Regent K46 Hydro died.

[melmarkmower]

The hydro on my regent has been getting weaker and weaker over time. Oil change 2 years ago. 500 hours on the machine and its in great shape except for the trans. I would like to keep it as a backup mower if I can. I know a new one is probably 900$ or maybe more. Any ideas on how I could get this one to work besides a new unit? Anyone know of a rebuild service? My local shop just wants to put a new one in. It gets weaker and it gets hotter to the point where it wont move on a tiny slope.

Mark

 

[melmarkmower]

When I changed the oil I used 5/50 mobil 1. I've read where a thicker oil like a 20/50 may get some more life.....would this be worth a try for just intermittent usage? Or just wasting my time?

 

[bertsmobile1]

yes go with the 20w50 fully synthetic
If I catch hydros early then a heavier oil most times gives a temporary reprieve from the scrap metal bin
Most hydros are rebuildable and there are service manuals availible from the transmission makers.
Apparently no one in the USA repairs them other than to fit a rebuild kit .
If you go with the rebuild kits remember they are made in dust free factories so everything has to be cleaned very well before you open it up, while it is open it must be covered with a damp cloth and assembled quickly away from any source of dust .

 

[melmarkmower]

yes go with the 20w50 fully synthetic
If I catch hydros early then a heavier oil most times gives a temporary reprieve from the scrap metal bin
Most hydros are rebuildable and there are service manuals availible from the transmission makers.
Apparently no one in the USA repairs them other than to fit a rebuild kit .
If you go with the rebuild kits remember they are made in dust free factories so everything has to be cleaned very well before you open it up, while it is open it must be covered with a damp cloth and assembled quickly away from any source of dust .

I ran downtown and picked up some 20/50 and just got done changing it, hard to tell now if it will make any difference since the oil is nice and cool. Likely I'll be getting it rebuilt or buying a used one, problem with used is you never know what you are going to get.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Remember the run the engine very slow when you purge the hydros

 

[vap0rtranz]

If oil swap doesn't work, the trans seal kit job isn't all that bad. I just did it on my K66. My Conquest would stop on tight turns -- it couldn't make the turns -- and I suspected the hydro pump in the trans was just getting starved. After the kit job, all is working again.

The seal kit includes the filter(s) not just seals / gaskets. Looking at exploded diagram of the K46 made for Simplicity, there's at least 1 filter. My filters were pretty clogged (K66 has 2 filters). And the magnet was full of metal sludge, so I cleaned that off too. Sealed the trans back together, put new 5W50 in both chambers, purged, and it now the tractor powers through tight turns. It is a weekend's worth of work. I dropped the trans from the rear completely to service. Simplicity doesn't make servicing these trans easy.

I get what bertsmobile1 is saying about a dust-free space being ideal but my garage is dang dusty and that didn't stop me

 

[bertsmobile1]

If oil swap doesn't work, the trans seal kit job isn't all that bad. I just did it on my K66. My Conquest would stop on tight turns -- it couldn't make the turns -- and I suspected the hydro pump in the trans was just getting starved. After the kit job, all is working again.

The seal kit includes the filter(s) not just seals / gaskets. Looking at exploded diagram of the K46 made for Simplicity, there's at least 1 filter. My filters were pretty clogged (K66 has 2 filters). And the magnet was full of metal sludge, so I cleaned that off too. Sealed the trans back together, put new 5W50 in both chambers, purged, and it now the tractor powers through tight turns. It is a weekend's worth of work. I dropped the trans from the rear completely to service. Simplicity doesn't make servicing these trans easy.

I get what bertsmobile1 is saying about a dust-free space being ideal but my garage is dang dusty and that didn't stop me

That is fine for you
All that can happen is the unit wears out faster than it should so in a couple of years time you need to do it again
For the owner , you just say "well they warned me " and decide if you want to do it again.
However if you paid me to fix it and 2 seasons latter it started to go bad again then you expect me to fix it again for free.
Down here we pay $ 600 to $ 900 for the drop in motor pump units + another $ 100 ( or more ) for the seals .
So for me it is worth the effort to do the job in the workshop shower recess with the walls damped down & the unit covered with a nap free damp towel while waiting for parts .
What urks me is all of the You Tube experts working on dirty transmissions is filthy work shops with parts laid out all over a dirty bench / floor then show a successful rebuild
They never come back on 6 months latter showing you that the unit failed again in a single season.

 

[vap0rtranz]

Well I'll have to report back here in 6mons time then I do watch a few Youtubers but didn't do the trans the way they did.

The bigger point is these trans aren't dead. I guess a pic of my old filter would speak louder than words. Changing to 20W50 must extend life. But man after seeing my old filters and magnet when I opened up the tranny -- no viscosity oil was going to get through the pump eventually without a new filter. So I'm just saying these Tuff Torqs aren't dead. What's happening is Tuff Torq, Simplicity, and dealers are all-in on planned obsolesce. When I called my local Simplicity dealer about the seal kit he finally said they wouldn't carry parts like that because the trans is meant to be replaced -- not serviced. And they make us pop the trans open just to change a filter?! They aren't making it easy to avoid the scrap yard. Again, planned obsolesce BS.

So I say screw 'em, DIY service it, dust or not.

 

[StarTech]

Which K46 does the OP have? Parts availability might be a problem.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Not so much a conspiracey as a cost cutting exercise
Honda are just about the dearest engines around because Honda has a massive warehouse full of parts that runs at a massive loss gobbleing up the profits from selling new engines .
Same story with John Deere
During the previous year I could buy B & S, Kohler & kawsaki parts from the local JD shop that none of the above warehouses could supply because JD being a real tractor company understands the importance of having the parts on hand when the customer needs them
All of the other mower companies are just assemblers trying to low ball each other everyyear because the buying public are lazy, dunb, cheap & stupid so who ever manages to get their mower on the shop floor for 50¢ less with get 20% more sales
So where ever possible they supply no parts at all for any complete assembly .
As for making units servicable, they costs more money so you get trannies that have to be removed to have the oil changed in the knowledge that the owners are too bone idle to read an owners manual let alone remove the entire tranny to change the oil .
Almost eery day there is some on posting here looking for cheaper filters, oil, spark plugs or blades as if saving $ 5.00 on a mower they paid $ 5,000 is some sort of fantastic win