Hydrostat Testing

When contemplating the purchase of a pre-owned lawn/garden tractor, is there a recommended procedure for checking the condition of the hydrostat transmission to avoid discovering later it won't traverse a 20° incline after reaching operating temperature?

Without hooking up pressure gages (rather unhandy) the only way I know for sure is run it as much as you can to bring the temp up and try ...


Not a very solid way but hydro-stats on smaller equipment tends to either work or not work properly...
I think it would be rare to find one almost to the point of failing without it giving some operational hiccups first... but even the most remote possibility can come up...

Same with a clutch drive system, although those are not very common anymore on lawn equipment... :smile:KennyV