Best Hydrostatic Transmission???

[hlw49]

Company that rebuilds, NO. just not cost effective. May find individual dealers that may do internal repairs/rebuilds.

The Tuff-torq uses internal filters under a cap that has to be removed and internal charge pumps. The hydrogear ZT-2800 and above have external screw on automotive style filters and external charge pumps. Both use steel gears. It looks like the Tuff-torq uses plastic as part of the transmission housing to act as a oil tank. were the hydrogear will be a aluminum housing without the top of the transmission being partly bolted on plastic like the tuff-torq 450

Hydrostatic drive is the pump and drive motor in one housing whereas the hydraulic drive is a separate pump connected to hydraulic wheel motors via hoses. True commercial mowers use the separate pump and motor system.

So I would go with either a hydraulic drive type system. or Something with a ZT-2800 or ZT-3100 which have screw on filters and fairly easy to service. The typically are used on higher end consumer mowers to pro-sumer style mowers.

A lot of the commercial mowers are going to Parker Torques pack one peice unit with oil drains in the pan and a cartrage type filter. It is a very good unit. Dixie Chopper uses them in their commercial Eagle and Black Hawk series and uses Hydro Gear in the Z2 units. They use the two piece units in the Classis series mowers.

 

[Jimmy the Lock]

Company that rebuilds, NO. just not cost effective. May find individual dealers that may do internal repairs/rebuilds.

I told this guy I'd see if I could find a place thru the internet that rebuilds these things so let me know if you find anybody.

Hydrostatic drive is the pump and drive motor in one housing whereas the hydraulic drive is a separate pump connected to hydraulic wheel motors via hoses. True commercial mowers use the separate pump and motor system.

So I would go with either a hydraulic drive type system. or Something with a ZT-2800 or ZT-3100 which have screw on filters and fairly easy to service. The typically are used on higher end consumer mowers to pro-sumer style mowers.

OK, thanks! Sounds like a good overview of my options.

I may opt for the Spartan RZ-HD mower since it has the Parker HTE 10cc Transmissions which is the hydraulic drive transmission

It's around $9000 for the 54 inch model, but since it's supposed to be a higher end mower maybe it will last longer than the other options.

 

[hlw49]

Like I said Dixie Chopper uses the Parker Torques Pack in their mowers and some of the other manufactures are as well. We have only had two units since 2017 that were defective and were covered under warranty.

 

[Jimmy the Lock]

I was looking on their website and the Dixie Chopper 2454KW uses Hydro-Gear ZT-3100 transaxles so maybe their higher end mowers use Parker.

I cannot find any pricing to compare their to Spartan. I find it odd that they would not put pricing out where other manufacturers do.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Great, thanks for the info.

I know somebody that had a mower with bad hydrogear units and he's looking for a company that rebuilds these.
Is there a place that does that?

I'm hoping to not have to go thru all that which is why I'd like to buy a mower with better quality transmissions.

They are rebuildable as the tranny makers all sell drop in replacement pump / motor units.
They are not difficult to do if you methodical & anal about keeping everything clean
All of the hydros are the same technology people just call them different names.
Eatons exited the mower hydros a decade ago because like Honda they refused to make junk to satisify to low ticket price demand I currently havr a swisher without a fan they I have been trying to fix for over a year .
Mulligans seem to offer the best deals & best information if you ask them nicely and have all the model & serial numbers at hand
Most of the bottom end trannys can be replaced with much better units that have external filters & are servicable

If you are in Oz then there is a service centre
Some rural / remote mower / tractor repair shops will refurbish them but there is little cost difference between refurbishing & replacing

Bottom line is people will not foot the bill so no one want to work for free just because the customers are too tight .

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

They are rebuildable as the tranny makers all sell drop in replacement pump / motor units.
They are not difficult to do if you methodical & anal about keeping everything clean
All of the hydros are the same technology people just call them different names.
Eatons exited the mower hydros a decade ago because like Honda they refused to make junk to satisify to low ticket price demand I currently havr a swisher without a fan they I have been trying to fix for over a year .
Mulligans seem to offer the best deals & best information if you ask them nicely and have all the model & serial numbers at hand
Most of the bottom end trannys can be replaced with much better units that have external filters & are servicable

If you are in Oz then there is a service centre
Some rural / remote mower / tractor repair shops will refurbish them but there is little cost difference between refurbishing & replacing

Bottom line is people will not foot the bill so no one want to work for free just because the customers are too tight .

While I appreciate your interest in hydraulic pumps, drives, and transaxles, here are my thoughts.
You say you are mowing one acre per week. If you buy that Spartan mower for $9,000 that will most likely be the last mower you will need for many years to come.
Tuff Torq
Hydrogear
Parker
These are the three main hydros in mowers. It has been briefly explained in this thread the basics. Any more questions you can do research.

 

[Jimmy the Lock]

If you are in Oz then there is a service centre

I'm not sure I even know where the land of Oz is.

If you buy that Spartan mower for $9,000 that will most likely be the last mower you will need for many years to come.

That would be the game plan!

 

[Tommy Copeland]

I live in the south (LA) most commercial mowers here use X-Mark mowers, made by Toro. They are Great mowers, tough and reasonably price, just make sure you get the commercial grade and not the residential grade. They are much cheaper than Scags, Kubota and Toro brand (all which are excellent mowers), I own a Toro Z- Master 5000 60” cut that I love but the only reason I bought it over a X Mark is I bought it used with 65 hours and 2 years warranty left on it for half of what a new one would cost.

 

[vintagefred]

Hi guys,

I'm in the market to get a nice zero turn radius mower for a property I'll be at where I'll have to mow about an acre. I'd like to get a good high quality mower and wanted to get some input as I heard some folks here use these things to make a living and probabl;y have used different brands and models.

I've heard of people having problems with the Hydrostatic Transmissions. I hear there are only 2 companies that make these transmissions so hopefully one is the best.

I would definitely be interested in getting a mower that has external transmission oil filters that can be changed as well as a drain plug to be able to drain the transmission oil as I hear this is critical for getting long life out of these transmissions

So please let me know what brands I should be looking at for getting long service life. I have a gate to go thru, so I'll need the box to be no more than 54 inches wide.

Hi guys,

I'm in the market to get a nice zero turn radius mower for a property I'll be at where I'll have to mow about an acre. I'd like to get a good high quality mower and wanted to get some input as I heard some folks here use these things to make a living and probabl;y have used different brands and models.

I've heard of people having problems with the Hydrostatic Transmissions. I hear there are only 2 companies that make these transmissions so hopefully one is the best.

I would definitely be interested in getting a mower that has external transmission oil filters that can be changed as well as a drain plug to be able to drain the transmission oil as I hear this is critical for getting long life out of these transmissions

So please let me know what brands I should be looking at for getting long service life. I have a gate to go thru, so I'll need the box to be no more than 54 inches wide.

I presently have a Razor 44" ZT hydrostatic, bought it used and have used it for 4 years with no problems, just good maintenance. But when it does fail I will replace it with an electric ZT with rechargeable batteries. Even the cheaper models seem impressive without the upkeep, fuel, and maintenance required on gas models.

 

[Freddie21]

I have a Commercial Cub Cadet with the ZT-2800 trans units. Keep the filters and oil changed and they have not given me a spec of problems since 2014 doing hill yards. May not be as good as some of the the brands, but in that price point. i have no complaints. Knock on wood, not a single service problem yet.