Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I have a Craftsman 19hp Twin Turbo lawn tractor with hydrostatic transmission. Recently, the tractor does not go up hills or at any incline like it used to. When the tractor first starts, it seems to be OK. Then, as it heats up, a high pitched whine emanates from the tractor when I attempt to go uphill. I changed the front motion drive belt, but this had no effect. Sears will charge me $96 just to look at it, and if it is the transaxle, it would probably be better if I bought a new tractor?? Looking for advice...it is a sealed unit, but is it missing some fluid? Thanks for any help.

Hi...

I had similar symptoms with a hydro-drive Deere tractor... was a hydro fluid problem... either low on fluid... or old fluid...  a sealed unit may not offer these remedies...

Dave...

Make sure your drive belts are not slipping. And yes, check the hydralic fluid.

Did you ever correct tranny problem ?  My craftsman (hydro gear tranny) is doing the same thing.  Checked belts, changed fluid, etc.  Helped, but still starts slipping after 30-40 minutes of mowing.  Flat's seem to work fine, hills are a problem.

I have a 2 yr old Craftsman 18 HP riding mower with the same tranny issue. Works great on flat ground. After about 30 minutes of mowing, it starts whining as I go up hills. Eventually, it loses all power. If I return to flat ground or park it for about 30 minutes, it will begin working again. Makes for a long day of mowing. I have replaced the drive belt with no success as well as changed out the oil in the tranny oil reservoir. Looking for any advice as well.

My craftsman stop moving forward or backward after finishing the front lawn. Went to do the back lawn, applied the brake, disengaged the blades got off the tractor to move some obstacles, got back on, engaged the blades released the brake and nothing, no reverse no forward just a loud screech whenever I move the selector from neutral to forward or reverse. It was running fine, no fluid leaks or anything obvious. The main drive belt was a little frayed; since I had a spare I put it on with no change. Same here, Sears will come and look at it for 99.99, I’m going to a local guy that will diagnose for 20 bucks. Fearing the worst I asked Sears what the transaxle would cost alone; nasty! This thing has been nickel and dimming from day one. I’m breaking down and doing what I should have done five years ago, John Deer. I’ll let you know what the local guy says, and make sure I go to church this Sunday.

Here is what I did to fix my Craftsman mower tranny. I drilled and tapped a #10 hole in the right rear bottom/side of the case to drain out the old fluid and put in a short machine screw to plug the hole. I emptied the recovery tank and refilled the trans with Carquest Premium Tractor Fluid. I filled the recovery tank about 1/3 full. This all took about 2 1/2+ quarts total. The hardest part was bleeding out the air from the system. I did as instructed in the owners manual several times, waiting about 20 minutes between trials. Also pushed the tractor while the tranny was engaged until resistance was felt and after some time the air was out and the tranny works like new now. I recently had another apart that only needed a 65 cent spring to get it going, but again the hardest part was getting the air out of the system. Good luck!  MrFixAll Update 4/30/08, I just finished repairing my HYDRO-GEAR trans again. It was making a snapping noise with severly reduced speed. Once again I drained out the fluid from an access hole that I made earlier, disassembled the trans, (see owners manual diagrams), and found another broken spring in the Block Assembly. There are a total of 10 springs in two block assemblies in the trans. (The block assemblies pump oil). The springs cannot be purchased from manufacturer, only the block assemblys. The springs I use are from the hardware store and now cost $.75 and are similar enough to work well. (My last repair on this trans lasted almost 2 years and the spring that was replaced is doing fine.) This time, during re-assembly, I filled one case half with oil before attaching the other case half. After assembly was complete, I finished filling the trans, (remove top plug with allen wrench), and now with trans filled with the recomended 20w-50 oil, I then filled almost full, the resevoir and installed it on the tras and installed the trans in the tractor. This time the transmission worked great almost immediately. Good Luck ! ( See http://www.m-and-d.com/Hydro-Gear_parts.html )

I read the reply by MrFixAll and am intrigued.  Mine is a 19.5 HP Craftsman with the hydro-static transaxle.  Problem is slippage mostly after it warms up. 

I had the Sears repair man out and he said there is no tension adjustment for the belt, which I thought was odd, but he's the pro, right?  Is that correct - no tension adjustment?

Sears and other shops all say the transaxle cannot be serviced.  Approx. 10 years old.  Does the fluid deteriorate?  There is no drain, there is not really a fill hole either, but rather what would appear to be a vent.  If I drilled the case and replaced the fluid, what precautions would I have to take to get the air out of the system?  Would I fill it from the bottom or from that vent-like gizmo on the top?

Another similar complaint. I have a DLT2000 Sears lawn tractor with 20 hp Khoeler, 48 in deck purchased in 2001 with 175 hrs on the machine. I mow approximately 2.5 acres, with half of that on a slight incline (10ft drop over 100 ft). Transmission is going out after 30 mins after starting cold. After complaining to Sears the best I could get from them is 10% off the cost of a new transaxle ($400) and free installation. The mechanic who came out to my property stated that I should be using a Garden Tractor vs a lawn tractor. The weak link on my tractor is the tranny. Its a sealed unit and I get the same response that it is unserviceable. It doesnt appear to leak and runs fine until it warms up then moves slower than a slug. I like the idea of drilling/draining/and replacing the fluid as I think this could work. I dont understand why they would design a tractor such as this w/o a transaxle resevoir and the ability to change out the oil. Also the technician stated that unless Im mowing flat areas, I should have been directed to a Garden tracor series, so Im a littled miffed as to why the salesman didnt say the same initially. Now what can I do with the old tranny?

If I could get a new tranny for $400 I probably would.  Mine is a little smaller than yours, and they said it would cost $800+ just for the part.  Wonder if yours would fit mine?

Does anyone know a place that sells hydro trannys that will fit Craftsman mowers and that doesn't have Sears' pricetag?

mackernanr did you try online places? If you google hydro-gear you should get a few. Not sure if they will be cheaper but worth a try. I cant believe $800! for a transaxle! How much did the tractor cost initially? I did peruse ebay before buying from Sears. Had they not offered a percent off and free installation/labor, I would have gone ebay. There is a seller named sel_lo out of Georgia that sells a lot of Sears transaxles. I cant vouch for him but his feedback looks pretty good and his prices are good. Here is a link of one of his auctions:

http://cgi.ebay.com/CRAFTSMAN-42-RIDING-LAWN-MOWER-HYDRO-TRANSAXLE-171613_W0QQitemZ230002173739QQihZ013QQcategoryZ82238QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just make sure it is the right part number before agreeing to buy. Ithink he gives the hydro-gear part number in the description. If you cant find an exact match you might try hitting the button 'ask seller a question' and see what he has.