Hi. I have a 1997 Broadmoor with a 16 hp B/S Vanguard motor and a hydrostatic drive transmission. The mower has approx 900 hours and has been well maintained. A recent problem has developed with regard to the drive line, in that when the machine gets hot, it can not pull its own weight. It gradually slows to the point of stopping. When starting out cold, it goes fine. The motor runs fine and has plenty of power.
The problem I suspect is either with a stretched drive belt, or the failure of the hdrostatic trans. The trans is a Hydro-Gear 312-0800CT and does not appear to be readily maintanable with regard to checking fluid level and quality. The drive belt idler pulleys, idler carriage, and spring all are welll lubricated and fully fuctioning.
2 questions...
1. How much slack should be in the drive belt? When the parking brake is engaged, the drive belt can be slipped off of the idler pully without much effort. Is this too loose?
2. If the drive belt is deemed to be OK, the I suspect a trans problem. The trans is hot to the touch when the tractor slowly grinds to a halt. Is there a way to change/check the fluid, and if so, will this solve the problem? This trans appears to be obsolete and no longer available. Are there any options available if the trans is shot, short of buying a new tractor?
Thanks for your response. I have the manual for this machine, but no specific direction was given beyond what I have already looked at and tried. Still no success. I just drained and changed the trans oil. It looks as if that had never been done, and the oil pretty nasy looking. Maybe new trans oil will resolve the problem, but if not, I am out of options. Thanks.
How tight is the belt under normal operation? If you have not replaced the belt I would start there. Also, check to see if the tensioner moves farther with the belt off. If it does not, you need to find out why.
The idler carriage/pulleys are functional and seem to be keeping adequate tension on the drive belt. Not sure what the proper belt play shoud be for a belt of this length. When the tractor gets warm and slows down to a stop when in gear, the belt is still turning the trans pully with no apparent slippage. The trans pully is turning, but there is no forward (or reverse) movement. Thoughts? Thanks.
Broadmoore are riding lawn mower,not a graden tractor.Are you trying to pull something if so how muh weigh is it? If the engine stps you are most likely maxing out the tork on the thing and causeing it stall out. If I had som more facts i might be able to help you more.If your trans. is good and your pullyed are good,I would look at the weight of what you are pulling or run some cheks on the engine.
Thanks for your response. The tractor is not pulling anything, except its own weight and the mower deck. The engine is not the problem, as it runs good with no loss of power or stalling issues. Belt and idler puklleys appear to be OK, with aderquate tension on the drive belt. Any other thoughts? Thanks.
Looking into buying one of these but I won't now with trans already obsolete..lol
These corps follow the "planned obsolescence" now and either make a p.o.s. with a trans that fails within 200hrs or build little better trans but' then they drop production for no reason other than to force us to buy new machines again.
I'll just keep my old Wheel Horse around and these corps can well' go F#@k themselves as they say... Keep your Junk!
MowMan you better get your eyes checked, the Broadmoor which we are talking about in this thread has 900 hours on it. it’s a 1997 model and he posted in 2012, making it 15 years old. He never came back telling if the problem was solved. He changes tranny fluid, but not belt and says pulleys and idler tensioner arm is functional, but I have no idea what that means. You are making a bad assumption with very little information, plus there is no reason for naughty words, shows immaturity. This Simplicity was an excellent unit and unless you can back up your claims, keep them to yourself.
Wonder if that machine has fluid filters or screens that are plugged up?
Remove a hose before it connects to a drive motor and see if you have fluid flow. Probably need new drive motors. Could have a plugged up hose or three.Sounds like it has given several years of good service.
Just joined as I too have a broadmoor that struggles to pull (and makes a din), local dealer said tranny is stuffed, not worth buying a new one but he will look to see if he has a second hand one. I thought the belt was slipping but this guy says over 500hrs they tend to let go. I have found service kits and I am keen as the rest of the machine is great, shame to scrap it. So, has anyone serviced their hydrostatic drive (simplicity says sealed for life and only serviceable by them!) yeh right.
It is not difficult to do an motor/pump replacement, they are drop in parts .
However what is difficult is cleaning the tranny externally then internally because 5/8 of SA dust in the tranny oil will shorten it's life drastically.
I flush with kerro then with clean oil then do the work & seal the case.
The work is done in the workshop bathroom after the walls have been wetted down & if I am going to leave the tranny open for any reason then it gets covered with a damp rag
