John Deere L118 jerks, clicking noise (with Video)

[robmorren2]

Looking for some help, I'm a John Deere newbie. I started dabbling with a complete rebuild of a mower deck, and a rocker gasket and head gasket replacement -- so that's how inexperienced I am.

Here is the problem I'm having right now with my L118. The lawn tractor jerks momentarily, slows down then takes off like something catches, and you can hear a clicking/popping noise while it happens. It happens much more regularly when turning tight circles. It will happen from time to time in a straight line as well, but it seems to smooth out more when going straight and will get up to speed like it normally would. Forward and reverse both work. In this video, I am going in a tight circle, as if I was rounding the base of a tree ...

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[mechanic mark]

Remove deck & give it a try.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Things that cause this
Burned belt
Belt missing chunks
Broken clutch spring
Frozen idler pulley
Collapsed idler pulley bearing
Belt off rear pulley

All of these need the deck to be removed and your eyes under there

 

[robmorren2]

So I started tearing stuff off and I noticed something. I'm a rookie at this stuff and I noticed a rookie mistake I apparently made when changing the transmission belt...

Despite pulling the steering wheel shaft to put the belt around it, somehow the belt must have double over on one side when I slid the shaft back into place. So I had both sides of the belt on one side of the shaft, not circling around each side. I pulled the shaft up and guided the belt properly -- started it up, and it still has the same issue as before. I checked the pulley and shaft, and the splines looks good there. The fan looks fine.

Could that extra distance and friction of the belt going on the wrong side of the steering shaft somehow elongated the belt or something? The belt looks perfectly fine as far as wear or or cracks. I just replaced the belt and idler pulleys a couple weeks ago (which is when I made the mistake)

As for your checkpoints:

Burned belt - nothing visually wrong, but maybe stretched b/c of my mistake noted abovE?
Belt missing chunks - no chunks or cracks
Broken clutch spring - spring is in tact
Frozen idler pulley - spinning freely, just replaced recently
Collapsed idler pulley bearing - spline looks good
Belt off rear pulley - belt was attached

I'm going to try a new belt. If that doesn't solve the problem, am I looking at a bad transaxle? Some who have seen the video have said maybe a differential issue?

Thanks!!

 

[bertsmobile1]

It CAN be a lot of things bu I have no intention of posting 1/2 a service manual on the forum.
This is particularly the case when 99% of the time the posted only gives us 10% of the story to work with .

So time for the whole story put your chair in front of a table with a desk lamp shining into your eyes and start confessing .

Was the mower doing this before you change the belt ?
Did you take photos before you started to ensure that the new belt was routed correctly ?
Can you pull the brake pedal up and if you do does it run better ?

I was originally ignoring the tight turns because when turning tight you put a lot of load on the transmission and if it is easier for a spring to stretch than move the mower that is exactly what the mower will do.
There is a small chance that the diff is playing up but for the moment I would ignore that because in 7 years of reparing I am yet to come across a blown diff in any mower.

Did you take the rear wheels off ?
If so did you replace the drive keys on the axles ?
When you replaced the belt did you replace both pulleys ?
If so did you put them back in the right order, flat to the front & V at the rear.

I am being deadly serious right now and this is the best information I can give any newbie ride on repairer.
John Deer write the worlds best repair manual, called "Technical manuals "
They make Windows for Dummies look complicated and are written so a person who does not know which end of a screwdriver to hold can understand what is written.
Each section starts with an explanation of how the bits work, followed by who to test them, what the tests mean & how to repair them.
Down side is quality does not come cheap so most will not buy one because they believe it all should be free to owners.
Buy a copy

 

[robmorren2]

I appreciate you taking the time. I did spend several nights googling and youtubing before posting a thread, so I tried to be thorough ...

I did double check the belt this time (put a brand new one on). When I replaced the belt pulleys I did them one at a time so I wouldn't swap them. I did find both keys in the wheels like they should be (I was really hoping that was what the clicking noise was).

I took off the wheels and jacked up the back end with a chain hoist. I ran it with no wheels and the axles hanging free. I grabbed a rag and squeezed the smooth area of one side of the axle as it was spinning, and I did hear the clicking noise and felt a slip or loss of power very momentarily and repetitively. When I let off the pressure, it spun normally from what I could tell. I'm not sure if that signals differential issues or something?

I'm getting a used T40 to swap out in the mean time. Hopefully the swap works, then I can crack into the old one and possibly repair it (assuming it was the issue). My brother and I both have Deeres that use the T40, so a spare would be nice to have in the shed.

Thanks again!

 

[bertsmobile1]

On the end of the axles is a spline with a gear.
So you may have stripped one of those.
The tranny is no a mower part so you will have to chase up them for tranny parts.
Should be a sticker both sides rear on the tranny with the maker & model number .
Probably a K 46
I gather this was a mower you bought 2nd hand .

And again I recommend getting your hand on the JD Tech manual
Cheaper than the labour cost on a simple service .

Around of 80% of what is on You Tube is trash , missinformation & prejudice .
Every one boast about how smart they were and how good the rubbish bodge was.
You don't see what happened 2 weeks latter when the mower crapped itself into oblivion.
As for Face Ache there is a good reason why it is free and at that price it is still poor value for money .

That being said, the 100 series of mowers is JD's lowest ( read cheapest ) end mower built down to a price low enough for big box discounters to carry them, in order to get sufficient volume through the mower factory to be able to make the better models at a reasonable price.
HAving said that the bottom end green one is still a better mower than the top end orange ones

 

[robmorren2]

Yes, I bought it used and have had it 10 years or so. It's a Tuff Torq T40A ... Is there a way to test the axle splines without cracking open the case? I've got it pulled off now ...

 

[bertsmobile1]

No
The diff allows the wheels to turn in opposite directions
Clean the outside thoroughly
I am a bit anal but I degrease, then soda blast then pressure wash then blow dry .
Once dry prize off the FLAT rubber cup carefully tip it upside down and leave it a full day to drain Tuff Torque used to have all their IPL's on line and some not particularly good service manuals .
Check the pump & motor before you go overboard fixing any thing else because at 10 it could be getting very close to it's service life.
JD use 10W 40 oil & Tuff Torq recommend 20W 50 so going to a thicker oil can sometimes add another 5 years to the tranny depending upon just how bad it is scored
You are bordering on the edge of what I can help you with.
4 years ago a service agent set up who refurbished hydros so I take mine to an expert rather than buggerising around with them myself .
The factory is a positative pressure environment to keep dust out of the grubbins so keep it covered with a damp towel when open .

 

[robmorren2]

Thanks for the help. Hopefully the used one I'm shipping in just works well, and I can play around with the old one. Best case I figure it out and fix it for a spare, worst case I'll have a better idea of how JD / Tuff Torq transaxles work. A year ago I was intimidated by the idea of taking off the mower deck. I'm actually enjoying learning how to mess with these.