When I pulled the input shaft on myK51A, the pump shifted. I knocked the bearings off the old shaft and used it as an alignment tool to rock everything around until it was centered again and the old shaft dropped in place. I then inserted the replacement with bearing, rotating the shaft to align the splines. It dropped into place.

You are a life saver! John deere told me I have to buy a while new transmission cause they didn't sell just the shaft . Thank you!

Thanks so much for the video and information. I have a 15 year old Sabre that I have kept like new with all the service and repair. I have had no trouble with the transmission so far as John Deere says "the transmission is not seriveable or repairable". What a surprise I had when I discovered that Tuff Torq does indeed recommend changing the oil in this trans axle. Now I'm watching all the vids I can find on service and repair of this unit. I beleive in preventive maintenance so I don't have to do major repairs. But even what you did looks easy now. Thank you again. Lisa

Thanks for this video. Best source of info on replacing pump shaft and pulley. Kudos

You are the man. This is exactly what was wrong with my tractor.

Tip- If you can, pick up the front end until the mower is vertical, and tie a rope or chain around the front axle and secure it to a rafter, large tree limb, or anything to keep it upright. Removing the drive belt and that bastard spring from underneath it is almost impossible. The spring is the biggest headache of the job. I use a shovel handle with a wire loop attached to the end, and I put the wire loop around the bottom hook of the spring, and with the other end of the shovel handle on the ground, I sit on the shovel handle to stretch the spring down. ALSO, Tuff Torq sent thousands of these transmissions to John Deere with no oil. John Deere put 2.25 oz. of 10w30 in them. Tuff Torq recommends 5w50. When this thinner oil got hot, or got old, it would seep around the pistons in the pump, causing a lack of power. John Deere's warranty did not cover the transmission, and they lost a lot of customers. The good news is, if your hydrostatic transmission loses power going up hills, changing the oil to 5w50 will fix it 99.9% of the time. That is, if your pully or input shaft isn't stripped.

Thank you for this video. I had exactly this problem, and in one afternoon I was back to mowing.

I did this thanks to your video I did this - credit to YOU Scatpack68!! I got the part off Amazon and this was my review: his isn't difficult, just takes some time! -- Before you remove the old input shaft, dump the old oil...I found out Tuff Torq now recommends a 5W-50 oil. I couldn't find that viscosity so used Mobil 15W-50. The Tuff Torq site has instructions on how to purge the air out of the unit after all is done.....fairly easy too. In all from start to finish about a 3 hour job.....and this is from someone who never took a transaxle out of a rider! In a nutshell....remove the cutting deck. Take a picture of the drive belt routing (you'll thank me for this!), with a ratchet/socket release the tension off the idler pully and slip the belt off of the back pully on the transaxle (my belt was fairly new, I put it on last year so I did not have to replace). I put the back hitch of the mower on a Rhino Ramp/w some wood blocking to get the rear wheels off the ground and chocked the front tires. Remove the rear tires, remove the brake linkage (cotter pin) on the left side, remove the F-N-R lever on the right side. The free wheeling lever that sticks out the back can be removed too, I found this made it a lot easier, it is held on by a small friction cone ring, I removed with needle nose plies but don't bugger it up so you can reuse it! Now it is easy, 6 bolts and out it comes! the rear bolts on one side are a little longer than the other side...I figured this out when putting the transaxle back on! Clean the transaxle up, I used a pressure washer but didn't get to crazy with it. Let it dry. Now you need a good set of Circlip pliers. Remove the fan/pully and spacers. take note on the order they go on. Remove the oil plug (Big Plug) and turn it upside down over a 5-gal bucket to drain the old oil, replace plug after so debris doesn't get in the transaxle. Remove the rubber seal on the input shaft, remove large C-clip, I put a pair of Vice grips on the shaft and tapped upward with a hammer. Didn't need too much force. Insert the spring (takes a little fiddling) and put the new shaft on. I used a 8" long piece of pipe, put a piece of wood over it and tapped the bearing down. Filled up with Mobil 5W-50 to about an inch below the opening, reinstalled the filter (cleaned with solvent), put in big spring and put the cap on. Installed back on tractor. Purged unit (instructions on purging is available on the Tuff Torq website)....IT WORKS LIKE NEW!!!! If I can do it, YOU can do it!!!!!

Great video. One word of caution: as noted below, once the shaft is removed do NOT attempt to move the unit or any of the internals as the pump assembly will easily slip out of alignment. Once out of alignment, dropping the new shaft into place is impossible without tearing into the unit and realigning. Ask me how I know ......

I just got a free Scotts 1642H that is showing this same issue, now I know what needs to be done to send this one back out to work. It'll be verified tomorrow. 👍 The guy that gave it to me was quoted around $1000 to get it repaired.

Fantastic video. Thanks so much for posting this. It was very helpful. Well documented and made it look easy enough for me to to the job myself

This video helped me a lot. You forgot to put the new seal on in the video but that was easy to catch. My mower is working great again. Thanks!

Thank you so much for this video. It was a life savor. I had the same symptoms and the problem was as you describe. All repaired and for under $100.

Thanks for the video, I am having problems taking out the old shaft

Thank you for this video! It's a big help in resolving the same issue I'm having with my Scotts 1642 w/ K51 transaxle. Again, many thanks from a fellow Mopar guy. :)

Thanks scatpack68 for the reply I also want to add to anyone having a super tight fitting shaft like mine. I sprayed penetrating oil around the bearing in the hole( a little ) then took vise grips and clamped tightly around the shaft. I then hit upward on the vise grips to loosen the shaft In fact I had to knock mine completely out of the hole using this method

Great video.

Thank you for the video, much needed.

I just completed doing the input shaft repair,your video and info was most helpful.The mower moves like a new one and should last for a few more years now.While I had it out I went ahead and dumped out all the old trans fluid (id plate showed a 1999 build date) and put in 2 qts of synthetic 10-30 oil.One part I needed was not in the shaft kit or mentioned is the top spacer that goes on top of the pulley, mine was worn out with most of the splines gone-JD part #M127620.

She was the one holding the camera, so it's all good. Since I built and installed the entire kitchen 4 years ago, I'm usually the one who is always checking for the slightest scratch.

I got the shaft removed and went to put the new one in and outside part of the bearing is still in. Does anyone know how to remove it?

Thank you so much for the Video, befor i think i have to open the gearbox but no needed ;) Nice! Regards from Germany Stephan

How do you check change or add fluid to the hydrostatic transmission.

thanks! Hope it helps others save a few bucks.

Well I'll be canned who would had thought those splines stripped well I guess you caught it right off tganks for the tip

Can you (or any experienced installer) please share the tips for removing the old rubber seal from the old shaft? I am having trouble getting it out. Thank you for the great video!

LOL, good info in the vid

Good video, I had the same problem, but I tig welded the pullet right around the shaft !! LOL !

First time rebuilting a transmission axle. I just replaced the spiders and the fan pulley. Is there a way to test the transaxle for problems before throwing it under the tractor?

Thanks for the video. My Scotts S1642 is having trouble going up a hill now. is what you're showing in the video what I have to do to address this problem?

Seem to be having trouble finding the tuff torq rebuild kit you illustrate. Any reference numbers, approximate cost information etc ?

Hi, i just replaced both belts check pulley no major concerns ! It would drive Make a screaming noise then stop and wont move ! Is this the fix to my problem ? And how can i test the input shaft thanks

how much oil did you have to put in it? do you just fill it up?? I cant find the answer anywhere!

I don't think that spring is to push up on the shaft I think it's to push down on the pump to reduce oil bypass between the pump and center case.

Hey bud my k51 didn't have the spring in the shaft hole Should I use the spring in the kit?

I'm on my 3rd pulley on my Scott 1642. Time or a new shaft too! Part numbers would be huge help here. I'm told this design is not fit to tow any heavy equipment like my log splitter or a cart full of a heavy load. I am not looking forward to this fix but have the unit off so I can also replace the shaft this time.

So did you drop that spring down in before installing the shaft or is there already one down there? Mine is a 99 Scott 1642 tractor.

Nice work and thanks for sharing!!! BTW, your wife lets you do tractor repair on the stovetop? Lucky man!

Is there supposed to be a retainer to keep the pulley on or does it just float up and down on the shaft?

Okay, so I ordered the parts. took out the old input shaft and ...... something moved inside the transmission and I cannot get the new shaft in...... it looks like something with two brass colored plungers. any recommendations before I tear the whole trans apart?

What is the part number from tuff torque

Wait.... what do u mean u made the mistake of saying k51 ABC? Is it not for them? I have the k51A. Will it work?

the wife doesn't mind you doing this in the kitchen?

Hello: How much did these parts cost, I have a Scotts mower and that is probably what is wrong with it, is it worth the expense and labor !!!!! Thanks for the Video, nice job !!!

Can someone tell me what the symptoms were?

The hardest part of this repair is getting the damn drive belt off. There's no easy way to release the tension. I ended up having to take one off two of the idler pulleys to get the belt off. Not sure how it's going to be getting it back on...

Use thicker fully synthetic oil! Mobile 1 15w50 is best.

You forgot to put the seal back in.

First time rebuilting a transmission axle. I just replaced the spiders and the fan pulley. Is there a way to test the transaxle for problems before throwing it under the tractor?