Questions - TimeCutter MX 5475

[KM Richards]

Yes, I'm aware that the oil should be changed each season and the oil level should be checked before you mow each time. That's a given...

Synthetics don't cause leaks on new engines. A lot of equipment, especially in the auto industry come from the factory with Synthetics. On old stuff, yes it can cause issues.

And, I only run fuel that has no moonshine (ethanol) even though Toro's hand book claims it's OK to use gas that has moonshine in it. I don't drink-N-drive ? cause I don't wanna have a lanw mower accident and hit another mower since my lawn mower liability insurance coverage isn't that good. (I'm just going to be in my own yard)

 

[KM Richards]

Hey guys,

On the Toro Timecutter MX 5475... is the Hydrostatic Transmission serviceable in terms of changing the tranny fluid?.

The owner's manual says nothing about it so maybe it's a "sealed" system they only want the Toro dealer to work on.

I know it has lubrication in there so I'd like to change it...

 

[KM Richards]

I was just looking under the mower and there does not appear to be any drain plugs on the bottom at all.

But, there does appear to be a pug on top on each transmission

Maybe the way the dealer services each tranny is to remove the plug on top and sticks a hose down in there and sucks the old fluid out and then puts new fluid in and puts the plug back.

 

[KM Richards]

Well, I found a video on this and apparently the same company makes these Hydrostatic Transmissions and some of the newer ones do not have filters or drain plugs

So, I have an electric pump for lubricants and before Long I'm going to remove the plug on top and see if I can get a hose to go all the way down to the bottom to be able to pump out all the oil.

The guy in the video said it takes about 1.5 quarts but I'll measure how much comes out and put back the same amount Here's the video:

 

[KM Richards]

Here's an interesting video about how to Make A Sealed Unit Serviceable:

 

[bertsmobile1]

If you want to replace all of the oil then it is take the tranny out remove fill plug then tip upside down.
Fitting a drain plug is not uncommon but considering the chances of swarf ending up in the box not a good idea IMHO unless the box is split at the time
Most of the filters are magnetic and a magnet does not pull out alloy chips .

 

[KM Richards]

Yeah, I'm not going to disassemble the back end of the mower just to take out the transmission housing to be able to turn them upside down to drain the oil. Just thinking about how goofy it is to have to do that is irritating.

The guy in the video says he found the schematics for his particular transmission housings and determined putting the hole right in the middle would not hurt anything as long as he did not drill all the way thru where the drill bit went up in side.

As he was drilling slowly, as soon as the oil started coming out he stopped drilling so the bit didn't go all the way thru. Then he was able to tap some threads into the housing and he did so as the oil was still running out.

Once done, he poured new oil in and let it flow out to help flush any shards from the cutting out to make sure none of the little pieces remained in the case.

There are shops out there that rebuild these transmissions and this would be a great idea for them to add drain plugs when they have the housing open. Of course they may not want to do that since changing the oil frequently helps the trannys last a lot longer.

Anyway there are supposed to be tags on these transmissions to tell you what model it is so I'll get that info off of mine to see if I can obtain a copy of the schematics to make sure the plug can go right in the middle like the guy did on his in the video.

He was saying on his, right where he was putting the hole there was a filter on the inside and it would not be damaged as long as he isn't pushing the drill bit all the way inside.

Once I get the plug installed... I'm going to run Amsoil 20W-50 Synthetic Hydrostatic Transmission Fluid which should be some good stuff!

 

[bertsmobile1]

Monkey see
Monkey do
Monkey get big repair bill
It is a lot harder to do than you think
And transmissions are made in sealed factory to exclude dust because they are so vunerabe to wear
So you saw it on You tube
When have you seen a you tube video say
DO not do what I posted last year as now my tranny is beyond repair & I have an $ 1800 replacement bill.

But it is your mower and your money so go ahead .

 

[KM Richards]

Yeah, this ain't rocket science you know. It's a simple hole to be drilled slowly for the purposes of easily being able to change the oil. It's them city slickers that'll be paying others to fix their equipmemt.

The shards from drilling will be caught in the oil coming out and that's when I'll cut the threads is while the oil is still coming out.

It's a great idea that should have been done by the manufacturer... but of course they want to make money repairing these units or selling people an entire new mower.

I went out to mow today and it was running great until after about 30 minutes when it got so hot that the tranny on the right side quit functioning all together. I had to turn the mower off and wait about 30 to 40 minutes before I could drive it to my shop. (it runs great when it's cold, malfunctions once it gets hot)

The items I need to drill, tap, and plug the hole will be in this week (I wanted brand new stuff for this) and soon I'll be one happy monkey who just changed the oil and put in all new Amsoil 20W-50 Synthetic Hydrostatic Transmission Fluid and back up and running smooth!

So, no need to worry about me my friend...

When have you seen a you tube video say
DO not do what I posted last year as now my tranny is beyond repair & I have an $ 1800 replacement bill.

The guy in the video bought his mower for $100 and the mower is still ruining great after he put new oil in the tranny on each side.

I feel sorry for the guys that take their trannys out just to drain them.

 

[KM Richards]

Just installed the drain plugs on both sides this afternoon and mowed the yard, and WOW what a difference using Amsoil 20W-50 Synthetic Hydrostatic Transmission Fluid makes!

The trannys are nice and quite, they are more responsive so changing the fluid definitely fixed my issue.

The problem I was having was after mowing for about 30 minutes, the trannys literally quit pulling and were making a terrible whining sound. This happened twice when the mower got warmed up and I had to leave it in the yard for 30 to 45 minutes for it to cool down and then I could move it again.

Apparently the fluid that came in my mower oiriginally has degraded and could not longer take the heat. I just bought my mower brand new in June of 2020

So, rather than going thru the foolishness of taking the trannys out of the mower just to be able to drain the fluid and be able to put in new fluid... like the guy in the video I posted above... I just drilled a couple of holes, cut some threads and install plugs.

Now, I'll be able to service my tranny easily by removing the drain lugs to drain it... which is how it should have come from the factory. Obviously by making the tranny "non-serviceable" they hope to make some money off of people or even sell them a new mower!

Anyway, it was an easy fix and I'm back in bidness!