TuffTorq K46 Repair Guide with Pictures

[JimR1998]

Dead T40/K46 - decisions, decisions...

My JD L118 just stopped going up hills. The T40 rebuild kit + gears + shipping is over $400. I'm not sure if it's worth putting the money in. It has almost 350 hours, the steering is starting to slip, and I'm not thrilled with the quality of cut.

I'm tempted to try the $25 gear replacement and manually sand flat the base of the pump and motor so they ride smooth on the case. I haven't opened it up yet so I don't know how bad they are. The old oil had a LOT of metal shavings in it. There are a few youtube videos of people who replaced just the gears and one who sanded the pump with emery cloth. What are the chances this fixes my problem? Hopefully it gets me by another mowing season.

I'm on the fence between fixing vs. finding an Ingersoll/Case 48" that's going to be able to handle hills, towing and plowing. For $1800, I think that's a better investment than spending the same putting a K66 in the L118.

Thoughts?

 

[leonz]

I changed the drive belt on the LA115 two years ago and I know it helped for what its worth. I could not do the repair and I had the dealer do it and I was out about $180.00+


I am waiting for my LA115 to croak myself(204 hours) and I wish I had my dads 1967 IHC cub hydro as it was so much simpler to own and operate.
I have to check on farm show to see who sells the cub rebuilds as there are a bunch of folks doing rebuilds on the older lawn tractors.

subscribe to farm show and find the lawn tractor rebuilder guys and decide if you want a cub or a JD and buy a single stage snowblower from them-I have the JD 44 inch two stage and its a money pit I am on my third chute and spout at $125.00 + tax and shipping JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Molerj]

Re: Dead T40/K46 - decisions, decisions...

My JD L118 just stopped going up hills. The T40 rebuild kit + gears + shipping is over $400. I'm not sure if it's worth putting the money in. It has almost 350 hours, the steering is starting to slip, and I'm not thrilled with the quality of cut.

I'm tempted to try the $25 gear replacement and manually sand flat the base of the pump and motor so they ride smooth on the case. I haven't opened it up yet so I don't know how bad they are. The old oil had a LOT of metal shavings in it. There are a few youtube videos of people who replaced just the gears and one who sanded the pump with emery cloth. What are the chances this fixes my problem? Hopefully it gets me by another mowing season.

I'm on the fence between fixing vs. finding an Ingersoll/Case 48" that's going to be able to handle hills, towing and plowing. For $1800, I think that's a better investment than spending the same putting a K66 in the L118.

Thoughts?

More than likely sanding won't help much. "Lots of metal shavings" means lots of wear. If you have a lot of hills and use it for towing, you will be in the same boat again. Time to step up to a bigger, better built tractor. You won't be sorry.

 

[F1Jim64]

Just FYI - I haven't ordered parts yet - but it looks like you don't have to order the $363 (plus $20 shipping) repair kit from Tuff Torq if you only need the filter, pump cylinder, and motor cylinder as described in post 1. I found all the parts at SLE Equiipment:
Pump Cylinder Block $54.50
Motor Cylinder Block $78.50
Filter 105 $11.50
Seal kit $41.50 (if needed & includes the 105 filter) - plus some shipping, but still cheaper than the tuff torq Tex Mex combination plate

Since I'm a cheap *astard - I'm going to try to sand the center case surfaces and see if I can get pressure back. Haven't even pulled trans from the old 22HP Sears yet - but she's slowly lost drive when it warms up - so maybe just cleaning the filter, new Mobil 15/50W, and sanding the scored parts smooth will work... wish me luck.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Just FYI - I haven't ordered parts yet - but it looks like you don't have to order the $363 (plus $20 shipping) repair kit from Tuff Torq if you only need the filter, pump cylinder, and motor cylinder as described in post 1. I found all the parts at SLE Equiipment:
Pump Cylinder Block $54.50
Motor Cylinder Block $78.50
Filter 105 $11.50
Seal kit $41.50 (if needed & includes the 105 filter) - plus some shipping, but still cheaper than the tuff torq Tex Mex combination plate

Since I'm a cheap *astard - I'm going to try to sand the center case surfaces and see if I can get pressure back. Haven't even pulled trans from the old 22HP Sears yet - but she's slowly lost drive when it warms up - so maybe just cleaning the filter, new Mobil 15/50W, and sanding the scored parts smooth will work... wish me luck.

Good luck. I hear the spider gears are usually in need of replacement.

 

[buickanddeere]

Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles, Coupons and More | eBay

 

[tom3]

Couple comments for anyone looking into this. John Deere L130 mower with the Tuff Torq k46. Changed oil and cleaned out the shrapnel on mine at 300 hrs, pretty much shot at 500. These transmissions use the same oil for the hydraulics as in the differential. Way different application there. And those differential gears are some sort of powdered/pressed metal. Seems to make for an early failure when the metal starts flaking off and contaminating the oil, destroying the hydraulic unit. Just a cheap Chinese throwaway gearbox. Can't believe that undersized unit I saw in mine - with a 23 horse twin Kohler engine. large wheels/tires, and the 48" triple blade deck. Replaced my hydro with a Peerless 2000 unit that at least has separate hydro oil and gear lube. Not sure how this unit will last, hard to compare ratings and applications.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Couple comments for anyone looking into this. John Deere L130 mower with the Tuff Torq k46. Changed oil and cleaned out the shrapnel on mine at 300 hrs, pretty much shot at 500. These transmissions use the same oil for the hydraulics as in the differential. Way different application there. And those differential gears are some sort of powdered/pressed metal. Seems to make for an early failure when the metal starts flaking off and contaminating the oil, destroying the hydraulic unit. Just a cheap Chinese throwaway gearbox. Can't believe that undersized unit I saw in mine - with a 23 horse twin Kohler engine. large wheels/tires, and the 48" triple blade deck. Replaced my hydro with a Peerless 2000 unit that at least has separate hydro oil and gear lube. Not sure how this unit will last, hard to compare ratings and applications.

Keep us posted on it's longevity. Were there problems adapting it?

 

[tom3]

Keep us posted on it's longevity. Were there problems adapting it?

Will do. Install was mostly a matter of making mounting brackets, reused and modified the originals, and cutting/shortening the shift linkage. Did slot the frame holes to move the new unit back just a bit in order to use the original drive belt. Axles were about 3/4 in shorter than the k46, no real problems there, cut the spacer sleeves. I started out by taking all the sheet metal and plastic body off the tractor, cleaned and lubed everything while I could get to it. But now I see that Surplus Center has the K66y Tuff Torq hydro trans in stock for $349. Might be a good way to go if this doesn't work out. I do have a spare set of wheels with the 1 inch dia. keyed centers. And they have a Hydrogear unit that looks promising for $269. That Peerless unit that I got is labelled Silent Track, sure not very silent that I can see/hear. Lots of differential gear noise. Time will tell.

 

[tom3]

Stripped down except for gas tank.