TuffTorq K46 Repair Guide with Pictures

[2jd212s]

Anytime. Goodluck

[Lostalot]

@ Lots of Green Grass...Well done for your post, Iv'e had a jd L120 (180hrs) parked up for five months which needs a tranny rebuild and was seriously considering dumping it but will now repair it myself as your detailed explanation shows it to be a lot simpler than I anticipated. Because we have another ride on it can be a timely exercise and after dissasembly I will purchase the required parts direct from the manufacturer...again many thanks for the info...regards mike

[Malco]

I just bought a brand new John deere x165 ride on , and after two and half hours use, the transmission already is making anoise like a chop saw cutting wood. Can this really be right? Has anyone else experienced this sort of noise from their transmission? Does it just need the air purging from it or are these the sounds of an impending early death?

[Davepoq]

I have a husky with 150 hours and the k46. After 120 hours the tractor started to loose fwd speed and power. No unusual sounds so I replaced the drive belt. That seemed to help for a few mowings then it started to get progressively worse until I had to push it off the yard. After reading this I decided to try the quick, cheap and easy fix. Dropped the tranny, split the tranny and drained the near perfect looking fluid. No real metal to be found on ether magnet. Bolted the tranny back(didn't even bother to re rtv). Re filled with synthetic oil. Figured I just wasted a half day and to my amazement it has seemed to fix it. I have mowed twice now and all is well. So far....
If you try this try to drain from the fill port instead of splitting the tranny in two.

[BFortier]

Dear LotsofGreenGrass,
You might be pleased to know that your fame has crossed the Atlantic ! I'm a regular French guy with a JD lawnmower that doesn't want to climb my hilly garden anymore. Thanks to you it is now in pieces in the garage, with the transaxle open. Fedex just delivered the repair kit this morning. Next Saturday I'll rebuild it with the new parts, and it'll work again.
cheers
Ben

[BFortier]

Hi,
Similar problem. I'm in France. Ordered directly from Tuff Torq US over the internet. Took a week. Much cheaper than using local JD or Tuff Torq dealers.

[rburke65]

Hey....it's me again.....I have the transaxle removed from the mower and I am attempting to remove the black fill cap to drain the oil. Did I say "attempting"? Is there a trick to this? Of course, I don't want to destroy this, as it would set me back 7 days waiting for a new one to arrive. So...I am all ears for a hint, or two.....or three. Thanks.

[RBLapham]

Hey....it's me again.....I have the transaxle removed from the mower and I am attempting to remove the black fill cap to drain the oil. Did I say "attempting"? Is there a trick to this? Of course, I don't want to destroy this, as it would set me back 7 days waiting for a new one to arrive. So...I am all ears for a hint, or two.....or three. Thanks.

Just pry it off, it is tight but not screwed in. a sturdy sharp knife is what I used - don't cut it just pry up in several places. Also note the position of the magnet disk sitting under the cap when you take it off. I didn't and ended up leaving the magnet out

[rburke65]

Well I did get it out. I just took a long thin bladed screw drive and tapped the edge and saw it lift! Got the plug out, tiped the transaxle over and the oil just poured out. Looked like black water! No viscosity to it at all. So i hope just changing the oil, as suggested, will help. I will post my results. Thanks RBLapham for the quick response.......from one Buckeye to another! I just noticed I failed to post a location under my name. I'll fix that. I'm in NE Ohio, a little south of Youngstown, in Canfield. Thanks again everyone.

[rburke65]

Hey.....that's right....it's me again! Here is an update with my transaxle....IT'S ALIVE!! IT WORKS!! Yes. I feel that this was a great fix to at least get me through the Fall season and enable me to contend with all the leaves without a total rebuild. It took me a while to remove it, but the next time it will go much faster. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! To everyone on this site for making this fix affordable and quick. Ya got to love the Internet! Thanks.