CraftsmanFlaws
Member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2016
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 38
This is an unusual situation, but interesting.
I first posted here back in Sept. 2016 after I first got this tractor, about a trans whine. I had a Sear tech come out who didn't hear the whine or even drive it, just sprinting along side me as I drove slow maybe a 100 ft. This guy had been a good tech, but did a rush job, & didn't really test it out as he should have. He probably didn't hear the whine because the Briggs is a noisy engine & drowns it out. I usually put foam ear plugs in, & then you can easily hear it, though it is more on the mild side.
When I posted here in 2016, I had just gotten the tractor; hadn't really used it, other than to drive it up & down the yard a couple of times to make sure it operated fine. What I didn't post, was that briefly after, before I needed to cut the lawn, was that a relative who had the same tractor, needed some serious surgery, so he & his wife decided to sell their house & move into an apt. doubting he would have a full recovery & be able to maintain the property.
He asked if I had room to store it in my garage. I had to make room, & was able to park both tractors there.
He knew I had just gotten this tractor as a warranty replacement, & told me, "Use our tractor to cut your grass. Don't put any mileage or wear on your new one, until we know if we'll need it, or sell it."
NICE, I thought. I started my new baby up every few months, put Sta-Bil 360 in it, charged the battery regularly. Couple of months before my Protection Agreement was to run out in in Nov. 2018, I noticed the deck was not level, and on my periodic starting & running it in the garage, I was getting clouds of white smoke. I reminded myself of that slight whine in the Hydro.
I had a Sears tech come out. I stupidly ran the engine before he arrived, so the smoke didn't occur when he was here. He adjusted the deck, listened to the motor, proclaimed it fine, without even driving it at all, and quickly left. Not the best of techs.
Then, maybe a week later, I carefully looked at the deck from the front. It was still lower on one side, so I decided to measure the blade distances from the floor, and found them off. The guy didn't even level it correctly.
Sears A&E played some games with me; which I found that the repair manager was cancelling every appointment I'd make, & with no notification. I was really angered, & it took me almost 2 months to get Corporate people to stop this A&E jerk from cancelling appointments.
So, I finally get a tech out here. This guy was very friendly & seemed quite knowledgeable. He saw the smoke, but blamed it on the cold early Dec. temps, and said the motor was fine. He asked me if I had Fuel stabilizer in it, and at what proportion, and stated the fuel should be fine and shouldn't have gummed anything up.
He took it for a very brief drive, but couldn't hear the whine in the trans. However, as there had been precipitation or snow, he only drove it a short distance down my driveway, and, without ear plugs, the whine is barely noticeable, masked by the engine noise, so he heard nothing.
Moving forward from that Dec. tech visit to the beginning of May, I started it occasionally, but even when the weather finally warmed up, I was still having white smoke, even with temps in the 50's. The warranty is over, so I'm out of luck.
Beginning of May, I do my first mow ever. On start, it blew plenty of white smoke, & runs a bit rough, pulsing up & down, then finally smoothing out. I then cut the grass the 2nd time 1-1/2 weeks later (3 days ago). Same thing. Smoke on start up.
Now, 3 days later, I decided to try a trans purge. I start it up, and no smoke. I then performed the trans purge outlined in the manual, thinking that might help. As the grass was very wet from a lot of rain, I didn't want to run it through the yard, so just ran it up & down my long driveway & the paved road in forward and reverse. Even after the purge, I still hear the whine through my ear plugs. But now it seems not to vary with engine speed as it formerly did, which I find quite strange.
I purged it at half-throttle speed (per Sears), though I later found Hydro-Gear instructions are at full-throttle. I doubt this would make any difference.
____________________________________________________________
I then did some web research, and found on a Sears "Shop Your Way" forum, someone asked about a whine in the Hydro, and an answer from a SEARS moderator is that a whine is 'normal'. Here's the quote:
"Yes, a hydrostatic transmission is usually going to have a degree of whining noise as it's being used. In many cases it will quiet down some with some use, but they will always make some type of noise. All the hydro transmission is is a hydraulic pump that moves fluid (oil) anytime you release the clutch/brake. When you move the stick (or pedal) to move the tractor you are then directing the fluid within the transmission and it pass through a certain path in order to make the wheels turn.
Essentially as long as the tractor is moving fine, I would say the noise is normal and it should be fine.
Thank you for using Manage My Life!
by manage my life august 8th, 2011"
I don't believe that, because my relative's tractor, and my prior tractor, all with the same trans, did not have any whine whatsoever. Unless there is variance from trans to trans....
I'm rather upset, because I don't have any warranty, and I don't know if there is a problem with the trans or the motor smoking. The Sta-Bil in the gas should have preserved the fuel just fine. I believe in the 2-1/2 years of no use, I had a low level of gas, and added some with more Sta-Bil in the spring.
I'd really appreciate opinions on all this from some knowledgeable mechanic-type guys.
I first posted here back in Sept. 2016 after I first got this tractor, about a trans whine. I had a Sear tech come out who didn't hear the whine or even drive it, just sprinting along side me as I drove slow maybe a 100 ft. This guy had been a good tech, but did a rush job, & didn't really test it out as he should have. He probably didn't hear the whine because the Briggs is a noisy engine & drowns it out. I usually put foam ear plugs in, & then you can easily hear it, though it is more on the mild side.
When I posted here in 2016, I had just gotten the tractor; hadn't really used it, other than to drive it up & down the yard a couple of times to make sure it operated fine. What I didn't post, was that briefly after, before I needed to cut the lawn, was that a relative who had the same tractor, needed some serious surgery, so he & his wife decided to sell their house & move into an apt. doubting he would have a full recovery & be able to maintain the property.
He asked if I had room to store it in my garage. I had to make room, & was able to park both tractors there.
He knew I had just gotten this tractor as a warranty replacement, & told me, "Use our tractor to cut your grass. Don't put any mileage or wear on your new one, until we know if we'll need it, or sell it."
NICE, I thought. I started my new baby up every few months, put Sta-Bil 360 in it, charged the battery regularly. Couple of months before my Protection Agreement was to run out in in Nov. 2018, I noticed the deck was not level, and on my periodic starting & running it in the garage, I was getting clouds of white smoke. I reminded myself of that slight whine in the Hydro.
I had a Sears tech come out. I stupidly ran the engine before he arrived, so the smoke didn't occur when he was here. He adjusted the deck, listened to the motor, proclaimed it fine, without even driving it at all, and quickly left. Not the best of techs.
Then, maybe a week later, I carefully looked at the deck from the front. It was still lower on one side, so I decided to measure the blade distances from the floor, and found them off. The guy didn't even level it correctly.
Sears A&E played some games with me; which I found that the repair manager was cancelling every appointment I'd make, & with no notification. I was really angered, & it took me almost 2 months to get Corporate people to stop this A&E jerk from cancelling appointments.
So, I finally get a tech out here. This guy was very friendly & seemed quite knowledgeable. He saw the smoke, but blamed it on the cold early Dec. temps, and said the motor was fine. He asked me if I had Fuel stabilizer in it, and at what proportion, and stated the fuel should be fine and shouldn't have gummed anything up.
He took it for a very brief drive, but couldn't hear the whine in the trans. However, as there had been precipitation or snow, he only drove it a short distance down my driveway, and, without ear plugs, the whine is barely noticeable, masked by the engine noise, so he heard nothing.
Moving forward from that Dec. tech visit to the beginning of May, I started it occasionally, but even when the weather finally warmed up, I was still having white smoke, even with temps in the 50's. The warranty is over, so I'm out of luck.
Beginning of May, I do my first mow ever. On start, it blew plenty of white smoke, & runs a bit rough, pulsing up & down, then finally smoothing out. I then cut the grass the 2nd time 1-1/2 weeks later (3 days ago). Same thing. Smoke on start up.
Now, 3 days later, I decided to try a trans purge. I start it up, and no smoke. I then performed the trans purge outlined in the manual, thinking that might help. As the grass was very wet from a lot of rain, I didn't want to run it through the yard, so just ran it up & down my long driveway & the paved road in forward and reverse. Even after the purge, I still hear the whine through my ear plugs. But now it seems not to vary with engine speed as it formerly did, which I find quite strange.
I purged it at half-throttle speed (per Sears), though I later found Hydro-Gear instructions are at full-throttle. I doubt this would make any difference.
____________________________________________________________
I then did some web research, and found on a Sears "Shop Your Way" forum, someone asked about a whine in the Hydro, and an answer from a SEARS moderator is that a whine is 'normal'. Here's the quote:
"Yes, a hydrostatic transmission is usually going to have a degree of whining noise as it's being used. In many cases it will quiet down some with some use, but they will always make some type of noise. All the hydro transmission is is a hydraulic pump that moves fluid (oil) anytime you release the clutch/brake. When you move the stick (or pedal) to move the tractor you are then directing the fluid within the transmission and it pass through a certain path in order to make the wheels turn.
Essentially as long as the tractor is moving fine, I would say the noise is normal and it should be fine.
Thank you for using Manage My Life!
by manage my life august 8th, 2011"
I don't believe that, because my relative's tractor, and my prior tractor, all with the same trans, did not have any whine whatsoever. Unless there is variance from trans to trans....
I'm rather upset, because I don't have any warranty, and I don't know if there is a problem with the trans or the motor smoking. The Sta-Bil in the gas should have preserved the fuel just fine. I believe in the 2-1/2 years of no use, I had a low level of gas, and added some with more Sta-Bil in the spring.
I'd really appreciate opinions on all this from some knowledgeable mechanic-type guys.
but it IS a shame, they decided to go that route.