Woods MD172 problems

Have any of you guys had problems with the gearbox on the Woods MD172 rotary. I have had problems with it overheating and now the bottom seal went out and seized the gearbox. I had the chopper for 1.5 years now but had problems with it overheating since I bought it. When it overheats it loosens the bolts and blows oil out thru the gasket.

<font color=blue>Robert Turk Jr.</font color=blue>
<font color=blue>Whitetail Splendor Deer Farms</font color=blue>
<font color=blue>Silver Creek, NY</font color=blue>

Sounds like it has had a bad bearing. What corrective action did you take after it overheated and blew oil out through the gasket each time?

I would let it cool first then clean it tighten the bolts as the gasket was still good just the bolts keep loosening, I also check the vent hole to make sure it is clean. All I can figure is is loosens the bolts because of the heat, I have used loctite and that helped but now the bottom seal is shot, I think it is a design flaw as the vent hole seems inadequate. I will let you know what woods does since the gearbox only has a 1 year warranty. I am hoping they pay for the repairs.

<font color=blue>Robert Turk Jr.</font color=blue>
<font color=blue>Whitetail Splendor Deer Farms</font color=blue>
<font color=blue>Silver Creek, NY</font color=blue>

My dealer has repaired it for me and is trying to make woods cover it. I asked the mechanic if he knew what happened and he has no clue except for the bottom seal just failed. It is sad when this happens on a 1.5 year old machine but hopfully it was a fluke.

<font color=blue>Robert Turk Jr.</font color=blue>
<font color=blue>Whitetail Splendor Deer Farms</font color=blue>
<font color=blue>Silver Creek, NY</font color=blue>

I have an XT148 and the bolts that hold the gearbox to the deck work loose too. No failures so far, but it does make some odd sounds when its spinning down.

Robert:

The MD-172 gearbox was a good one. But, you have to keep watching
the oil level. When the lower seal goes the oil starts to leak out. Then
when the oil leaking is beyond what you're willing to tolerate; switch
to grease; then when more grease leaks than you're willing to tolerate--rebuild the gearbox.

All the bearings and seals can be obtained locally. rnuddatyahoocom. You don't need to get them from a Woods dealer. You'll have to take out the bearings
and seals first to get the OEM numbers.

Do you know of any used 1:1 gearboxes available for MD172. Mine is up
for rebuild #3. Have mowed about 10,000+ acres with it since 1989.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rnudd

Robert:

The MD-172 gearbox was a good one. But, you have to keep watching
the oil level. When the lower seal goes the oil starts to leak out. Then
when the oil leaking is beyond what you're willing to tolerate; switch
to grease; then when more grease leaks than you're willing to tolerate--rebuild the gearbox.

All the bearings and seals can be obtained locally. rnuddatyahoocom. You don't need to get them from a Woods dealer. You'll have to take out the bearings
and seals first to get the OEM numbers.

Do you know of any used 1:1 gearboxes available for MD172. Mine is up
for rebuild #3. Have mowed about 10,000+ acres with it since 1989.

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I have been running grease in mine for the last 8-9 years now as I got tired of the seal failing. I will ask a couple friends who I know had some used MD cutters and see if they still have them and if they want to sell the gear box. I can also ask the Case-IH dealer as they usually have a machine laying around or know of one. I will let you know as soon as I get to talk to them.

I looked in my gearbox after being suspicious. I heard some different sounds as it was winding down. I popped the lid and the darn thing was dry. It's been a while since I checked it so maybe I was at fault. Got a half gallon of 90 weight in there now and I'll keep check. Rebuilding the gearbox is not the problem. Getting the blades of is going to be the bitch!

I owned a MD172 for 12 years, just sold it this spring as I upgraded to a larger unit with my new tractor.

I too had the lower seal replaced about 6 years ago. Also had to replace the slip clutch plates once due to my own neglect of not checking the tension of the bolts. Other than that, it has been a great unit that never failed me despite all the abuse I put it through. Dealer gave me $1000 trade in towards the new unit. Definitely a well built cutter.

I've tried to find an owners manual on-line but failed. Slip clutch!? I wondered what those 6 bolts with springs function was. Is there a torque setting that I can use? When I bought my tractor they had this mower with it. All they did was mow the grass on a big estate but I treat it pretty rough. If the slip clutch will help preserve the mower I need to have it set properly. By looking at the ID tag it looks like I have a 1993 model. For being an older one it still gets the job done.