HydroGear EZT Transaxle

bertsmobile1

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:thumbsup: Not a parts changer, specialty is stroker engines, & putting 5 or 6 forward gears in old 4 speed H-D gearboxes. :wink:

I am sure that would be a popular mod.
While the very wide & flat torque curves means they can do without those extra cogs, it does make a big difference.
totally off topic by now but just out of interest, do you raise the final drive ?
 

7394

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I am sure that would be a popular mod.
While the very wide & flat torque curves means they can do without those extra cogs, it does make a big difference.
totally off topic by now but just out of interest, do you raise the final drive ?

Bert- Quite popular here, does make a big diff, the 5th is OD, (overdrive), & on 5 speeds adding 6th is also adding OD gearing. Instead of 1:00 in high gear, now it is .860:1, will drop revs by 500 rpm's at min.
Means old Harleys can take to today's highways & actually keep up with traffic without the engine screaming bloody mercy. Yet still looks correct externally. And on Big Strokers can change trans sprocket for taller yet final drive.
 

bertsmobile1

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Yes we have a similar problem down here.
A new expressway goes in and the old roads either get sold or zero funding so if you are not doing 90 mph you are being run over.
Most of my old iron will run a week non stop at 60 but pushing them out to expressway speeds floggs them to death and using secondary roads can double if not treble the distance covered.
 

7394

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I hear ya Bert. If ya ain't doing 90 ya get passed.
 

Hcube

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Hello All,

I just joined this forum. I was looking for some info on Hydro Gear EZT transaxles.

I notice that this topic is not current, but about Hydro Gear transaxles.

I have a Troybuilt ZTM 50 " cut. When I bought this mower the left transaxle was never as strong as the
right one. I called Hydro Gear and was told if it worked it worked and that was it. I should have
insisted a new unit. Now with about 230 hours, the left unit quit pulling. I will try to repair
this unit if possible. A friend has called Hydro Gear about some differences in units and they just
give us get rid of this guy info. Call about the difference in a pair of transaxles and the guy said he
commented that one had a one inch shaft and the other had a 3/4 inch. Both had one inch. one had
the brake on opposite side. The web page states this can be move to the other side. We called and
asked about this and was told it was not advised. This is from Hydro Gear's service dept.

Personally I think the units are not well built and way to costly.

Hcube
 

bertsmobile1

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You got that totally backwards.
They are substantially better built than they should be for the price.
Hydro gear make less profit per unit made than the mower shops make on the retail mark ups and then there is the distributors & wholesalers also pocketing your money.
Eaton, like Honda exited the mower market because they valued their good name more than the paultry profits available from servicing the US mower market.

It is a perfect example of the old saying , " as yea so sow shall yea reap"
One by one the manufacturers of top quality long lasting garden equipment have either pulled out or gone broke.
If all the market will pay for are model T's don't expect to get one with a Rolls Royce gearbox.
 

Southland

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Hello All,

I just joined this forum. I was looking for some info on Hydro Gear EZT transaxles.

I notice that this topic is not current, but about Hydro Gear transaxles.

I have a Troybuilt ZTM 50 " cut. When I bought this mower the left transaxle was never as strong as the
right one. I called Hydro Gear and was told if it worked it worked and that was it. I should have
insisted a new unit. Now with about 230 hours, the left unit quit pulling. I will try to repair
this unit if possible. A friend has called Hydro Gear about some differences in units and they just
give us get rid of this guy info. Call about the difference in a pair of transaxles and the guy said he
commented that one had a one inch shaft and the other had a 3/4 inch. Both had one inch. one had
the brake on opposite side. The web page states this can be move to the other side. We called and
asked about this and was told it was not advised. This is from Hydro Gear's service dept.

Personally I think the units are not well built and way to costly.

Hcube

The fan blades on the left EZT on my Troy-Bilt 50 inch zero turn were broken off. So I emailed Hydro-Gear on a Sunday night with the part number of the EZT and they send me back the part number for the fan on Monday. They also provide good quality service manuals on their web site. While I've never tried to call them, I view their service as good, really all I expect them to do. When I replaced the fan, I also drained the fluid from both EZTs and replaced it. I believe the EZTs are well made and perfect for their intended use for residential yards. After 320+ hours, the EZTs that I have are strong and perform very well. I have another mower with the ZT-3400s and they are great also.
 

slharman1

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Start with my son worked at Hydro-Gear and built the EZT and others. Yes they are built in a clean room. Here comes the bad part. They are shipped dry. The lawn mower manufacturer then adds oil to the unit. No clean room. They are mostly filled in a dirty manufacturing line. This is one of the reasons for EZT failures that I hear about on this and other forums. The other is they do not use the recommended oil to fill it with. John Deere is the worst of the offenders. They want to sell their oil and put it in instead. Hydro-Gear builds all their units with spects from Castrol 20w50 motor oil. If the manufacture uses that or at least 20w50 in a simi clean area then your EZT will last a long time. If not the failures will happen.

I love this forum We get to share all sorts of knowledge,

BlazNT
I know this is an old thread but I have a question about the Castrol 20w50 in the ZT-2200, do I want a synthetic or dino oil? any other spec to look for or if you could tell me what hydro gear would have used in my troy bilt 2014 that would be nice.
Thanks
 

BlazNT

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It is just Castrol 20w50 regular oil. You can waste your money on synthetic if want (I did) but it is not necessary. I also poured my oil through a very fine paint strainer.
 

slharman1

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It is just Castrol 20w50 regular oil. You can waste your money on synthetic if want (I did) but it is not necessary. I also poured my oil through a very fine paint strainer.

Thanks for the response - One more question.
What is your theory on "If it ain't broke don't fix it" when it comes to the ZT-2200. This is a used but new to me mower and the right RTN brackets were bent and bypassing the two stops on the trans, I have fixed that and everything seems to be operating fine. I will change the oil on the kohler, should I do an oil change on the ZT's as well or leave well enough alone.
Thanks
Steve
 
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