Transaxle fluid

My_guy99

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djdicetn said:
Just thought about it...the lawn tractor I had before I bought my ZTR was a 2006 Craftsman YS4500 54" lawn tractor(manufactured by Husqvarna as are a LOT of the Craftsman lawn tractors). Before I gave the Craftsman to my son I was going over it for a final cleanup/maintenance and I noticed a label on the bottom of the seat that had "HydroGear" with a UPC# and Bar Code. All of a sudden it hit me(after all these years) what that label was.....it was the transmission model#. This jumped out at me because most of the high-end residential and low-end commercial ZTR mowers I had been looking at all had "HydroGear brand" hydro trannies in them. So that told me that the Craftsman/Husqvarna lawn tractor also had a Hydrogear brand trannie in it. You may want to check your lawn tractor to see if you can find a label that contains the Make/Model# of your transmission and maybe you could contact the trannie manufacturer directly. I'm sure if I contacted HydroGear and provided the UPC# on that label they would be able to give me some detailed information(if not a service manual) for the trannie. In fact if you look at the link below you will see that HydroGear makes a whole bunch of hydrostatic trannies and you can download a service manual for any of them from their website using this link. Maybe you will luck out and yours has a Hydrogear trannie that there is a service manual listed for it. Good luck on your research!!

Hydro-Gear Service Repair Manuals

Woo hoo! Found out its a k46 model any info on this
 

djdicetn

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Woo hoo! Found out its a k46 model any info on this

k46.....what "brand"??? I didn't see anumber like that listed for a lawn tractor trannie on HydroGear's website.
 

My_guy99

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djdicetn said:
k46.....what "brand"??? I didn't see anumber like that listed for a lawn tractor trannie on HydroGear's website.

It's a tuff torq k46 model
 

djdicetn

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It's a tuff torq k46 model

My_guy99,

Google is your friend!!! If you Google Tuff Torq k46 you will get a bunch of hits including the Tuff Torq website. Apparently, your Craftsman(just like the 2006 Craftsman YS4500 I gave my son when I bought my ZTR) is made by Husqvarna. The link below will take you to an article in a tractor forum that describes in detail how to change the oil in your trannie(complete with pictures). Doesn't look like a "real easy job", but apparently it's doable!!! Check out the link and others you can find via Google and good luck on servicing your trannie!!!

How to do an oil change on a Tuff Torq K46 transaxle - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information
 

My_guy99

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Thanks!! I've been sloooowly getting more info! I know I love google! Just got the info when I posted about the model and then had to dig a little more for the manufacture. Slow going! I even watch two videos of guys changing the fluids but no specific like oil grade. I've seen everything from gear oil to 20w50 motorcycle oil to 5w30, so the more for sure rock solid info I get the better
 

djdicetn

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Thanks!! I've been sloooowly getting more info! I know I love google! Just got the info when I posted about the model and then had to dig a little more for the manufacture. Slow going! I even watch two videos of guys changing the fluids but no specific like oil grade. I've seen everything from gear oil to 20w50 motorcycle oil to 5w30, so the more for sure rock solid info I get the better

Yeah, the instructions in that tractor forum link I gave you stated that "Tuff Torq recommended" 5w50 full synthetic, but it's best to be confident that it is indeed what the manufacturer recommends. My guess would be that with the "low speed" that a lawn tractor obtains any good multi-viscosity synthetic would probably be safe to use. Let us know what you end up doing to service your trannie.
 

My_guy99

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Will do! It's so funny, I just read the article and the manufacture recommends you changing the oil after 50 hrs! SEALED FOR LIFE MY ***! And if you mowing residential it would take a while to get to 50 hrs!
 

My_guy99

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Even the sears expert said use only Mobil 1 20w50. Another forum said something about if you use anything other then that it won't last long! Wtf!
 

My_guy99

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This is what they recommend, sounds like B S to me! cut and paste:


FOR CONSUMER USE IN LAWN TRACTOR AND RIDING MOWER APPLICATIONS OIL CHANGING IS NOT EMPHASIZED AS MOST HOMEOWNERS AREN’T EQUIPPED OR IN THE HABIT OF CHANGING TRANSMISSION OIL.
FOR MOST CUSTOMERS, THE TRANSAXLE WILL OUTLAST THE LIFE OF THE MACHINE. BUT, IT MUST BE SAID THAT CHANGING OIL WILL EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE TRANSMISSION.
HOWEVER, IN COMMERCIAL AND HEAVY USAGE APPLICATIONS OIL CHANGING IS RECOMMENDED AFTER THE 1ST 50 HOURS OF OPERATION AND EVERY 200 HOURS, THEREAFTER.
THE FILTER SHOULD NEVER REQUIRE CHANGING UNLESS THE TRANSAXLE IS REMOVED FROM THE TRACTOR OR RIDING MOWER AND OPENED FOR REPAIRS
 
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