LP FDR16xx and venting the gear box

[jimg]

Does anyone have this mdl mower w/ a vented dipstick? LP says theres one available but mine didnt come w/ one....must only be on newr mdls.

 

[jimg]

OK, so no takers. Let me come at it from a different angle then. How much pressure in a gearbox is too much? When I opened mine the other day it was under enough pressure to blow a fair amt of oil out. This was after I hosed the mower off and an hour in the shade. Im sure when it was hot the pressure was higher. Im not loosing oil now but will this be a problem over time? How much pressure is too much and should I be concerned that seals will eventually let go b/c of it? LP does have a venting plug available for this gearbox (which doesnt appear on any of the current public parts lists). My dealer does list it but doesnt stock that item. Im thinking that if LP has a venting plug available they feel its needed. I wonder though if theyre fitting it to mowers going out the door.

 

[markie61]

Interested question....

I am having a problem with my vented dipstick/filler cap on a First Choice RFM. The gearbox gets hot (I can't put my hand on it for more than a second or two) and the oil follows the vent tube up and spills out on top of the gearbox. The cap had a foam breather element, but it got saturated with oil and made even more oil come out so I removed it. It still leaks oil, but it is slowing down now that is between the fill marks rather than at the high one.

So...

Clearly there is a significant amount of pressure and logically the seal is going to be the weak point. I think a vented cap is a good idea, but in practice I hope LP's works better.

Mark

 

[jimg]

Hi Mark
The LP replacement part is described as a vented cap and dipstick. This is all I (and my dealer) know about it. My gear box isnt so fancy as yours. It relies on the motion of the gears to pick the oil up and distribute it.

 

[HayDR]

If a gearbox is overfilled it will cause excess heat and the excesses oil will be expelled out the vent. There could be a problem with mixed matched gear sets from different lots causing excess noise and or excess heat. FC finish mowers have had this problem in the past. If your mower stops spouting oil out the vent and stays just warm to the touch then it just had a bit too much oil in it. This could happen with any gearbox MFG that is turning the RPM's a finish mower turns.

 

[markie61]

Thanks, Mark. I'll keep an eye on it. Much less is coming out the vent now and the fluid is still between the marks on the dipstick.

Mark

 

[jimg]

By way of a follow up I did get the recommended vent/dipstick for my mower and it worked pretty well (no surprise). I could tell it was working b/c after the mower was up to temp I could smell gear oil around that area. I never bothered to use it as a dipstick as that was inconvenient due to it being threaded into the gearbox housing vs press fit. I continued to check the oil level via the fill plug. At the end of mowing season I removed the vent and replaced it w/ the original plug before storing the mower.

 

[MMM]

I got a good deal on cutter due to no vent. The owner didn't want the hassle of changing output seal. It never needed it. Excess pressure was forcing oil past lip seal and aftermarket vent fixed it.

 

[HayDR]

Normal operating temperature of this gearbox can be 40-70 degrees above ambient temperature.