Gravely ZT52 HD - Changing hydraulic fluid

[Tom59]

On Friday I brought home a ZT HD 44. I am using it commercially. I cut approx. 35 - 38 lawns per week, and being in Florida that's 10 months per year. I was looking at the Compact Pro 44. I have a number of properties with 48" gates blocking the back yard. I really loved that machine, but my wallet could not justify the $1250 difference. I am really impressed with my ZT HD 44". It cuts great, it's fast, and I look good on it (lol). Sometimes you just gotta go with your better sense.

Looking good on it is important ! I can justify the differences but I'm wondering do I need them. I'd like to hand this down to my kids later in life. I know they make a pro compact too for commercial use 34" and 44" decks. I like the upgraded tranny- the higher end kawasaki engine , the suspension seat , and its even faster but you are correct another 12-1300.00 does make the pill harder to swallow.. I might just join you.
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As for the transmission service , I had no trouble whatsoever getting a free service on my tractor but that was a lot more money. They did my tranny , hydraulic service , oil change , fuel filter and greased it for me at my home. I asked for it knowing it needed to be done from owning other tractors. Sometimes knowing is half the battle.

I'll make a decision by the weekend , hopefully.

 

[djdicetn]

On Friday I brought home a ZT HD 44. I am using it commercially. I cut approx. 35 - 38 lawns per week, and being in Florida that's 10 months per year. I was looking at the Compact Pro 44. I have a number of properties with 48" gates blocking the back yard. I really loved that machine, but my wallet could not justify the $1250 difference. I am really impressed with my ZT HD 44". It cuts great, it's fast, and I look good on it (lol). Sometimes you just gotta go with your better sense.

Pete S,
Welcome to the growing Gravely family on this forum!!! I try to be impartial and not a Gravely "salesman" when giving comparison/shopping advice to users looking to buy, but you'll have to admit it's not easy to refrain from 'tooting our horn":0)

 

[RustyBoy]

Done. It's no big deal!

The hardest part was getting the old filters off. I have a set of strap wrenches that have pretty much never failed me. I screwed around forever trying to get the first one off. I could get the wrench to grip but it was on so darn tight I couldn't believe it. (I think that the rubber gasket was probably not oiled before it was installed) I really had to work at it, but I got it off. I started in on the second one and it was giving me the same problem. So I went to O'Reilly's and bought a different type of filter wrench. I had the second one off in a few minutes.

I let both transmissions drain for probably a half hour. I didn't have a lot going on so I just let them drain. When they stopped dripping, I cleaned everything up and reinstalled the filters. I just put a funnel in the reservoir and filled it up to near the top. Then let it slowly drain down into each transmission. I figured it would take a while so I'd fill it up and walk away for a bit. When I came back, the reservoir was empty so I started over again. I just left the drain pan on the ground under the transmissions because the vent plugs were still out. I had to fill the reservoir quite a few times, but it finally started coming out the vent holes. So I removed the drain pans, cleaned up the drips, and reinstalled the plugs. At that point, I just topped off the reservoir and proceeded to the purging operation. The purging was my biggest worry. But it was NO BIG DEAL! It had taken me probably a half hour to fill the transmissions with a little over 4 quarts of oil. I think filling it slowly like that avoided trapping a bunch of air. I went through the purge procedure in the manual and it worked fine. I didn't even have to add any more oil. After I was sure it was purged well, I put it back on the ground and took it for a spin. It works great!

Now that I've done it and know what to expect, I won't be worried about doing it the next time it's due!

I'm thinking of doing the same but concerned about raising the rear wheels off the ground. What did you use to raise the wheels?

 

[Deerlane]

The one thing I found, use the Factory Hydro Oil Fiters when it comes to tranys. I have seen Wix, Stens and others filters on HydroGear tranys. They cost the customers $1200 for each unit. Motor oil you can get away with, but transmission, stick with factory recommend oils and filters.

 

[djdicetn]

I'm thinking of doing the same but concerned about raising the rear wheels off the ground. What did you use to raise the wheels?

How big is your yard, Rustyboy??? I know you just got that new Pro-Turn and shouldn't have to worry about the trannies for quite some time:0)
But I am curious, too, about how user jpollman got the rear end up for purging. Maybe he'll share that with us. I've got just over 40 hours on my 2012 so I'm "halfway there" for my first tranny service(I'm pretty sure that both Gravely and Hydro-Gear recommend the first oil/filter service at 75 hours....then every 400 hours thereafter). At least it's not a high maintenance item and we don't have to do it very often. I was going to have my dealer do the one at 75 hours, but the way user jpollman describes it there doesn't seem to be that much to doing it. I think I may try to do mine also.

 

[scubadv]

jpollman,
How many hours have you already put on that ZT HD52????? It has the ZT-3100 HydroGear trannies right??? Are you sure about the maintenance schedule??? My Pro-Turn 152 has the ZT-3400 tannies and the first tranny service is recommended at 70 hours and then every 300 hours after the first one. I can't believe the ZT-3100's are different or you have 70 hours since last spring. I don't know about you, as I am fairly mechanically savvy(mostly automotive), but when I read the instructions about purging the system I decided right away that the tranny service would be a "dealer service"!!!!! I'm sure they may charge me $50-$75 labor(I'd have to get the oil filter from them anyway) and I'm going to "provide" the 20w50 oil(I am an AVID Pennzoil user and will insist they use my oil or I'll take it elsewhere). Since it'll be several seasons before I have 70 hours and a VERY LONG TIME before I hit 300 hours for the next tranny service, I can't justify taking a chance with an expensive ZTR doing it myself to save < $100 each service. I'd say if you are confused after reading the Gravely manual instructions, you may also want to consider leaving that to the professional ZTR mechanics. That's your call.

I have the same model Gravely ZT52HD and I am trying to change the hydraulic fluid. I can not locate the plugs or seem to gain access to the top of the transmission. Any suggestions?

 

[Chip1wa]

Any of you have a link to a shop manual, Youtube clip or Hydro Service Instructions to share? I'm at 50 hours on mine now and want to keep her in tip top shape.

 

[tbzep]

I just bought a pair of overpriced Hydro Gear 52114 filters for my HD 52. Made in China. Next time it's Wix for me unless I find something over the next 400 hours that changes my mind. I know Wix has a plant in China, but they also have multiple plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Ontario. The Wix equivalent WL10102 is a hydraulic/transmission filter so it should flow at low pressure.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I just bought a pair of overpriced Hydro Gear 52114 filters for my HD 52. Made in China. Next time it's Wix for me unless I find something over the next 400 hours that changes my mind. I know Wix has a plant in China, but they also have multiple plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Ontario. The Wix equivalent WL10102 is a hydraulic/transmission filter so it should flow at low pressure.

Apart from the physical size and the thread what you nee to match is the micron size and the bypass filer pressure after than nothing else matters.
And a mesh size that is too small will be every bit as dangerous as one that is too big .

 

[Richkiminhou]

Amazon is your friend:

Castrol GTX 20W50 jug (5qt)$16.99
Sten 120-738 $10.09 per filter
$37.17 in parts

Hydro gear must employ gorillas on steroids to screw in the filters; I destroyed both factory filters trying to get them off. Other than that easy to do. I believe factory fill is straight 30W fluid. I changed mine at 88 hours. Much quieter with the heavier fluid. I am going to change every 200 hours vs 300. I figure fluid is cheaper than new 3100 units!