3225 leak

[vdisalvo]

No don't remove #22's, the entire assembly (left axle, right axle and all the stuff in between) can be pulled out. You do need to remove #11 hub assembly and #30 from both sides. Quick question before you proceed any further, did you find hydro oil in that left chamber where the left axle resides? I'm betting you did. If so then it is coming from that #5 bearing somehow. Were the gaskets siliconed well enough all around? I think for starters you can gently pull/pry the entire axle assembly away and check the area where the #5 blocks were seated. Clean them and apply silicone and then reseat everything (you might need an extra pair of hands for that), put it all back together, refill hydro fluid and see what happens. If the #5 blocks do need replaced you can remove them from the outboard side (remove #6 and then slide out the #5). Re-installing those bearings is tricky and if not done properly will result in their damage. That's why I would check with your local cc guys for some tech support. In fact the more I think of it there were other things that needed removal like the differential activator #1. Like I said, my neighbor is a mechanic ( god bless him ) and I would not have succeeded without his help. I may have some material that cc sent me about how to do all that. Let me see if I can find it and I will scan it and email it to you.
Still feel up to all this

 

[vdisalvo]

Hey Bart, I sent you a private message. Check it out and get back to me.

 

[Barticus1973]

I just checked and no Private Messages listed? Did you send to Barticus1973 and not Barticus73? The barticus73 won't let me log in so I started a new screen name with Barticus1973. Anyway, you can send to my email at jsimpson@mwgen.com as well. I'll edit that address out after we are done with our discussion . Thanx for all your help so far!

 

[Barticus1973]

Also, what kind of sealant did you use? Cub Cadets brand is 30 bucks for 2 ounces!!! Would regular RTV Silicone sealant work here? Thanx

 

[DBT]

I am new to the forum but have been lurking for the past few months. I picked up a 3205 from eBay several weeks backs after almost pulling the trigger on a new 2544.

I have noticed the same leak on my 3205, and am not afraid to dive into the disassemby and repair, but wonder what the repair might cost if perfomred by a dealer. (i.e. time vs. money issue) Any thoughts???

Dan

 

[vdisalvo]

dbt,
I am in Akron so we aren't far away. I suppose you have to weigh the effort involved vs the convenience of letting a regular dealer do it. I have no idea what it would cost doing it the dealer way, but you mighty inquire of one in our area explaining what you think the probable cause is. It would seem that the early models of the 3200 series, with aluminum transaxle casings, are prone to this problem. Would CC issue a recall or replace them with the cast iron transaxle casings they later supplied with these models? Any other 3200 series owners out there experiencing the same problems? One question, is your leak of hydro oil coming from one of the left or right axle chambers or does it seem to come from the bottom of the main gearing chamber?

 

[DBT]

The leak on my 3205 rear axle does not seem to be coming from either the leaft or rear side, but from somewhere in the middle. Today I went ahead and wiped everything clean to better see where the leak is coming from. I noticed the drain plug paint was perfectly intact, leading me to believe that it has never been changed. I did try to snug it up a bit, but it seemed perfectly tight when I did so. I will try to gently snug all of the bolts on the rear cover to see if that fixes the problem.

I already spent the $80 on a new filter and eight quarts of the synthetic fluid for the rear end. Obviously, I would like to clear up any leak before putting that in and subsequently having to drain out all of that new fluid if the leak repair turns out to be more involved. In the meantime, I should probabaly at least swap the filter and replace the lost fluid in the process as the machine as 500+ hours on it.

When I get back out to inspect it, I will post a follow-up if I can better isolate the source of the leak.

 

[Fordlords]

If you know for sure you are going to replace the hydro fluid and filter, you can use Zyglo dye or Spotcheck in the fluid to isolate the exact source of the leak following directions of those systems. Hydro fluid is thin and isolating leaks can be difficult.

-Fordlords-

 

[Barticus1973]

Well, I got the rear end all apart and decided to replace the #5 bearings on both side. Even though only 1 side was leaking I decided to replace them both just for peice of mind. I used Permatex Ultra Grey for the RTV sealer. 3 bucks at auto store versus 30 bucks at Cub dealer. Unbelievable! The bearings were 32 dollars a piece. Seemed high to me but what are you going to do, lol! I used the old gaskets as they still looked brand new but I did apply a bead of RTV to the sealing surfaces just in case. Put it all back together, waited till next day to fill and so far so good. Been raining a lot here and not expected to stop for a while so I won't get to really run her for a few days to really check it out. I'll hope for the best! Thanks to everyone for the great information. It really helps to hear from others who have expirienced similar problems.

 

[Barticus1973]

Well, rained stopped for a few hours so I got to mow for a bit and checked tractor today and NO LEAKS!!! Thanx to everyone for all the great help!