Hydro faults

tew45

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I have a RZT 50 Troy bilt and after about 30 minutes of use the right hydro just quits and growls at me. I have to let it rest 30 minutes then take it to the house after it starts working again. I have heard from many people that is a common fault with the MTD made mowers. I have checked for loose components, dirt build up, and broken fans. My wife uses it and keeps it squeaky clean. It has 236 hours on it. I have heard others say that you are lucky if you get much more than 200 hours on a hydro. That makes the machine very expensive since the replacement cost is around $800.00 to $1,000 like buying a new machine every 200 hours. Has anyone found a reasonable repair for these parts?
 

Homer1

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I am guessing you have the EZT transmissions. Here is the link to Hydrogear for the 2200 series, most common. There is a service manual that might help you somehow.

200 hours sounds low to me personally, hopefully someone with more hours will chime in. Hopefully you don't need a complete replacement drive.
 

tew45

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I am guessing you have the EZT transmissions. Here is the link to Hydrogear for the 2200 series, most common. There is a service manual that might help you somehow.

200 hours sounds low to me personally, hopefully someone with more hours will chime in. Hopefully you don't need a complete replacement drive.

Thank you very much! That seems to be the one I need. I will purge the system first and do a complete tear down this winter if necessary. I will cut a hole in the mower base to be able to purge. I have some hole saws that will work well. I did not want to buy my wife a new mower.
 

BlazNT

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Change the drive belt.
The EZT are not wimpy hydro like some like to say. They will last at least 1000 hours. A person on the forum has a couple of machines with those drives with 1400 hours and not a single problem.
You can rebuild the drive for a round $200 if it does have a problem.
 

tew45

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I have decided the best course of action is to purge the right side as per directions in the manual. However the method is not clear while the drive is mounted in the mower. I think a hole in the mower frame base is the way to go but before I do that I would like to know if anyone has a different method.
 

BlazNT

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Purging a hydro is:
1. Jack up rear tires.
2. Move lever to free wheel
3. Get on the mower and start it. Put throttle to full
4. Push levers forward for 10 sec then reverse for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
5. Move lever back to engage the drive wheels
6. Repeat step number 4.
7. Turn off the mower and return rear wheels to ground and test drives.
 

tew45

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I have purged as per instructions two times and think I have helped it some. I think it is time to change belts. I have been mowing with it for 30 to45 minutes and it has to have a cool down time to run. My wife uses this mower so it is difficult to get exact symptoms but I think I may have it now. She said it runs fairly well on level ground but when she gets to a small incline it starts to shudder. I think a belt might solve the problem if not it may have a small leak in that hydro. (no evidence of a leak yet for she keeps it very clean. Do you have any other thoughts now. It has nearly 350 hours on it as of today!
 

dfbroxy

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Try the belt first and while the belt is off see if the pully has wabble in it. If that doesnt work, change oil in transaxle. But if all else fails, they are rebuildable even if you have to go to transaxle manufacture for parts. watch google vidios on rebuild
 

tew45

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I haven't replaced the belt yet due to a serious knee sprain. I need to know what generic belt will fit on the hydro's. Sorry I haven't looked very much myself but my injury has been holding me down due to pain medication. The inclination is just not there. It is a ZTR50 mustang. The heat related problem is still there.
 
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