LX277 transaxle no go

FergusonTO35

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My dad has a JD 277 riding mower with 17hp Kawasaki and I'm pretty sure a Tuff Torque K62 transaxle. It is the sort that has a reservoir under the seat and a fill plug on top of the differential. Both are full of fluid. His dad bought it new around 2000 and it has been trouble free until today. When you press the pedal to go forward or backward it will go slowly for a few feet and then stop completely. Dad says that the pedals now do not spring back up as quickly as they used to when you take your foot off them.

I don't see anything amiss with it visually, the pedal linkage is connected and moving whatever it is inside the transaxle it is supposed to move. Just out of curiosity, I performed the air purge procedure I found on the manufacturer's website as best as I could with no changes. Any ideas on what we can try next? I have zilch experience with these things.
 

Larry B

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Does the trans make a whining noise? If it does the pump and motor are bad. The whining noise is fluid bypassing the pump pistons scoring them. If no noise then probably either clogged filter or something wrong with the control valve. Full rebuild kit around $400. Drain all the fluid and install some straight sae40 wt oil. If it works better but not great then pump and motor bad. Trans will need a full rebuild.
 
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FergusonTO35

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Larry to the rescue! We dont hear any whining noise. This happened all of a sudden. How can I check the filter?
 

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Before yanking the transaxle check the drive belt and idlers, especially the plastic v-idler(s) As they wear they cause belt slippage as it is the same as the belt getting too long.
 
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FergusonTO35

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Great idea, thanks. As said before I don't know a darn thing about these, my mowers are more lowbrow than this one!
 

FergusonTO35

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Ok, looks like it is losing belt tension somewhere. The fan is intact and the belt looks good. Will get into it tomorrow and check it out.
 

FergusonTO35

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Woo hoo, looks like we can get by with a couple of pulleys. Gonna change the belt while we are at it too. Got the part numbers from the JD site, dad is going to pick them up.

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Nice! A lot of the deere parts will cross to Stens and Rotary. Usuallu the same part
AM115460 cross to stens 280 683
AM115459 cross to stens 280 679
M146667 cross to stens 265 317
Usually cheaper than JD. Example, got a JD245 zero turn in the shop now with a stripped axle hub. JD wants $136 for it. Found the hydro gear number. $55 from Ebay.
Good find on the pulley. Cheaper than a trans rebuild.
 

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If it has never been done it may not be a bad idea to do a fluid change in the trans. I just did one in a JD GT 235 with the Tuff Torq K70 and it was noticeably smoother after. Don't use the Tuff Torq fluid, it is mediocre at best. Get some Hydro fluid from your Exmark or Toro dealer, good for 500 hours.
 

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Thanks. Dad put tractor fluid in it and we did the bleeding procedure, works great now.
 

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Thanks. Dad put tractor fluid in it and we did the bleeding procedure, works great now.


Get that stuff out of there quick! It is not the correct fluid and can damage the transmission if ran for any length of time.
 

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I will ask him about what type of fluid he put in it. I thought he said tractor fluid but will make sure.
 

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If by tractor fluid he means like Hytran or equivalent it is the wrong fluid. It will run OK but may not be compatible with the seals. A 5w50 oil is what he needs.
 

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Thanks. Yes, that would be what he would have used since we have buckets of it already. I will ask him to make sure though. Now, when I was looking at parts for it I noticed that JD recommended the use of their Hygard fluid in it. Then, at other times they have recommended 5w30 or 10w30.
 

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Thanks. Yes, that would be what he would have used since we have buckets of it already. I will ask him to make sure though. Now, when I was looking at parts for it I noticed that JD recommended the use of their Hygard fluid in it. Then, at other times they have recommended 5w30 or 10w30.

The original recommendation was SAE 5W-30 for cold climates and SAE 10W-30 for warm climates back when all oils contained ZDDP. After the EPA mandated that ZDDP be taken out of oil formulations because it was clogging Catalytic Converters these oild lost their effectiveness ans a hydraulic fluid. JD Hygard may be an acceptable substitute but personally I always use the Exmark Premium Hydro Fluid because I know it exceeds all of Tuff Torq, Hydro Gear, Parker, and Ross' specifications.
 

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A few years ago on a mower forum there was a thread about what fluid to use in TuffTorq transaxles. TT recommends their 5w50 fluid but JD uses their HyGard or 10w30. Not sure of all the facts but supposedly TT won't warranty any JD stuff because of their fluid choice. Years ago the JD K46 axles failed far more than K46 axles in other equipment. TT said it was from too thin a fluid for the pump and motor pistons to seal properly under a load. The K46 whine of death was the result. The pistons are a machined fit with no rings. The thinner the fluid the faster it will bypass under pressure and wipe out the pump.
 

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Hmmm, My cheat sheet from Tuff Torq shows the K62 currently using 5w50 Synthetic Oil [Tuff Torq PN 168T2099500] but originally used Hy-Gard High Viscosity. 2.5 Liters fill. Personally here in the South where the Summer temps are fairly high these days I think it is better running 15W50 Synthetic as many synthetic oils are fairly thin when hot.

Now the Hustler Super Z I had in the shop used 15w50 in the Hydro Gear pumps. Just top it off a day or two ago as it got a o-ring leaking. Just waiting until I got a large enough order to justify the shipping costs. No reason to pay $12 shipping for a $3 part.

My run in my Briggs 310000 series engine with 5w30 synthetic I can't even check the oil when the engine is hot as the dipstick is barely has a film on it.
 

KennyWinCT

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Hmmm, My cheat sheet from Tuff Torq shows the K62 currently using 5w50 Synthetic Oil [Tuff Torq PN 168T2099500] but originally used Hy-Gard High Viscosity. 2.5 Liters fill. Personally here in the South where the Summer temps are fairly high these days I think it is better running 15W50 Synthetic as many synthetic oils are fairly thin when hot.

Now the Hustler Super Z I had in the shop used 15w50 in the Hydro Gear pumps. Just top it off a day or two ago as it got a o-ring leaking. Just waiting until I got a large enough order to justify the shipping costs. No reason to pay $12 shipping for a $3 part.

My run in my Briggs 310000 series engine with 5w30 synthetic I can't even check the oil when the engine is hot as the dipstick is barely has a film on it.
I put a line on the dipstick with a black Sharpie marker. Even thin oil shows up as a nice sheen when it hits the Sharpie line.
 
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