Gravely Hyrostatic drive repair.

[pennywise]

I have 700 hours on a older ZT 2148 zero turn Gravely with a 21 HP motor. The parts people out there
say the right and left hydrostatic drives are sealed and do not require oil changes or maintenance.

Before I dive in, has anyone had any luck repairing one of these?
My left hand drive unit works, but not cold. It seems to get better after it was warmed up?
The right hand drive is noticeably stronger right at start up.
Nothing leaks on the garage floor.

Dirt? low oil? any ideas?

These units new cost around $ 800 clams !

BTW: I did find a beautiful exploded view drawing and parts list from the O.E.M. Hydro-Gear of these drives if anyone needs it.

 

[Briana]

Hey there - WELCOME to LMF!

I moved your thread to the Gravely Forum. :smile:

 

[jwb050556]

Hi
I own two Ariens 0ne LMSW 21 and one Pro 21
Really happy with the LMSW with KAW 6HP but the pro 21 the rear wheels tend to "lock-up on me when trying to turn around.
I have checked the wheels and the gear cover inside the wheel, and it looks clean.
Anybody else have this problem??
Thanks

 

[pennywise]

Re: Gravely Hyrdostatic drive repair.

I talked to a local Gravely dealer about the drive problem. He said a cheap and easy trick they do (sometimes) is to drain the old oil and add 5W-20 oil back through the vent pipe on top of the housing. I used an open end wrench to remove the plastic nut and vent pipe assembly and added about a cup of new oil just to see if that was remedy. I filled it up to the threads knowing there would be some blow off.

To make a long story longer, The oil did blow off and it didn't do a darn thing to fix the problem.
I may take the old drive apart once the new one arrives just to see how it works. We will see how messy things are.

 

[Carl Denton]

I have 700 hours on a older ZT 2148 zero turn Gravely with a 21 HP motor. The parts people out there
say the right and left hydrostatic drives are sealed and do not require oil changes or maintenance.

Before I dive in, has anyone had any luck repairing one of these?
My left hand drive unit works, but not cold. It seems to get better after it was warmed up?
The right hand drive is noticeably stronger right at start up.
Nothing leaks on the garage floor.

Dirt? low oil? any ideas?

These units new cost around $ 800 clams !

BTW: I did find a beautiful exploded view drawing and parts list from the O.E.M. Hydro-Gear of these drives if anyone needs it.

Gravely ZT 2148 transaxel
To the Gentleman with the transaxel problem on a ZT2148. I have the same problem and have searceh the internet for parts. All Parts Suppliers and Dealers say this part has been discontinued and is unavailable. Mower is less than 10 years old and I have 2 of them. Will never buy another Gravely or recommend one to a friend

This is their way to make you have to buy another mower and increase their income. The prices listed for these transaxels range

from $ 983.00 to over $ 1100.00, but none are available anywhere at any cost

 

[cpurvis]

Gravely ZT 2148 transaxel
To the Gentleman with the transaxel problem on a ZT2148. I have the same problem and have searceh the internet for parts. All Parts Suppliers and Dealers say this part has been discontinued and is unavailable. Mower is less than 10 years old and I have 2 of them. Will never buy another Gravely or recommend one to a friend

This is their way to make you have to buy another mower and increase their income. The prices listed for these transaxels range

from $ 983.00 to over $ 1100.00, but none are available anywhere at any cost

You're not alone. "Obsolete, discontinued, unavailable." That's been the story with the last two 15+ year-old things I've tried to repair.

Yet you can find parts galore for a 1951 Farmall Cub.

 

[Carl Denton]

You're not alone. "Obsolete, discontinued, unavailable." That's been the story with the last two 15+ year-old things I've tried to repair.

Yet you can find parts galore for a 1951 Farmall Cub.

I have a John Deere 210 48 " cut, bought in 1981, still mows and can still get parts.
I guess I will go back to John Deere
It pisses me off to have a $ 4000.00 mower with a good motor, deck and frame that is now Junk
I certainly will never buy another Gravely

 

[tbzep]

Those are Hydro Gear transaxles. Gravely can't help if Hydro Gear stops manufacturing them or parts for them. Many other manufacturers used the same units too. However, I did find seal kits and other parts for them.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Gravely ZT 2148 transaxel
To the Gentleman with the transaxel problem on a ZT2148. I have the same problem and have searceh the internet for parts. All Parts Suppliers and Dealers say this part has been discontinued and is unavailable. Mower is less than 10 years old and I have 2 of them. Will never buy another Gravely or recommend one to a friend

This is their way to make you have to buy another mower and increase their income. The prices listed for these transaxels range

from $ 983.00 to over $ 1100.00, but none are available anywhere at any cost

That is a reasonably crap attitude.
Gravely did not take a gun to the head of the tranny supplier & demmand they cease making parts for it.
There is always an alternative
Have you contacted the tranny supplier asking about an alternative ?
There is always an alternative drive as most have the same mounting holes so to a large extent they are interchangable.

 

[jimbo@32]

For anyone that has had a sealed hydro go out on an earlier gravely. They are not discontinued, just had a part number change. I just purchased one from Richards Gravely in West Virginia at half the price people say they are costing. https://www.gravelyparts.com/aboutus The owner is very helpful!!!!