Hmmm, if I recall, I actually ordered all the parts individually from various sites. Not sure I ordered anything at all from Hydrogear. I think the only thing I used from Hydrogear were some schematics of the transax which were downloadable from their website. Mostly ordered parts from Cub Cadet and PartsTree, maybe some from Amazon. That was like five years ago and some have commented since then that they can’t seem to find the center section available anymore. I think some of the parts came as a “kit” I.e. rubber gaskets, but most were ordered individually. I don’t recall there being an all inclusive kit that would have everything you need.

Didn’t consider drilling a drain hole. I’d think it would introduce additional potential for something to fail/go wrong. Had considered drilling a hole in the frame of mower just above the fill plug to make it easier to fill. You could probably use a siphon to remove the oil. I do recall there being a plastic filter with some mesh-like material. I believe it is mounted near the axel area but don’t recall exactly. I’d like to think the company that designed and manufactures these units didn’t put a drain plug at the bottom of the casing for a reason other than to just make draining the oil more difficult for the customer.

No business would ever design something not to last so they can squeeze additional cash out of customers………..<--- number of dots denotes level of sarcasm. All of your rant plus it’s not as if this is like replacing some AA batteries in a flashlight. It’s a fairly long and detailed process to rebuild and things can go wrong at any step. Not to mention, if you ever need to top off the oil in the transax the poor design at least on my model puts the fill cap right below an area that tends to get caked with dirt and grit and you have to be extremely diligent at cleaning that area above it before refilling otherwise you’ve just ruined your trans if grit gets inside.

The only issue I’ve had is that the liquid gasket that seals the two halves of the casing together sprung a leak after about three years. It seems to come and go. Obviously, this can cause another failure, but I’m not interested in taking it a part, removing the old seal and replacing so I just added some liquid gasket to the outside of the casing which I know isn’t the proper way nor a very effective fix, and I check the fluid level from time to time.

@silentknightsaga2415 I would do rhe same. Thanks

Thanks, I too am “just a hack” who fixes…well more like attempts to fix just about anything…other than when it involves 120-240 volts.

Not sure if you’re talking about how long it took to do the repair or how long the repair lasted. The repair itself took about two days, in part because you have to let the liquid gasket dry for like 24+ hours before remounting the to the axle. With respect to how long the repair lasted, currently it has been over four years and still working. That said, two things to mention, 1) first time I did the repair, it lasted a couple months then failed because I apparently didn’t keep the inside of the unit completely particle-free/didn’t remove all particles before resealing. It’s critical to do so. When I opened it back up after it failed, there were scratches on the surface of the center section which is what causes it to fail in the first place and those scratches are caused by particles inside the unit. The liquid gasket also began to leak within those three months. Second thing, about three years after the second repair was successful, the liquid seal began to leak. The only way to truly fix that is to remove the unit, open it back up, remove the gasket, and reseal. I didn’t want to go through that, so I just put some more gasket liquid in he seam where it was leaking. Stopped the leak for a couple months, now it seems to leak a bit every now and then.

It wasn’t all the way to the top of the fill hole. It was probably around 3/4 to 4/5ths full. I’d assume if you filled it all the way up it may eventually drain down to the level of the drain hole. That said, it might be possible to create too much pressure inside the unit if it’s overfilled with oil which may harm your seals, etc. Yes, you can add the oil into the fill hole. I used a small hand pump siphon. However, you have to be diligent in ensuring you clean any dirt from on and above the hole, any dirt you may knock loose when putting oil into the unit once it’s been remounted, otherwise, you’ll ruin all your hard work.

I’m no lawnmower expert by any means, I just did a bunch of research on the transax repair and did the video. That being said, from time to time, my mower has the same issue you describe. If it’s not making the cranking sound when you try to start, then it’s unlikely an issue with the choke. Sometimes choke will stay in the open position, but it does make the cranking sound, so I just manually close the choke lever on the engine and it starts. This sounds like possibly one of three issues, all of which I experience from time to time, though your mower may not have the same functions as mine. Assuming the battery is good, either positive or negative terminal wire to battery could be a little loose though this is probably the least likely cause given that it continues to run once you have it started. 2. The sensor on your seat could be glitchy. Maybe try shifting your weight around a bit etc. 3. An issue somewhere with the parking break to the engine. Try engaging and disengaging the parking break a few times. Other than those three options, not sure what else it could be.

Well…have fun with that…it’s a process…can be fun if you like he feeling of frustration and solving problems. A couple important things to lower the chances of disappointment - imperative to keep any dirt, dust particles out of the unit as that’s what caused the failure of the trans in the first place. Some will likely fall in as you remove he old gasket rubber so use a vacuum to help keep particles out or whatever works for you. Also, make sure you use a generous amount of the liquid gasket when resealing. Mine sprung a leak a few months ago also I Potok the trans off again and put some liquid gasket on the outside seam. Not ideal but I had no interest in taking it apart again to redo the entire gasket.

@@silentknightsaga2415 I did it!!!! It was a stuck parking brake. YES!

Any update Jason? I'm also a machinist and having exact symptoms. Wondering if it's thermal expansion of the cases that cause excessive bypass at half hour, or is the old oil thinning to much?

@lukemurphy9224 Well I tried changing the oil first. I used Valvoline 2050 VR 1. And wound up with the same problem. Not sure if it's because the oil is not for transaxles. I am gonna try amsoil transaxle oil before i rip it apart. I think the pump is just getting weak. The oil i originally changed out was shot shot. Almost water like. So im hoping that it is an oil issue. ...if not...well then i take a self taught class in rebuilding hydrostats....haha

@@jasonruch3529 Sorry, but I would be very surprised if you find any marked difference with specific hydrostatic fluids. My (and most Bobcat branded) skid steer loaders specify to use a multigrade 15W40 engine oil for the mixed use in hydraulic and hydrostatic drive systems. Looks like you may need to do the same as me and get internal :( I have 2 lots of transmissions to play with now as well, as I picked up a cheap 'spare unit' from parts mower and direct swapped only to find it seems to have the same issue. Both right hand sides. I was wondering if the angle of wrap of the belt being less on this side is a contributing factor or just the way people turn the machine with chute direction etc. I'm from down under.

Not sure, seems like the right side would be more susceptible given most people cut the grass with the deck shoot facing outward which means the right side transax gets used more frequently than the left in terms of pushing forward. That said, maybe the type of use with the left side is the issue as that one gets pulled back more than pushed forward. Not sure. Just make sure you are diligent about keeping the case inside completely free of any particles as you’re working on it.

Probably around 800 hours, about 2.5 acres and one very long steep embankment that goes from 0 degrees to about 45 degrees in only 8ft from base to top…so kind of a hill.

@@silentknightsaga2415 okay thanks so much just trying to gauge longevity of the transaxle. Appreciate the quick response.

It’s possible you’re over filling and the fill hose may double as a purge/overflow hose. My purge hose isn’t part of the fill hole, it’s toward the bottom of one of the sides.

And I used high quality oil, and new seals, new center piece, one new pump, sanded down the other one and cleaned the trans from debris. I’m very sad and really don’t want to have to buy a brand new trans😢

@@liamreynolds5820 blah…tough to say. Could be any number of things given all the moving parts. Potentially something as “simple” as the linkage arm or mech not engaging properly to something deeper such as the cylinder piston springs or yes, scratching of the center section. Seems like more than just a scratched center section and unlikely it got scratch so much to cause that issue in just three hours. That said, the first time I did the rebuild, it started loosing power after about, meh, three months. As much of a pain as it was to do the rebuild, I decided to bite the bullet and and disassemble it again. I discovered that the brand new center section was once again scratched so I obviously left contaminants in there. I did the rebuild over again which is when I actually shot the video and it’s worked great ever since. Is the complete power loss on one or both sides?

It’s just the left side, it is still drivable but doing a zero turn, a slight hill incline or just quick acceleration, it just barely or completely refuses to move. The right trans seems completely fine and picks up the slack of the left one for the most part.

So what fixed it ? Or was the problem ?

Ran it for about eight years at that point so it probably had about 500+ hours. I guess you could remove and replace the oil if you used a siphon, but no, there’s no drain plug. Consider that even with the oil in a contained unit, it’s still lots of metal parts moving at high speed and making contact and getting extremely hot so they tend to shed some metal particles over time. Also, the way this particular mower and probably many like it is designed, the fill cap is facing up toward the underside of the frame which gets very dirty. If you don’t make sure everything around and above the fill hole is perfectly particle free when you open the cap (and it’s a tight space between the cap and frame so your hand rubs on the dirty frame when loosening and removing the cap), you’ll get dirt in the transmission which then contaminates the oil.

@@silentknightsaga2415 ok I see what you mean. I just bought me a Hustler Fas trak 54 inch mower. I never owned a o turn before. Man what a difference in productivity. Thanks again for the information.

@Leo Thiel let us know how that works for you. I once tried it without new parts and smoothing the aluminum center section by hand. It lasted 2 weeks. If you can do it then fine. I have not been able to make that work. Also, it seems like 90% of the time when they get weak, it’s the left side. I wish I could understand why. Does everyone favor using that side more when they run the mower? Seems unlikely to me.

@failranch9542 I have two of these mowers, (Massey Furguson version) got one cheap with failing hydro, bought a third "parts mower" and swapped them in. Same outcome, two out of the two I have that are slipping are right sides, but I'm down under, so maybe it has to do with hemispheres?

No, several months ago it sounded as if the pumps might not be sold anymore, however at that time I was still able to find them on partstree…though I haven’t looked for them recently so I’m not sure. Not sure if Hydrogear sells them, but here’s the number to call CUSTOMER SUPPORT 877.728.7410

I don’t know why that happens. When originally posted there were no volume issues. Right now, I’m not having any issue with the volume, but I and others have in the past. I’ll blame it on the Matrix.

Bypass plate small brass square piece that goes into the centre section

If you’re talking about the oil in the transaxle, sort of. Because it has to be emptied of the oil before working on it, it has to be filled with oil both before remounting it, as well as topped off after you purge the transaxle, all of which are included in the video.

LOL, Yah, and I’m no mechanic or engineer. It was the first time I did anything to a lawnmower other than replace a deck belt or spindle. I was quite apprehensive about it too, but as long as you pay attention to the details, keep the inside casing free of any particles, and follow the steps, it should work out for you.

@@silentknightsaga2415 Just when I get fired up to do this I find out that they longer Cub Cadet, neither does Parts Tree have parts for my mower since it was built in 2005.. Anyway I was just wondering if you did this in 2019 and you're still mowing with it. Is everything still working now and have you noticed if the other side is acting up.. Oh one thing I think I missed in your video was you having to add more oil after you got all the air out of it. Anyway Thanks to putting out this video.. If I do mine I will have to video it just so I can remember how I took it apart. :)

@@garyhardin3619 so I actually had to do this repair twice, but to the same side. First time I did it, it worked well for a few months, then started having same issue. I’m positive the issue was getting particles from the old gasket in the unit as well as not covering the open unit as it sat in the garage over night. Second time, which is the one I video-ed, I was much more careful and diligent keeping particles out and covered it with a shirt over night. Yes, did this repair in 2019 and it is still working well with no noticeable power loss. No, there are no issues with the other side.

I got a cub cadet z-force mower I need to figure out the problem with it it tries to take off on the left side then does"nt kick on in and go the same side you fixed it acts like it bypasses I am thinking and it dies when I engage the deck any input on whats my problems and can I still get parts. For a z-force commercial mower?

Welcome, glad you found it helpful!

I believe it was PartsTree. Cub Cadet had them available at the time, but more expensive. That said, based on some comments several months ago, it sounds as if there’s some difficulty finding these available in recent months.

Lol, two hours to watch 60 Minutes. That’s funny…I can appreciate the humor, though it really only takes me about 40 minutes because I don’t have the patience to sit through commercials when a show is recorded. Yes, I believe the center sections are the same for each side. Regarding the damage, in my case I noticed it to slowly start to show signs of damage (power loss) not long after something I did on the mower. Grass was wet and in a moment of attempting to remember my youth, I began to do donuts in the wet grass, basically full speed in circles sliding the back end for probably five minutes. If I had to guess, I’d say the constant over-torquing and spinning the wheels for five minutes likely created some metal shavings from somewhere in the unit. That said, after completing the repair, I realized that a lot of oily dirt and grit coats the mower frame above the fill cap area and that has to be cleaned well before attempting to open the fill cap.