1999 Husqvarna YTH 150 Transaxle

[jonesandjones]

I thought I would post this for anyone that has a Husky YTH 150 tractor with a Hydro Gear 319-0650 transaxle.

I noticed my tractor was getting a bit sluggish when I put it into reverse. I looked up a lot of information on the net about this transaxle and found it it was meant to be a non serviceable unit and worse yet, the unit is no longer available. That said a number of folks have removed the transaxle, dumped the old fluid out of it and replaced it with 20W-50 motor oil. This seemed to work for many folks but I really didn't want to get into removing the tranny. I did however decide to at least take a look at the thing so I removed the rear panel on the frame. (The one that the bypass control lever sticks through). There was only 4 bolts holding it in place so I figured what the heck...

Low and behold, once I pulled the panel off, the tranny was sitting right there and the breather tube was a cinch to pull off. I simply removed the breather nut and tube (plastic breather nut with rubber tube on top) and used a small outboard motor lower unit hand pump to pump the old oil out. It was really nasty after 300+ hours. I wasn't able to get every last bit of oil out but I did get most of it. The manufacture says the unit holds 81 oz of fluid or just over 2 liters. I filled a 2 liter bottle almost to the top so I figure I removed well over 75% of the old oil. I can change the oil again after a few hours of running to dilute the little bit of old oil that was left. I used the cheapest oil I could find and I want to make 2 or 3 changes over the next 10 hours or so. Then I will replace the oil with a full synthetic...

The whole project took about 45 minutes.

Just remember to be careful not to let any dirt get into the tranny and fill it to 1 1/8" from the top. Don't over fill it!


JJ

 

[phcaan]

I thought I would post this for anyone that has a Husky YTH 150 tractor with a Hydro Gear 319-0650 transaxle.

I noticed my tractor was getting a bit sluggish when I put it into reverse. I looked up a lot of information on the net about this transaxle and found it it was meant to be a non serviceable unit and worse yet, the unit is no longer available. That said a number of folks have removed the transaxle, dumped the old fluid out of it and replaced it with 20W-50 motor oil. This seemed to work for many folks but I really didn't want to get into removing the tranny. I did however decide to at least take a look at the thing so I removed the rear panel on the frame. (The one that the bypass control lever sticks through). There was only 4 bolts holding it in place so I figured what the heck...

Low and behold, once I pulled the panel off, the tranny was sitting right there and the breather tube was a cinch to pull off. I simply removed the breather nut and tube (plastic breather nut with rubber tube on top) and used a small outboard motor lower unit hand pump to pump the old oil out. It was really nasty after 300+ hours. I wasn't able to get every last bit of oil out but I did get most of it. The manufacture says the unit holds 81 oz of fluid or just over 2 liters. I filled a 2 liter bottle almost to the top so I figure I removed well over 75% of the old oil. I can change the oil again after a few hours of running to dilute the little bit of old oil that was left. I used the cheapest oil I could find and I want to make 2 or 3 changes over the next 10 hours or so. Then I will replace the oil with a full synthetic...

The whole project took about 45 minutes.

Just remember to be careful not to let any dirt get into the tranny and fill it to 1 1/8" from the top. Don't over fill it!


JJ

Thanks for taking the time to post this, it may be of help to a lot of folks who have the same problem. My tractor is a 2011 GTH27V52LS and the dealer told me that the trans was "factory sealed" and non serviceable. Upon investigating I found that the Hydro Gear trans has a spin-on type filter and is indeed serviceable. I found a manual on line that recommends oil change at 100 hours and every 400 hours thereafter, so much for non serviceable.

 

[jonesandjones]

Thanks for taking the time to post this, it may be of help to a lot of folks who have the same problem. My tractor is a 2011 GTH27V52LS and the dealer told me that the trans was "factory sealed" and non serviceable. Upon investigating I found that the Hydro Gear trans has a spin-on type filter and is indeed serviceable. I found a manual on line that recommends oil change at 100 hours and every 400 hours thereafter, so much for non serviceable.

Yep, That's just what I said. It really frosts me that these companies sell a $2K+ piece of equipment with a "throw away" transmission. At least I know now the little Husky can be kept running for years to come or at least as long as parts are available.

That said I really need a ZTR for my lawn. It's about an acre and I have a lot of trees and tight turns in the yard. Not ideal for a tractor so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new commercial grade Gravely ZTR. No more homeowner grade equipment for this kid!

By the way my little Husky runs great now so I also replaced the steering assy as it was badly worn. The little mower runs and handles like new and I will most likely pass it on to my Brother.