LT 1046 Trans Fluid change?

   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change? #1  
J

john223

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Jul 6, 2008
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My 3 yr old 1046 seems a little sluggish in tight turns, with its speed slowing and a whine from the tranny. I have been reading up on my model and it appears I have the transaxle with drain and fill plugs. Now my question is how difficult it is to get to the fill plug? It is worth removing the unit or removing the fender? any tips or thoughts from the pros out there? Draining it is the easy job... Also, is it OK to use 20w-50 synthetic in it? Thanks!
 
   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change? #3  
I don't think your 1046 has a fill plug. When Cub added the drain plug to these, they still intended for you to fill through the top vent port. The only way to get at the vent is pull the transaxle off the machine. 20w50 would be a good choice given their smaller oil holding capacity. What I would do (or attempt anyway) is measure what comes out and fill it through the drain plug like you would a boat lower-unit. Use a gear oil bottle, suction gun, some type of pump, etc. You could probably rig up some type of fitting with tubing on it that will thread into the drain plug hole.

Joel
 
   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change? #4  
Wouldn't you want to use Hy-Tran or something that's meant for your transaxle rather than motor oil? I'd say maybe gear oil. I'm not a professional.
 
   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change? #5  
No Sir. Hydrostatic transaxles spec motor oil. Very old ones spec'd 20w20 engine oil, ATF or hydraulic fluid. Pretty much anything made in the last ~25yrs will use 10w30, 15w40 or 20w50 in the hydro.

Joel
 
   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change? #6  
jet62095 said:
Wouldn't you want to use Hy-Tran or something that's meant for your transaxle rather than motor oil? I'd say maybe gear oil. I'm not a professional.
Click to expand...

Only JD tries to ram hytran down your throat. All others (Including TT whobuilds it for JD...) call for oil.

df.
 
   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change? #8  
dieselfreak said:
Only JD tries to ram hytran down your throat...
Click to expand...

Cub Cadet does the same with thier "Drive System Fluid Plus" recommendation. That stuff is ~$10qt and is just a thicker synthetic blend motor oil. The new EZT and ZT-2800 transaxles from Hydrogear spec "Rimula 15w40". I'm with OldMachinist on that one though, if you go through the time and aggrevation in changing it on the smaller 'sealed' units, use the best 20w50 you can find.

Joel
 
   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for all the input. Had to remove the seat, rear cover, and detach the fender to access the fill port. Not too difficult. Used a skinny funnel to fill it with 2 qts of 20w-50, there is actually a synthetic 20w-50 but I was a little weary about mixing so I went with regular. Only 2 qts drained out(I measured) and 2 qts filled it up to the top. I even primed the unit then checked the level again, and it was just 2 qts. The drained fluid was very black with some milky tinge to it - it loooks like moisture may have gotten into it which may have caused the sluggishness. Rides better with the new fluid. almost 50 hrs on the machine. I would recommend this every few years and plan to add it to my maintenance schedule.:thumbsup:
 
   / LT 1046 Trans Fluid change? #10  
I'm going to do something similar. This is my 2nd Season on my LTX 1040, and I plan on changing the fluid next season.
 
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