John Deere L118 jerks, clicking noise (with Video)

[robmorren2]

Well, turns out it was the differential!

 

[bertsmobile1]

Congratulation
First time I have ever seen a broken diff
Easy drop in parts but check the cylinder chest on both the pump & motor for gouges made by the shrapnel.
If the magnets have been ding their job it should be fine.
Otherwise Mulligans seem to be the best people for tranny parts

 

[robmorren2]

Thanks Bert. Looks like the parts are fairly cheap so I think I'm going to try to repair it just to see if I can. That definitely explains why it was such a god awful noise!

 

[mechanic mark]

T2-ADBE-2X1A-1CX1 - T2 Integrated Hydrostatic Transaxle

Description T2 Integrated Hydrostatic Transaxle Cross Reference Numbers T2-AABC-2X1A-1CX1, T2-AABC-2X1A-1CXX

hydrodrives.com

Just in case it's available & free shipping.

Tech Tips -Using Tuff Torq repair kits on your hydrostatic transaxle

Tuff Torq has provided this brief article to insure that you have success using Tuff Torq repair kits on your hydrostatic transaxle

www.tufftorq.com

 

[robmorren2]

Thanks for the links MM. I was able to order a differential repair kit for about $35 with shipping. I've got some Loctite Superflex Red RTV gasket maker that I think should work ok, so I could get out of this fairly cheaply. Most threads and videos I've found on K46/T40 suggest using 5w50, so that'll be another $30 or so in oil. Altogether, not too bad if I can do it right.

To get me by I rolled the dice and got a used unit on ebay for $170. I drained the oil (which actually looked pretty good) and cleaned the magnet (which also looked pretty clean). I don't know if it was spruced up for sale, but it appeared to be in great shape. I put some fresh 5w50 in, purged the air with a drill, and slapped in it. So far so good! So if I can repair my old one I'll have a spare for my mower and my brother's (his LA115 also uses the T40). I can tow my aerator and dethatcher with slightly less stress, lol.

 

[bertsmobile1]

When I service a fully sealed tranny and do not change the pump / motor unit ( down here they are $ 800 - $ 1000 , about 1/2 the new box price ) I went up to the next highest base viscosity
So I would advise to go to 10W 50 for your old box .

 

[robmorren2]

I'm a novice DIY'er ... is the heavier weight basically to reduce seepage through worn seals and scored metal?

 

[bertsmobile1]

YEp.
When they get old & start to slip I used to tip the old oil out & go one thicker
I can do it down here in OZ cause it dos not snow so no need for very low viscosity oil
Old leaky ( intenally ) K46 can run for quite a while when upped from the 10W 40 JD uses to 20W 50 .
If yu fit a new pump / motor then use the original specified grade as there is no wear to compensate for.
A few years ago a back yard machins shop started refurbishing Hydros so I no longer touch them
HE charges about 1/2 the parts price to machine the cylinder block & valve plate back to the original surface finish.
What I find amazing is no one does the same thing over there.
What has happened to the "land of oppertunity "

 

[tobybul]

I have a very similar situation with my JD L120 with only 248hours. It intermittently jerks and clicks especially going uphill or making tight turns with or without the mower deck. From onlline research these symptoms does not seem to point to a bad transaxle. Things I've done so far hoping to correct it are (1) replaced the transmission drive belt (2) replaced idler pulleys. This did not fix it. Next, (1) I took off the rear end and drained and replaced the transmission oil. This did not fix it. (2) I checked the splines of the drive shaft where the drive pulley is attached in case it might be damaged. Nothing there. What I noticed is the drive belt does not seem tout and wondering if it is slipping. Could it be that an idler spring is missing? Since I don't know how the original idler setup is supposed to look like I cant tell if some thing is missing or not. Does anyone have information on how the idler setup is supposed to look like?