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LA145 tranny or something else?

#1

O

OKSteve

I have a LA145 with 181 hours on it.Late last mowing season,It started slowing down on inclines.I was going to limp along till this fall,but then I developed problems on my mower deck.After pulling the deck and fixing the problem parts,I turned my attention to the tranny.It's a T40J.I pulled the tranny.Oil level was full,though of course it's at least 10 years old.I drained it and opened the tranny.Found almost no material on the magnets,no debris laying in the case,and almost no wear on the parts.Reassembled the tranny using high temp rtv sealant on the case and refilled oil with 5w50 synthetic as recommended.Fan and pulley on tranny looked good.Reinstalled.Started mower,released brake/clutch,and heard an awful noise I hadn't heard before.Research led me to youtube video with the same symptom.Replaced the idler pulleys and bracket,since flat pulley refused to come off bracket.Also replaced worn out drive belt.Put mower on jack stands for purging and started up.Didn't hear noise.Held forward pedal down for 5 minutes.Spins good.Held back pedal for 5 minutes.Spins good.Drop mower down and recheck tranny fluid level.Still full.Start mower,release clutch,noise is back and mower moves slower than before work began.Start to smell burning rubber,shut off mower.Inspection of underside reveals nothing.Start up again,release clutch,no noise or smell.Try moving mower forward and reverse.Moves quickly either way.Drive up and down driveway,good.Rolling across lawn,slows down,noise and smell return.Parked it and that's where I'm at.Mower deck is still off btw.Any thoughts?PTO,problem with drive belt,tranny?I welcome your input,and sorry for long post.Thought I'd better be thorough.


#2

M

mechanic mark

check air gap at PTO clutch .012-.015 three places, let us know how it goes.
181 hours is low for being ten years old, my Simplicity has 450 hrs. & 2010 year model. I remember reading recently where the average homeowner averages 50 hrs. a year mowing.
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John Deere Transmission Assembly - MIA10910

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#3

Hammermechanicman

Hammermechanicman

Check the drive belt being glazed and burned. It sounds like drive belt is slipping on the engine drive pulley when the load increases. Have you checked the belt routing and tension when the clutch is released? Did you replace the drive belt with OEM? If not what length and type did you get?The engine pulley could be worn also. Does the tractor have a lot of hours on it?


#4

O

OKSteve

Hammermechanicman said:
Check the drive belt being glazed and burned. It sounds like drive belt is slipping on the engine drive pulley when the load increases. Have you checked the belt routing and tension when the clutch is released? Did you replace the drive belt with OEM? If not what length and type did you get?The engine pulley could be worn also. Does the tractor have a lot of hours on it?
Click to expand...
I replaced with an OEM belt.I'll need to double check tension on the belt.Didn't notice any real wear on the drive pulley.181 hours.I'll double check the routing of belt again,but I'm pretty sure it's correct.


#5

O

OKSteve

mechanic mark said:
check air gap at PTO clutch .012-.015 three places, let us know how it goes.
181 hours is low for being ten years old, my Simplicity has 450 hrs. & 2010 year model. I remember reading recently where the average homeowner averages 50 hrs. a year mowing.
Click to expand...
mechanic mark said:
check air gap at PTO clutch .012-.015 three places, let us know how it goes.
181 hours is low for being ten years old, my Simplicity has 450 hrs. & 2010 year model. I remember reading recently where the average homeowner averages 50 hrs. a year mowing.
Click to expand...
I'll check if I have a feeler gauge.If not I'll see about getting one.Yeah,not alot of hours on it.It gets messy around here weather wise.We have wild field grass for a yard,and it rains frequently around here,often raining again before the yard dries out.It takes 3 or 4 days to dry.


#6

O

OKSteve

As for the PTO,could that be causing a problem even though the mower deck is off?I've never had any previous trouble with the PTO when mowing.


#7

M

mechanic mark

Welcome to GreenPartStore - John Deere Parts Superstore. Parts for John Deere farm equipment, John Deere Lawn Tractors, John Deere Garden Tractors, John Deere Walkbehind Mowers, John Deere Front Mount Mowers

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Is this same drive belt & pulleys you purchased for your tractor? Or did you purchase non OEM drive belt & pulleys?
If you did not use these JD parts made for your tractor you have a problem.


#8

M

mechanic mark

OKSteve said:
As for the PTO,could that be causing a problem even though the mower deck is off?I've never had any previous trouble with the PTO when mowing.
Click to expand...
probably not, but you still need to check air gap with deck off.


#9

M

mechanic mark

OKSteve said:
I have a LA145 with 181 hours on it.Late last mowing season,It started slowing down on inclines.I was going to limp along till this fall,but then I developed problems on my mower deck.After pulling the deck and fixing the problem parts,I turned my attention to the tranny.It's a T40J.I pulled the tranny.Oil level was full,though of course it's at least 10 years old.I drained it and opened the tranny.Found almost no material on the magnets,no debris laying in the case,and almost no wear on the parts.Reassembled the tranny using high temp rtv sealant on the case and refilled oil with 5w50 synthetic as recommended.Fan and pulley on tranny looked good.Reinstalled.Started mower,released brake/clutch,and heard an awful noise I hadn't heard before.Research led me to youtube video with the same symptom.Replaced the idler pulleys and bracket,since flat pulley refused to come off bracket.Also replaced worn out drive belt.Put mower on jack stands for purging and started up.Didn't hear noise.Held forward pedal down for 5 minutes.Spins good.Held back pedal for 5 minutes.Spins good.Drop mower down and recheck tranny fluid level.Still full.Start mower,release clutch,noise is back and mower moves slower than before work began.Start to smell burning rubber,shut off mower.Inspection of underside reveals nothing.Start up again,release clutch,no noise or smell.Try moving mower forward and reverse.Moves quickly either way.Drive up and down driveway,good.Rolling across lawn,slows down,noise and smell return.Parked it and that's where I'm at.Mower deck is still off btw.Any thoughts?PTO,problem with drive belt,tranny?I welcome your input,and sorry for long post.Thought I'd better be thorough.
Click to expand...
It takes two people to purge air from transaxle, one on seat operating forward & reverse pedals, start off slowly while on jack stands, the other person at backside of tractor operating rod back & forth.


#10

tom3

tom3

Seems like you have some mechanical skill. That Tuff Torq T40 is a real low rated transaxle, even lower than the famous (infamous) K46, probably needs a rebuild to last a couple more years. Right now Surplus Center has a K57 that has a much higher torque rating and is a reasonably do-able replacement. Under $300 shipped I suspect. .Something to consider if you intend to keep the mower for a while. Some good reads on this forum:
www.mytractorforum.com

Replacement options for tuff torq t40

www.mytractorforum.com www.mytractorforum.com


#11

O

OKSteve

mechanic mark said:

Welcome to GreenPartStore - John Deere Parts Superstore. Parts for John Deere farm equipment, John Deere Lawn Tractors, John Deere Garden Tractors, John Deere Walkbehind Mowers, John Deere Front Mount Mowers

www.greenpartstore.com
Is this same drive belt & pulleys you purchased for your tractor? Or did you purchase non OEM drive belt & pulleys?
If you did not use these JD parts made for your tractor you have a problem.
Click to expand...
Those are the same belt and pulleys I bought,though I bought the belt at a separate time because I didn't yet know I needed the pulleys.As for the nuts,I used one of the existing ones.The other I couldn't get off no matter what.That's why I replaced the mounting plate.The shaft that the pulley mounts to is apparently pressed into place and broke loose,spinning free.So I replaced with a regular nut and a locking washer,since that's what I had on hand.


#12

O

OKSteve

mechanic mark said:
It takes two people to purge air from transaxle, one on seat operating forward & reverse pedals, start off slowly while on jack stands, the other person at backside of tractor operating rod back & forth.
Click to expand...
I was just reading the procedure on Husqvarna's site.It can be done by oneself.I'll give that a try,though I still have to contend with whatever is wrong.


#13

O

OKSteve

tom3 said:
Seems like you have some mechanical skill. That Tuff Torq T40 is a real low rated transaxle, even lower than the famous (infamous) K46, probably needs a rebuild to last a couple more years. Right now Surplus Center has a K57 that has a much higher torque rating and is a reasonably do-able replacement. Under $300 shipped I suspect. .Something to consider if you intend to keep the mower for a while. Some good reads on this forum:
www.mytractorforum.com

Replacement options for tuff torq t40

www.mytractorforum.com www.mytractorforum.com
Click to expand...
I would definitely go that route if my research shows it's not too tough to swap out.That's alot cheaper than the rebuild kits for the existing tranny.Thanks for the info.


#14

O

OKSteve

After reading through things,I'm beginning to wonder if the pulley on the tranny could be the problem.I'm no mechanic,I just eyeballed the pulley when I pulled the tranny.Maybe it's spinning on the shaft at least part of the time?I'm pretty sure the drive pulley above the PTO is fine.The belt routing appears correct.One more thing.I forgot where on the mower the back end of the spring connected to.I think I put it back where it was and there's no problem with the plate moving back and forth.


#15

tom3

tom3

I think you can pull back on the clutch/brake pedal with the top of your foot and tighten the drive belt some, might help diagnose the problem.


#16

O

OKSteve

I ordered a new pulley for the top of the trany.The splines look good,but there is some wear on the v of the pulley.I talked to the service dept. at the local JD dealer,and they think it's probably the bearings on the trany shaft.I admit,I did not remove those pieces and inspect them when tearing down the tranny.If the pulley isn't the culprit,I'll order the bearing kit.I'm convinced the rest of the tranny is fine.I'll let you know what I find out.As for checking the air gap on the PTO,I don't see anyplace on it to check the air gap.It's a Warner clutch,but I couldn't find the slots to check it.Maybe these are proprietary to JD?


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