D140...tran problem...what to do?

I purchased a D140 JD riding mower 3 years ago, it has 82 hours on it and will no longer go up hills. When I bought it, I didn't know the questions I should ask and my local JD dealer didn't ask me anything to get the right fit for me. Now, I have an expensive lawn ornament. I have about 3-4 acres of lawn with about 1/3 of it having slopes of 15-30 degrees. If I had known this mower was not appropriate for my needs, I would not have bought it. I didn't know what I should have been asking. I replaced the traction drive belt and a damaged V idler pulley in case that was causing the lack of power on the slopes. It barely made a difference. I paid $2000 for it and it would appear that this is commonplace that I have the wrong mower for the wrong job. I've been told that the tranny is "sealed" but that some have been able to remove them to add a different weight oil to the unit. I think that may be beyond what I can handle doing. I bought it from a local JD dealer so that I would have access to a reliable source when I needed them. That may have been my first mistake...only as strong as the weakest link. I've heard replacing the tran will easily be in the ballpark of $1600, I can't get it to the dealer so would have to have it picked up...selling it, I'm sure, would not give me much more than pocket change. Any suggestions out there on what to do next? Or which mower to go with? Needless to say, I highly doubt that the next machine will be a JD.

hydrostatic boxes have a finite life due to the way they work.
For some unknown JD have them filled with an oil lighter than what the makers specify.
So the No 1 thing to do is to pull the tranny , drain the oil and replace it with 20w 50 fully synthetic.
Generally I don't see any problems with the box till around 500 hours, which is around the design life of the mower.
When you have it off check the pulley very carefully as some of them will rip the splines off when exposed to excessive loads.
Clean the box very carefully before you remove the filler / drain cap.
These things are made in surgically clean conditions. Dust in the oil will drastically reduce the service life.
Some times a simple oil change works wonders, other times it does not but at $ 50 ( aus ) + 3 hours, cheap enough to give it a try.

The problem is the oil required varies according to where you live, how you use the mower and the temperature you us it in.

I think JD specify light oil so the units run well as both a mower & snow thrower

Thanks, but I think removing the tranny is beyond what my skill level is, however, I may contact a local mower repair guy to see how much that might be. I do change my own oil and with my old Craftsman had done quite a few repairs on that throughout the years, but I think removing a transmission may be too much for me to tackle. I appreciate the reply though, thank you. With the slopes and hills that I have, it apparently has pushed the mower beyond what it was capable of doing.

When you changed the belt did you go with the John Deere belt or a off brand belt ?? It makes a HUGE difference since the JD belts have different angle/bevel on them.

Is the all the air bled out really well ?? That takes time also. I am thinking you only had 82 hours on it that it was put in a real bad bind on it or someone might have towed it with hydros not released. That is a HUGE problem right there......

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!

Boudreaux In Eunice La. said:

When you changed the belt did you go with the John Deere belt or a off brand belt ?? It makes a HUGE difference since the JD belts have different angle/bevel on them.

Is the all the air bled out really well ?? That takes time also. I am thinking you only had 82 hours on it that it was put in a real bad bind on it or someone might have towed it with hydros not released. That is a HUGE problem right there......

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!

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Yes, I went with OEM belt and V idler pulley. What air? Where would I be bleeding air out of? Yes, I think that the 10-30 degree slopes on about 1/2 of my 4 acres of grass, much of which can get quite long, definitely put too much strain on it. If you mow down, somehow you've got to get back up, so not much choice there.

It is not a difficult job to pull out the tranny.
It is held in with 2 bolts at the ends of each axel plus one more either side to stabilize the box ( stop it rotating ).
The brake lever has a split pin , when you replace with an R clip and the same for the forward reverse pedal.
The bypass lever has a clip.
Other than that thes might be a bracket with a switch ( reverse cut out ) and of course that #*!*# belt keeper behind the pulley

Once out there is a circlip on the pulley & fan then clean the box very well and remove the fill / drain cap by prying it up with an old chisel.
Tip the box upside down & leave it there for about 2 to 4 hours to drain.

The shop will charge you 3 to 4 hours.
The JD manual will cot you 1/2 of that.
The tranny manuals are available on line for free from the tranny makers.

Apart from that !#* belt keeper the only other hard bit is removing the plastic hub covers to get at the circlips to remove the wheels.
I find lifting the whole mower about 2' is about the ideal work height.
Mower on jack stands, jack under tranny.

bertsmobile1 said:

It is not a difficult job to pull out the tranny.
It is held in with 2 bolts at the ends of each axel plus one more either side to stabilize the box ( stop it rotating ).
The brake lever has a split pin , when you replace with an R clip and the same for the forward reverse pedal.
The bypass lever has a clip.
Other than that thes might be a bracket with a switch ( reverse cut out ) and of course that #*!*# belt keeper behind the pulley

Once out there is a circlip on the pulley & fan then clean the box very well and remove the fill / drain cap by prying it up with an old chisel.
Tip the box upside down & leave it there for about 2 to 4 hours to drain.

The shop will charge you 3 to 4 hours.
The JD manual will cot you 1/2 of that.
The tranny manuals are available on line for free from the tranny makers.

Apart from that !#* belt keeper the only other hard bit is removing the plastic hub covers to get at the circlips to remove the wheels.
I find lifting the whole mower about 2' is about the ideal work height.
Mower on jack stands, jack under tranny.

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Thanks for the vote of confidence that I can do it Bertsmobile! I already have the manual, which is one of he worst manuals I have ever had. I will go back and take a look at the mower again and the manual. I had also read that 5w30 or 5w50 could be used in "extreme conditions", you recommended 20w50...what is your reasoning for the weight oil that you recommended?

lindacms said:

Thanks for the vote of confidence that I can do it Bertsmobile! I already have the manual, which is one of he worst manuals I have ever had. I will go back and take a look at the mower again and the manual. I had also read that 5w30 or 5w50 could be used in "extreme conditions", you recommended 20w50...what is your reasoning for the weight oil that you recommended?

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My manual I was talking about the JD Technical manual, not the owners manual.
The JD technical manuals are excellent pieces of work, but not much about the internals of the tranny as they are not a JD part.

Tuff Torq & Hydrogear both use heavier oils either 10W 30 , 10W 40 or 20W 50.
Inside there is a lump of solid metal with pistons of some sort in it .
On one one side the pistons run against sloping plate on the other the cylinder block rotats against a stationary plate with holes for the oil to flow through.
You get wear between the rotatin & stationary bits, this makes grooves and the oil flows along the groove lines rather than through the pistons.

bertsmobile1 said:

My manual I was talking about the JD Technical manual, not the owners manual.
The JD technical manuals are excellent pieces of work, but not much about the internals of the tranny as they are not a JD part.

Tuff Torq & Hydrogear both use heavier oils either 10W 30 , 10W 40 or 20W 50.
Inside there is a lump of solid metal with pistons of some sort in it .
On one one side the pistons run against sloping plate on the other the cylinder block rotats against a stationary plate with holes for the oil to flow through.
You get wear between the rotatin & stationary bits, this makes grooves and the oil flows along the groove lines rather than through the pistons.

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Yes, I bought the technical manual when I did some work on the carburetor, but have not been impressed with the manual...at all. I've had several tech manuals in the past, this one is not one of the better ones in my opinion. So would you recommend going with the heaviest oil, the 20w50? I have alot of 10-30 degree slopes with thick grass. Air temps when mowing are generally always over 75F but not usually over 90F. Do you think the 20w50 would be sufficient?

lindacms said:

Yes, I bought the technical manual when I did some work on the carburetor, but have not been impressed with the manual...at all. I've had several tech manuals in the past, this one is not one of the better ones in my opinion. So would you recommend going with the heaviest oil, the 20w50? I have alot of 10-30 degree slopes with thick grass. Air temps when mowing are generally always over 75F but not usually over 90F. Do you think the 20w50 would be sufficient?

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Like the old cars of the past, as things wear you go to thicker oil to compensate for the wear.