A few questions regarding Hydro-gear transmissions; oil filter leak

[Jonmower]

Greetings! I am new to zero-turn mowers. At the end of last season I purchased a Toro Titan MyRide to mow about 4 acres. (FYI, MyRide has been great as some of our land is pretty rough--my back is very grateful!)

At about 30 hours I came out to find a puddle of oil under the right HydroGear. It's a HG 2800, by the way. It looked like the oil was concentrated around the oil filter, so I did an transmission oil change and new filter. This seems to have fixed it, at least after a few mows.

But at 36 hours the left HG started leaking too. Again, I think it's at the filter, so I drained, and refilled with a new filter. Hoping it was just being a bit lazy at the factory rather than some underlying problem/

A few questions from e Hydro-Gear rookie:
Anyone else ever have a leak at a transmission oil filter?
Is the oil in the HG transmission under pressure when in use? (seems like the oil blew around a little)

 

[Auto Doc's]

It appears that the filters were not properly tightened when the machine was assembled. The oil is under pressure to operate the hydraulic drive motors on each wheel. There is also a cooling fan that blows a lot of air to keep the unit cooled down.

 

[Ozcub]

Are you wiping a bit of oil around the seal on the filter , that assists in sealing and seating said filter and of course wipe the filter seat on the transmission

 

[Jonmower]

Thanks for the replies, Auto Doc and Ozcub! Thanks for the info that the oil is under pressure, that explains the spray pattern. I am sure the fan adds to the mess. When I replaced both OEMs I really cleaned the contact area and made sure wipe a little oil around the seal on the new filter. Funny it took 30+ hours to show up--kind of made me wonder if there was residue in both units that filled up the filters.

 

[Auto Doc's]

Also, consider that the units were likely assembled dry with filters that did not have a little oil applied to the seals. It is often times that the simple missed steps for cost savings that take time to show up after hours of operations.

 

[StarTech]

And for some reason the normal tightening 3/4 to 1 turn does work with all filters in the last few years. This is why Briggs recommends torquing the 100 in-lbs [a tad over 8 ft-lbs] which I just go to 8 ft-lbs. This has solved the loose filter problems here.

 

[MParr]

The above answers are correct. However, fluids react to gravity and tend to flow downward. Look around higher up for any other possible leaks. I would assume that your mower is still under warranty. If so, any thing that you find should be taken care of promptly.

 

[Jonmower]

And for some reason the normal tightening 3/4 to 1 turn does work with all filters in the last few years. This is why Briggs recommends torquing the 100 in-lbs [a tad over 8 ft-lbs] which I just go to 8 ft-lbs. This has solved the loose filter problems here.

Might try this, but it reminded me of a funny experience--I must have about 6 torque wrenches sitting around, so I tend to find reasons to use them. Chevy had a spec on torque for their filter, so I took out my wrench and used it. Turns out I had and OLD spec, and they changed the rubber on the gasket and radically lowered the torque spec.

The next year when I tried to get it off it was stuck! My fitted wrench did not work. Then tried a strap wrench. Then a chain wrench. Then the old screwdriver thru the body approach. What finally worked was a very large channel lock wrench that I had hanging in the barn.

Took a photo of the filter just for fun . . .




Thanks again StarTech and everyone for the input! I am under warranty, so if I get another leak I will go in. But there is only one dealer in my town, and the 60" deck is barely too wide for my utility trailer. (I could, of course, take the deck off.) So pickup and delivery is $75 each way . . .

 

[StarTech]

And yes filters do stick when the seal is not oil while installing them. Also those stupid dual step filter wrench caps are just a major pain to use when it comes to the small step. This why I very large pair of channel lock here.

People just don't understand that if it is under warranty you don't it by making you own repairs. The warranty center will usually blame you for any problems they find because you worked on the unit.

It like the guy this last week here. That supposedly got home his repaired mower and it would not start. Strange as I mowed with it and he drove it up on his trailer. So he proceeded to try to check it out creating one heck of a mess for me to straighten out. I have a 30 day warranty on all repairs except I don't cover owner provided parts. He blew that one out of the water. He caused me three hours yesterday troubleshooting what electrical damages he did. Faulty grounds are not that easily found at time when they are hide in the wiring harness. And it didn't help that one ground would show 12v with switch on but grounded with off and supposed this is directly grounded to the frame. If he had only return the unit under warranty it would have been only the replacement cost of the his provided fuel pump. Now it is about 4 hours labor plus parts. And $80 an hour labor does add up quickly. It should had been a 15 minute fix.

He just didn't know that fuel pump +12v supply line was ground thru the ignition switch when the switch is off.

 

[Jonmower]

Replacing a filter and hydro oil is not a repair, it is a maintenance. Sure, I could have pushed for a free oil change, but then I would have been out the pickup and delivery fees and I probably would have waited at least 1 week, perhaps 2 weeks, for local service. If this does not work I will take it back.