Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission

   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission
  • Thread Starter
#11  
Its 2 1/2 years old. it started acting up when it had 50 hrs. on it. It now has 180 hrs. The motor oil and filter has been changed My husband bought it at Lowes ( he passed away 6 mo. later) They don't have a service center. I asked several other business that carried the cub, and they told me to grease all the zerts. It seemed to work a little better. When I went back its all I got is it can't be the mower its to new. I'm a woman so I didn't know how to operate it or know what I was talking about.
Should the reservoir have more oil in it when it gets hot? What do you think it is. If I do take it in I'd like to have an idea whats wrong with it. Around here service centers take advantage of women if they know they're not mechanically inclined.
Thanks
Rose Mary
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #12  
Yes, as the oil heats up it will expand into the reservoir raising the level. Its a shame that there are businesses that do that but its not only women they take avantage of I sure men that seem mechanically challanged get the same treatment. There is a member here who changed the oil in his ZTR50 last month because he was having the same problem. Maybe you could send him( http://http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/members/finklea73.html ) a private message or email and ask how he was able to do it without removing the transmissions.
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #13  
Rose Mary,
Sorry you are having problems. Here is what I did to change the fluid. I removed the protective covers that surround the 2 oil filters on the drives. Remove one oil filter at a time with some type of catch container for the fluid. After you have removed both filters and all the fluid is drained then put new filters on. Do a Google search from the part# printed on the old filters. I bought my filters online here (Amazon.com: Hydro-Gear ® « FILTER SPIN-ON HG-52114: Home Improvement) but, i cant guarantee these are the same as what you have. These 2 drives hold a lot of fluid. About 4-6 quarts. I used 15W40 Rotella T oil. It is a very slow process of adding the fluid back into the drives. Use the small reservoir to fill the drives. I know this sounds weird but, I used a hand basketball pump to pressurize the small resorvoir to force the fluid down to the drives. It bubbled for about 4 hours as the fluid painfully drained into the drives. After I changed the fluid it ran great (and is still running great)

This is how I changed my fluid. Hope this helps and good luck to you.
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #14  
Just to let you all know I had the same issue with my right wheel transmission, it would slowly stop working after 45 minutes. I have a friend at Hydrogear and he confirmed changing the fluid might but I should use synthetic.

Made the change and so far so good, I have mowed 4 times and no issues.

George
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #15  
Rose Mary,
Sorry you are having problems. Here is what I did to change the fluid. I removed the protective covers that surround the 2 oil filters on the drives. Remove one oil filter at a time with some type of catch container for the fluid. After you have removed both filters and all the fluid is drained then put new filters on. Do a Google search from the part# printed on the old filters. I bought my filters online here (Amazon.com: Hydro-Gear ョ ォ FILTER SPIN-ON HG-52114: Home Improvement) but, i cant guarantee these are the same as what you have. These 2 drives hold a lot of fluid. About 4-6 quarts. I used 15W40 Rotella T oil. It is a very slow process of adding the fluid back into the drives. Use the small reservoir to fill the drives. I know this sounds weird but, I used a hand basketball pump to pressurize the small resorvoir to force the fluid down to the drives. It bubbled for about 4 hours as the fluid painfully drained into the drives. After I changed the fluid it ran great (and is still running great)

This is how I changed my fluid. Hope this helps and good luck to you.

Rosemary - finklea73's recipe is spot on, imho. Onliest addt'l comment is to work "clean" - hydrostatic's two greatest enemies beyond bad/no oil are heat and dirt to bring on early life failures Clean all areas well before dis-assembling and take care to keep everything clean whilst changing out fluids/filters and re-assembling. Avoid power washers and the like.

Good luck..
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #16  
Rosemary - finklea73's recipe is spot on, imho. ..


Problem is, as far as I know the EZT series ZTR transaxles do not have spin on filters, where the higher end ZT-2800's found on the higher dollar Z-Force ZTRs do. Also, like OldMachinest has posted, a 20w50 synthetic would be preferred for smaller sumps that get used in hot weather.

Joel
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #17  
The original drive belt for the 2004 rzt-22 (50 inch deck) is 47.8" long. as it stretches, the idler pulley is supposed to take up the tension and keep it from slipping in order to maintain power.

unfortunately the idler pulley can only move a small amount before its arm hits a bracket and keeps it from maintaining tension.

i solved this problem by switching from the oem 47.8" belt to an aftermarket Huskee kevlar 47" belt on the transmission. not very hard to put on but stays tight all the time. also costs a lot less than the mtd/cub cadet belt.



hope that helps
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #18  
thanks for this post. it's been most helpful. i seem to be having the same problem with my RZT 50. the left side (if your in the driver's seat) began to get noisy and quit pulling after a small time running. this just happened all of a sudden and i haven't had problems with it before. it has 100 hours on it and was purchased at home depot in 5/2006 (3 years old with a 2 year warranty - it figures). i talked with a local repair shop before looking on the net. he stated once they start making noise they are likely going out, but suggested i check the level and fill it up with 20W50. i had noticed when washing the mower off after use the left trans did seem to be keeping a light film on it like it might be leaking. when i took the hose off the fill port, i noticed it had a crack in it a thought i might get lucky if that's where to leak was coming from. i filled up the case to the top and it worked much better, but after about 15 minutes it started again. i could let it cool and it would work ok for 5-10 minutes and then began to make noise and get weaker.
i read through the hydro gear manual linked here and tried to fill it up again and purge the system last night. I'd change the fluid, but can't figure out how to do it on this model without removing the tranny. it's the cheaper model that has only the internal filter.
when i mowed the back yard today it seemed to last about 25 minutes before getting noisier. my plan is to just keep filling it up and see how it does next time i mow.
do you think it would help to change the fluid and switch to synthetic? is there an additive i could try or use a heavier oil?
i used castrol 20w50 high mileage for now. when i called the repair shop, the trans is about $750 with 2 hours labor ($120?) so I'm looking at $900 - 1000 bucks to fix it. i could buy a complete cheap mower for that. i paid about $3000 for it and hate to invest a third of the cost in repairing it and have the other one go out or the motor blow up next year. hiring a yard man is looking better and better, but i have 2 acres and it's pretty steep rate to cut it.
Think I'll baby it and try to make it through the year and check to see if anybody rebuilds these around here. any suggestions?
btw i found the easiest way to fill it up was the get a squeeze bottle like mustard comes in ($.97 at wal mart for a clear one) this way you can slowly drizzle in it without having to wait on air bubbles.
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #19  
I just had the same problem with my RZT 50, the left rear trans stopped working suddenly. Could this be caused from lack of hydraulic fluid? I bought transmission/hydraulic fluid but i can't see anywhere to put it and cub cadet doesn't give any information about the transmission and/or putting hydraulic fluid in. Someone said to put oil in it but i can't see how this would effect the trans at all. It could possibly be that i have 211 hours on it.
 
   / Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission #20  
download the manual listed in the second post:
"The RZT uses HydroGear EZT transmissions and are considered sealed for life. But with that being said they do publish a service manual for them and you can find it at this link.
https://lookup3.toro.com/request/gog...m=hg312200.pdf "
it shows where to put in the fluid. you just take the rubber hose off and add oil. this is to the trans, not the mower engine!!! the manual states to use 20W50 motor oil, which is what i used. i did see some posts used 10w40.
i'm still in the wait and see mode on mine to see if just adding the oil will help or if the trans will have to be replaced. figure i'll wait untill the next time i mow to see if adding the oil helps. read though all the post and the manual. some people say changing my help, but i think you may have to take it apart or off the change out the fluid. some people also say to use synthetic oil.
 
 
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