What's the oil level in a Craftsman gearbox?

[ragkar]

I recently bought a ten year old Craftsman 42 inch mower from a nearby church. Now I'm going over it to do much needed maintenance.
One item is the gearbox oil level. The previous maintailer said that the manual says nothing about the oil level or change interval of the gearbox so he never checked it. He's right but I found an oil fill plug on the illustrated parts list. They also give the API rating of the oil.
My problem is what should the level be? Should it be up to overflowing? Lower? This mower shifts very hard and the clutch engages with a jerk-out-of-seat start. Do you think this is a lube problem?

[dpdee13]

Just picked up a similar mower over the weekend, you might be able to find the manual on the sears.com website. They had one for my new/old GT6000 (need to enter the model number).

For the GT6000, raise tractor, remove left rear tire, remove fill plug. Fluid level should be even with the bottom of the fill hole (I guess just dripping out). Manual calls for straight 30 weight oil as a lubricant.

Don't know about the operation issue but it wouldn't hurt to drain and refill.

Dave

[ragkar]

Mine is a Craftsman LT1000. I checked and the gearbox has no oil and is three inches deep from the top. The fill hole is horizontal, so filling to the top would leave no room for expansion. I use 80W90 oil in there.

[marshtric]

s the engine produceing bluish/white smoke? Change the oil ASAP and use SAE 5W-30 oil. It's too ...

[ragkar]

The gearbox oil level and not the engine oil level is the problem.

Lacking any guidance I opted for one inch below the lip of a three inch deep cavity. It seems to be shifting easier but the clutch is a neck snapper.