Changed HST fluid in old JD mower L188x

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member

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I recently bought this lawnmower cheap.
It was in need of a lot of TLC and a mower deck which I already have.
There is a drain plug on HST.
The oil was black.
I'm guessing it has never been changed.

The HST and Kawasaki engine are as good as new. This mower will only be used to trim around trees and edges around building.
I like to do my trimming before mowing

It's like I mow 4ft of the yard making it easier to move with the tractor.

I feel changing fluid is cheaper than a new HST.

Can you change the fluid on your mower or ZTR?
 
I change the hyd oil and filter every spring, probably don't need to that often. But like you said, it's much cheaper to do regular maintenence than replace a hyd unit. This is on a John Deere F935
 
I have a 2013 Bad Boy ZT Elite, I bought new in Sept 2013.
I changed the transaxle oil and filters at 50 hours and then again at 200 hours and will be changed again every 200 hours.
While the filters have gotten a little pricey, it holds 5 quarts of 20W-50.
A lot better than a $1200 transaxle for each side.

This post was edited by Rodney51Cub on 05/18/2022 at 03:39 pm.
 
I changed the oil in the HydroGear transaxles of my Ferris zero-turn at 50 hours. They use 20W-50 motor oil. I've heard that switching to full synthetic at 50 hours will extend the life of the transaxles, so that's what I did. I think the oil/filter change interval is 300 hours. You have to purge the air out of the TA after changing the oil.
 
That's a nice mower. Good find. On my 2010 Cub cadet I had to take the axle out to get the fill cap off. Then turn it upside down to drain. Oil was black like yours. I refilled with 20w-50 but it still doesn't work well. Will have to take it apart and try to fix it since I can't find a used one.
 

I have a JD GT275 that has a TT K70 transmission. It has a drain and a filter. When I got it I don't think it had ever been changed, oil was black and the filter was too. It is only my backup mower now and I use it to pull a yard vac that we clean pastures with.
 
(quoted from post at 14:39:50 05/18/22)
<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto126063.jpg>
I recently bought this lawnmower cheap.
It was in need of a lot of TLC and a mower deck which I already have.
There is a drain plug on HST.
The oil was black.
I'm guessing it has never been changed.

The HST and Kawasaki engine are as good as new. This mower will only be used to trim around trees and edges around building.
I like to do my trimming before mowing

It's like I mow 4ft of the yard making it easier to move with the tractor.

I feel changing fluid is cheaper than a new HST.

Can you change the fluid on your mower or ZTR?

The LX188 has a medium duty K61 transaxle . The HD K66 is a bolt in swap .
Changed the oil on the LX188 here and replaced with straight weight SAE 60 synthetic oil .
Climbs hills now without slowing down .
 
My ZTR has two Parker pump/drives each has a filter and it holds about 1 gallon. 1st fluid change is recommended at 250hrs, then it goes to 1000hrs if using Parker HT1000 fluid. Servicing these is relatively easy.

The only other HST oil I changed was on a cheap craftsman rider, supposedly non-serviceable. I removed unit, flipped upside down, drained then refilled with 20w50.
 

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