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It is My Son's mower. Dixon 4516K. (ZTR) I think he said it was a late 90's. (if a better number is needed tell me where to find it, Thx) Trying to get some info for him. The (Hydro gear?) transaxle was moving a little slow, and would get worse when warm. He changed fluids in both and now the bad one is worse. OK...

I seen in the posts that is is common to have a loose belt or a stripped key or spline shaft. Will look into that...

There is an OLD post that has links to the info I could use... They are obsolete links... Ugh... Does anyone have the purge info??

Do the Hydro Gear transaxles have a filter?? Or do I need a series number and where do I find it??

BTW is there a drain plug for the transaxle?? Or how do you drain it?? I gave him my big vac pump and he pulled the oil from the top.

Thanks for the help.

mechanic mark said:

http://www.dixon-ztr.com/ddoc/DIXO/DIXO2010_USen/DIXO2010_USen__115389927.pdf every 200 hours, see pages 46 & 47, follow steps & purge air from system, be sure to use Dixon OEM filter & specified oil.

Hydro-Gear - Single Axle Transaxles - ZT-3100 your transmission

Dixon Ultra 52 - Zero Turn Mowers see specifications



Hydro-Gear - Learning Center click on purge procedure

Click to expand...

Look at these sites for information.
I posted above just for information.

mechanic mark said:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Dixon+ZTR+4516K+SERVICE+manual&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN8oXPkM_xAhWPm2oFHQL3CIYQ1QJ6BAgQEAE&biw=1366&bih=657

Look at these sites for information.

Click to expand...

Why do all those places look like scam sites and want you to join?? The manuals.lib page are they any good?? They always seemed like a scam so I stayed away from them.

So far the first half dozen I tried all say service manual, but are the owners manual. About all the in depth they go is to show you how to change the oil.

I found one for a hydro gear 4515. Kind of close but maybe it will work.

Why is every one terrified to contact the manufacturers ?
So start with Hydrogear
Drop them an email & usually they will either send you just the information , a link to the PDF file or the file itself if it is small enough to attach to an email

bertsmobile1 said:

Why is every one terrified to contact the manufacturers ?
So start with Hydrogear
Drop them an email & usually they will either send you just the information , a link to the PDF file or the file itself if it is small enough to attach to an email

Click to expand...

Dixon seems defunct. Looks like Husqvarna bought them out, and they zapped the links. I can try HG. Last time I tried contacting a mfgr. It has been 3 months and still waiting for a reply.

I will see if my son can locate the HG part numbers. He lives a couple towns away. Worth a try.

in the top right corner of the green navigation bar is a magnifying glass
Click on it and type HYDRO GEAR MANUALS in the search box
Just today there were 3 posts with links to their service page

bertsmobile1 said:

in the top right corner of the green navigation bar is a magnifying glass
Click on it and type HYDRO GEAR MANUALS in the search box
Just today there were 3 posts with links to their service page

Click to expand...

Great, Thanks I was just searching the Husqvarna/Dixon forum. I did not know how common the HG transmissions were. More reading...

I did get a reply back from Hydro-Gear. They emailed me the service manual. It looks like the manual is for a 310-2400L or a 310-2600L, but it matches my 5751 312-2400L. I will try to upload it to help out anyone else. Ugh, it is a 4.91MB PDF and won't upload. Unless there is another way to upload it. They also replied that it sounds like the pump or motor is worn out.

Well I found out it is not the motor. The filters are trashed. I guess they have a problem with water getting in the oil over time. The oil does not get hot enough to vaporize it. Then the oil turns to a light brown slime and plugs up the filter/s. I have taken some pictures and will post them when I get a chance.

For the ones looking for info in the future, I will post some info. To drain the fluid and access the filter on the 2400L (5751) you have to drop the pan. There is no drain plug. There are 10 bolts. Even though the transaxles are the same, they had different bolts. The left had 3/8" heads and the right side had inverted torx, socket size E8. Be careful removing the bolts. even with little pressure I broke 2 on the left side. One came out with Vise grips and the other had to be drilled and used an easy out. I still had to use a propane torch to heat the casting to get that one to release. The holes are open and probably hold water from the top. Causing a corrosion. I had trouble with the same front ones on the right unit. I did not snap those 2 but had to give them a few minutes with the torch to get them to loosen.



Even with vacuuming out through the top and refilling, the fluid was trashed. For this trans Hydro-Gear recommended 20-50 synthetic oil.

This is what the transaxle looks like with the pan removed. The filter is completely covered in a slimy sludge. In the center it looks like a bolt, but it is a magnet.


I would recommend leaving the filter in place and washing it off with carb cleaner. It will take a few cans. The sludge is thick. The filter is a press fit and when I pried it off I crushed it. Maybe twist it, but still may trash it. If you were to take it off you probably will need to replace it. I did not worry about mine since I already bought one for each side. They are pricey. If you can find them, they are at least $40 each. This is the transaxle with out the filter, showing where the filter gets pressed on. BTW the new filter can be very carefully tapped in place. There is not a gasket on the pan. Clean the sealant off the pan and housing. Then apply a very light film of gasket sealant. I like the ultra grey. (BTW blade drive belt is trashed!!)

This is the showing the old and new filter.


I started to clean one of the old filters. You can with a few cans of spray. The stuff is thick and slimy. If you can clean them it will only cost you oil, carb cleaner and your time. I tried with one of the old ones. Hope this helps someone.

Another couple FYIs. You should fill the trans about 1-1/2 from the top of the fill hole.

I am pretty sure the fitting on top of the transmission is a 6AN ORB. I ordered 2 new ones with a barbed fitting to replace the broken plastic ones.

To purge the transaxles, raise the rear wheels off the ground. Put the transaxles in bypass. With engine running slow, move the arms back and forth 5-6 times slowly. Then put the transaxles in drive (non bypass) and move the handles back and forth slowly another 5 or 6 times. Check fill level again after.

You are now in real trouble as that case is filthy on the outside
These transmissions are assembled in clean rooms because dust you can not see will wreck them in no time flat
Your chances of getting it back together without contamination is about the same as winning every state lottery twice .
FWIW before I touch a case screw, trannies get blown clean, degreased, pressure washed , soda blasted, low pressure washed & blown dry .

bertsmobile1 said:

You are now in real trouble as that case is filthy on the outside
These transmissions are assembled in clean rooms because dust you can not see will wreck them in no time flat
Your chances of getting it back together without contamination is about the same as winning every state lottery twice .
FWIW before I touch a case screw, trannies get blown clean, degreased, pressure washed , soda blasted, low pressure washed & blown dry .

Click to expand...

Thanks for your helpful ideas. Any life I get out of it is more than it had the way it was. Since the transmissions are not available, it was worth fixing it.

Look at the holes for bolting the transmission to the mower,
Note there are two sets, a narrow set for lawn tractors & a wide set for garden tractors .
Start to make you think ?
Much like engines, the mounting points are just about universal so they are all interchangeable to some extent .
It is just a matter of modifing the controls on your mower to suit the transmission.
The only thing you can really not do is fit a RER to a tractor because it might run backwards.
I have done a couple of incompatiable transplants by replacing most of the complex controls with gear change cables from manual gear boxes scrounged from the fleet of old delivery vans.
Every box is just about the same
A short lever that moves the swash plate to change directions & speed plus another lever to work the brake & a bypass valve
Most input shafts are the same size although some are splined while others are keyed bit it is not all that difficult if you sit down & work out what has to move which way & how far
And funny enough most drive pulleys are almost the same diameter .

Easy for techs because we pull these things apart on a daily basis so don't get hung up on what is right for my mower .
It is only a mower not a rocket ship , formula 1 race car or any other high stressed high precision machine.