Hydrostatic transmission problem in craftsman DLT 2000

[scott_l]

I am assuming the flats and key that your talking about hold the tires on. If so would it be cheaper for you to purchase new tires to match the flats instead of your "key" tranny?

Not trying to start a bashing thread, but I have not been happy with my recent Craftsmen products (walk behind self propelled lawn mower and air compressor). Not sure I will be making any "big" purchases from them again any time soon!

Good luck

 

[attack_06]

cant u give new tranny back trade or bu diff tires make it work

 

[snow_monkey]

Pump seals go bad. I just had to put a seal kit in one of the pumps on my bobcat zero turn. If you find it can be rebuilt make sure you take it to someone that has done the repair before. Dealer told me 4 to 7 hundred to do the repair. I had the pump pulled by a neighbor and took it in to the shop and let the guy rebuild the pump seals $65.00 including the seal kit. Total cost $190.

 

[lofsfire]

That was my first thought change the wheels, second was it can't be that expensive. I was right about changing them, it can be done fairly easy. That is if you have the parts. The parts however make the cost go up very quickly!

So I would rather take a little loss on the tranny than a big loss on the parts to convert it.

 

[rp7x]

in a hurry

if the wheel fits the axle weld the out side call it good how long can the rest of it last?

 

[attack_06]

cant beleve parts would be that much more

 

[lofsfire]

if the wheel fits the axle weld the out side call it good how long can the rest of it last?

You have a point there, I wonder if I could weld the key to the axle, then I would not need a key way in the axle. And the wheels could still come off.

cant beleve parts would be that much more

$200 plus tax
The balk of the price is in the rims ($125) and hubs ($45) plus a bunch of little parts. It just adds up.

If I found them used then that could change.

 

[Stumper]

Hydrostatic problems

Two things probably contributed to the problem. If fluid level is OK, but it ran hot due to insufficient cooling, the excess heat causes thermal expansion and increased leakage on internal seals. Also at high temps the fuild get aerated which causes the pump to cavitate. Changing the oil will restore the additives that have been broken down from the heat. There is a decent chance that the new oil will rejuvinate the seals eventually and restore normal function. If an oil change and making sure it runs as cool as possible don't work, and you don'e want to take it apart and replace rubber seals, another option is to add an ounce of brake fluid to the hydro oil. That will swell the seals and correct the problem. How long it might last is unknown.

 

[lofsfire]

Two things probably contributed to the problem. If fluid level is OK, but it ran hot due to insufficient cooling, the excess heat causes thermal expansion and increased leakage on internal seals. Also at high temps the fuild get aerated which causes the pump to cavitate. Changing the oil will restore the additives that have been broken down from the heat. There is a decent chance that the new oil will rejuvinate the seals eventually and restore normal function. If an oil change and making sure it runs as cool as possible don't work, and you don'e want to take it apart and replace rubber seals, another option is to add an ounce of brake fluid to the hydro oil. That will swell the seals and correct the problem. How long it might last is unknown.

I willing to give that a try. At this point I was considering the old one junk any ways. What do I have to lose!

 

[attack_06]

stumper

that bra fluid thing work for power steer system as well

 

[Stumper]

P/S Seals

Power steering systems typically use teflon based seals not rubber so the brake fluid trick might not work on newer cars. Works good on auto transmissons though.

 

[lofsfire]

I tried the Break fluid, drove it about an hr after adding it, no luck. I have let it sit all week and will give it a try again to find out if sitting letting it soak in let it work its magic! If not I found out that I had been searching for any rim that would fit a tire of 20x10x8 and when using the parts web sites I could find a 20x8x8 with the proper connections but not a 20x10x8. But today I found out the rim is a 8" Dia x 7" wide and that it is the same rim on the 20x10x8 tire as on the 20x8x8 tire. So now the hunt is on for two reasonable priced rims that are 8x7 with the 3/4" axle and two flat sides. By the way I found tons of these last week on e-bay not so much today. Hope fully by the end of the weekend I have a solution to my problem.

I started looking at JD X300's b/c my father-in-law has one (which I have been using) and it does seem to have more power, but I just could not get over the price and of course I wanted bigger. It had to be a X320 ($4,000) at the minimum, after talking to Tuff Torq (the tranny in the JDs). Then last night I found one on ebay just down the road from me. It was a X534 ($4,600) way more tractor than I would ever need. (Well maybe not never...) No, I did no get it, but I thought really hard about it and if I were to take that plunge, I would have went for the used one. It only had 190hr and look new!

Above rp7x asked how much longer could mine last, I'm gessing a long time. My engine is the 20hp Kohler Commander Pro and is as good as the day I got it. The frame is good just a bad Tranny which will be new shortly!

 

[lofsfire]

IT WORKS! Found the right rims for the new tranny Got everything put on this afternoon then cut the grass.

I did notice one thing, right after I bought this tractor I had a leak in the gas tank, had the sears guy out to change the tank out (under warranty) and I complained to him they about the reverse being slow. A month after I bought the tractor it started going very slow in reverse. He said it was designed to be slower. Which I told him I agreed but this seemed even slower then when it was new. He assured me he looked it over and it was good to go. I put it in reverse today with the new tranny in it and she drove a 3.1 mph(yes I GPS it). Manual says it should be 2.5mph. I think my problem may have started many years ago but just now came to a head. To bad I cant go back on sears now. Oh well it's fixed and I can cut my grass.