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My tractor travels very slow in reverse and will not back up on an incline. The transmission shows no signs of leaking. Is there a way to adjust the unit. The tractor was built in 2006 and otherwise runs great. Thanks in advance for any input.

Look under your tractor and confirm that there is no grass build up preventing the forward/reverse lever from moving all the way back when the reverse pedal is pushed. Look mainly at the back where the rod attaches to the transmission, but also look at the front by the pedal.

evh said:

Look under your tractor and confirm that there is no grass build up preventing the forward/reverse lever from moving all the way back when the reverse pedal is pushed. Look mainly at the back where the rod attaches to the transmission, but also look at the front by the pedal.

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Very good advice. Then, if everything is clear of debris buildup, having trouble backing up with a hydrostatic transaxle is often the beginning of the end.

Or it could just be a worn out drive belt and v-idlers.

If you find the belt and idler's are ok, you may want to confirm the make/model of your transmission and see if you can change the oil in it. Research may show it can take a 5W-50 synthetic oil. You can possibly change most of it without removing the transmission if you have a vacuum/sucker device. I have done it on many a tractor transmission.

evh said:

If you find the belt and idler's are ok, you may want to confirm the make/model of your transmission and see if you can change the oil in it. Research may show it can take a 5W-50 synthetic oil. You can possibly change most of it without removing the transmission if you have a vacuum/sucker device. I have done it on many a tractor transmission.

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I have removed transaxle oil also with a Mityvac evacuator. You cannot get it all, unable to clean the screen filter, and it will probably/possibly help for a shorter term solution, provided it isn’t too far gone.

After exposing the tranny from the top and cleaning the years of debris that gathered there. I found a lot of movement on both ends of the control rod and worn out plastic bushings on the control shaft and brake shaft. I replaced the bushings. The rods and control shaft are no longer in production (2007 model) and I was concerned that the used parts from E-Bay would show the same wear as the parts that I have. I added some washers at the connection point on the rods in order to take up the slop at the connections and It actually worked. More speed in forward and reverse. More power when backing up. I got lucky this time. Thanks for all the ideas.

It is easy to remove the transaxle and change the oil, it takes about an hour or less to pull it off. jack up the rear high enough to get jack stands under the frame just forward of the tranny. Then Remove the 7/16 nut holding the brake cam on, then unbolt the front two torque bracket bolts, then place a jack under the tranny and loosen the axle shaft bolts and let it drop until you can access the speed control rod, wheel it out the backside. Then simply clean the area well around the drain/fill plug and remove it. Flip it over (it is not heavy, maybe 35 lbs.) and dump the oil in an oil pan. Then refill with 20-50 synthetic to about one-half inch from the top. Use a drill with a 1/2" socket adapter to rotate the bolt on the pulley while moving the lever from forward to reverse a few times to purge it and recheck level. Re-install.

kbowley said:

It is easy to remove the transaxle and change the oil, it takes about an hour or less to pull it off. jack up the rear high enough to get jack stands under the frame just forward of the tranny. Then Remove the 7/16 nut holding the brake cam on, then unbolt the front two torque bracket bolts, then place a jack under the tranny and loosen the axle shaft bolts and let it drop until you can access the speed control rod, wheel it out the backside. Then simply clean the area well around the drain/fill plug and remove it. Flip it over (it is not heavy, maybe 35 lbs.) and dump the oil in an oil pan. Then refill with 20-50 synthetic to about one-half inch from the top. Use a drill with a 1/2" socket adapter to rotate the bolt on the pulley while moving the lever from forward to reverse a few times to purge it and recheck level. Re-install.

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If you can do all that in only an hour, I will send all my customers with this issue to you. One thing that has always bothered me in life, is when people say, “it will only take ten minutes.” When in reality, we all know it will take more like an hour, for example.

Tiger Small Engine said:

If you can do all that in only an hour, I will send all my customers with this issue to you. One thing that has always bothered me in life, is when people say, “it will only take ten minutes.” When in reality, we all know it will take more like an hour, for example.

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Some are a pain to get out and in. I usually allow half a day as customer are always coming in where I got drop things to help them. Other repairs are necessary to drive system too while the transaxle is out. Or to the transaxle itself.

I never say it going to take the same amount time on every unit. Some are easy and others can be a royal pain.

It like yesterday two identical mower with the same problem. Deck idler arm worn out. The first one was done quickly but second one took twice as long as the stepped washer had to be ground to remove a lot slop in the idler arm. Several refits was necessary. On top that the stepped kept coming out of the hole and would go back in until the screw was fully removed each time.

The first mower took only 30 minutes max and but the second mower took over an hour.

If you can't remove that tranny on a cub LT in an hour, you're doing something wrong. It is very easy.

kbowley said:

If you can't remove that tranny on a cub LT in an hour, you're doing something wrong. It is very easy.

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We can’t all be as good as you apparently.

I am only referring to the removal, not the oil change and re-installation. More like three hours total. Didn't mean to offend. Sorry.

kbowley said:

I am only referring to the removal, not the oil change and re-installation. More like three hours total. Didn't mean to offend. Sorry.

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One of the problems is users see that someone can do the job in an hour and then they start demand us techs to do in that time. I had customer that saw where his engine repair could in 30 minutes when in fact it took over two hours to remove, repair, and reinstalled. He got so pushy that I only charged for the parts and proceeded to bar him from my shop.

I even offer to let do the work himself if he thought it could be done that quick. He refused even after I offered the use of my tools. Shaft drive Cub Cadet are not that repair friendly as you have to pull the engine just to get the shroud off to access the ignition wiring that mice had chewed up.

As for the rider transaxle yes most can done under three hours; sometimes as little as two hours depending the setup. Now take a JD Z925A where you got to drop the whole rear drive assembly out as there are at least two bolts you can't even get to unless you do. Takes all day just to replace one transaxle. And that is one heck of a heavy cast iron bracket they are bolted to.

But, he has a cub cadet with a K46...so...the point?

kbowley said:

But, he has a cub cadet with a K46...so...the point?

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Thank you for clarification on time of TOTAL job. Star Tech was telling a short story about how difficult some of these “quick and easy” jobs can be. That was the point.

Tiger Small Engine said:

If you can do all that in only an hour, I will send all my customers with this issue to you. One thing that has always bothered me in life, is when people say, “it will only take ten minutes.” When in reality, we all know it will take more like an hour, for example.

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I worked as an industrial maintenance manager for years. When equipment failure caused production stoppage (most often from operator error), production personnel wanted to know how long to get it operational. I would estimate how long I thought it should take and then tell them double that time. If it took less time, they were happy; if it took a little longer than I told them, they were OK because they expected it to take that long. There is always something unexpected that only shows itself when you get up to your elbows in oil, grease and dirt.

lbrac said:

I worked as an industrial maintenance manager for years. When equipment failure caused production stoppage (most often from operator error), production personnel wanted to know how long to get it operational. I would estimate how long I thought it should take and then tell them double that time. If it took less time, they were happy; if it took a little longer than I told them, they were OK because they expected it to take that long. There is always something unexpected that only shows itself when you get up to your elbows in oil, grease and dirt.

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That's the part some people just can't seem to understand... I worked in feed mills and frequently helped the maintenance guy. The management was a PITA when you are 125' up and having to answer stupid questions.

And some questions are really beyond stupid too. Like why you have the safety lockouts in place.

StarTech said:

And some questions are really beyond stupid too. Like why you have the safety lockouts in place.

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Exactly. But lockout/tag out isn't foolproof. I was the victim of that... We never accounted for a material hang up in the fill pipe in a midds bin... It dislodged and hit me in the head.. Never saw it coming.

Nothing ever is. That is why you got to be extra cautious with everything. Just can't assume things or you can get hurt seriously.

It sorta like that cut his seriously recently here. He had me to sharpen his chainsaw chain. When He went to pick it up grabbed the chain and as he slide his fingers down the chain he asked did I sharpen the chain. Well found out the hard way with a few stitches later.

StarTech said:

Nothing ever is. That is why you got to be extra cautious with everything. Just can't assume things or you can get hurt seriously.

It sorta like that cut his seriously recently here. He had me to sharpen his chainsaw chain. When He went to pick it up grabbed the chain and as he slide his fingers down the chain he asked did I sharpen the chain. Well found out the hard way with a few stitches later.

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Some people just choose the hard way.