Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission

[moto96]

Mine did something similar. Turned out that the nut holding the hub backed off a bit and was allowing it to spin over the axle. It did rub the splines off a bit, but I torqued the living poop outta it in hopes that the damage is minimal.

 

[alvin marshall]

Thanks for all the good info. I also have tranny problems and could use a e mail with the manual info if you would. Thanks, Al I tore it down and I think the pump might be ok. The outside gear for the brake turns both ways with the control lever. I found a broken axle shaft. Can it be welded?

 

[alvin marshall]

Wanted to post an update on my trans situation. Pulled both trans in about 30 minutes, pulled the allen head fill plug right next to the vent port, turned them over and drained them over night. Measured out 58 ozs of fresh 20w50 for each trans, poured it in really slowly so as to allow air time and space to escape. Replaced both trans in about 20 minutes, purged the system as per the service manual and put her on the ground. Cut about 6 hours that day with not a single problem! WooHoo! Thank you Jesus and TBN forums! Special thanks to JTKub for help with the manuals. Saved myself $2000 and a lot of downtime by doing a little research and busting a couple knuckles(the fill port allens were TIGHT)!
Thanks again JTKub. Anyone needing assistance with the procedure please feel free to message me. It is worth $20 and an hour or two of your time to try this before going out and blowing a bundle on an over-priced, generally dishonest and misinformed service center!

Yes, I could use the tranny manual for the zrt as I have a broken axle to remove. If you can e mail I would very much appreciate it. marshallpoolsexc@netzero.net

 

[kasedian]

Ive got a good one for you guys. I have a RZT50. Had it for about 5 years now, with 250 hours. After the first year I had it, the left side transmission went out. Had it replaced under warranty. Well, anyways, I got to looking at it a year later, and the hydrostat that they put in was a little different than the other one. The only thing I noticed, was that the replaced one had a vent tube coming out of the top, down the side oabout 6 inches. The original side hydro has a hose going up under the seat to a fluid resevoir. Well, I retrofitted the fitting, got rid of the vent tube, and ran it up to the resevoir.
I dont know about your machines, but do most of them have these fluid resevoirs? I see warnings not to power wash them, and was wondering if that only pertained to the ones with vents. Thanks

 

[dauphin]

I have the same problems with my RTZT50 (3years old 200 hours) left side stops working after 30 minutes use and transmission is very hot. fine again after cool down.

I removed both transmissions on my RZT50 and both had good looking oil in them. They were both filled to the top under the hex plug section of the trans. and looked empty under the overflow area of both transmissions.

Is this normal having no oil on overflow side?
Can anyone tell me how exactly to know how much oil to put in the trans. under the hex plub fill side and under the overflow area?

Thank you

 

[dauphin]

PLEASE HELP ANYONE

I pulled both of my transmissions on my rtz50 drained oil in both.

Took apart left side trans. (bad one) and shimed rubbing gear. Put back together and refilled both with oil. Gears are turning fine when the bypass is engaged and not engaged so I am fairly sure it went back together properly.

Re installed and purged following hydro gear manuel instructions.

Left side now does not work at all. I have tried everything belt tensioon, purged and repurged many times. Making wining noises and no power.

If anyone can help me out with any other ideas please let me know. I am desperate and am thinking about buying a new transmission and hate to spend the $500.00 after owning the mower for just 3 years

Thank you

 

[american]

thanks everybody, i am ready to take a crack at diy hdrive repairs!! tale to follow.:thumbsup:

 

[fairplay]

my trouble was the simple one.thank God. i could not find the cub oem belt so after a little research i bought both the 57" and 58" belts. i decided on the 58" as i was not excited about stetching that spring 1 more inch. turns out that extra 1/2" of belt let the tensioner pulley rest on the chassis, preventing full tension. went to the 57" belt and suffered the extra stretch of the spring and the cub rides again. 185hrs. reading this thread put on the right track, without spending any $. i am truly greatful-thanks.

 

[dauphin]

I have been back and forth with my ezt transaxle and after the 3rd tear apart and rebuild I finally gave up and ordered a new unit from turftractor.com.

I guess the poistons inside were beyond repair and I did not want to order the interior parts for a rebuild not knowing if it would solve the problem. The price with shipping was well under $500.00 and I had it in 3 days installed it in 15 minutes and everything was ok.

Now I will change the oil after every season to help prevent future problems.

What I did was cut a hole above hex plugs over both transaxles.

I also made a oil pump from two tubes connected to a drill pump with adapters that go from 1/8" hose up to garden hose adapters to pump out old oil.

I do recomend turftractor.com they followed up with shaft questions to make sure I received the right part. There has been some changes in the design of the EZT my cub cadet uses.

 

[brianholland]

I am having a problem that is at least related to the issue on this thread. I have an RZT50 and have had no power problems with transmission. However, on the last mow I noticed mid-way through that a heavy vibration was occurring all the sudden. I killed the PTO thinking it was a deck problem of some sort and it continued. After inspection, I noticed that the transmission pulley was bouncing or vibrating. I released the Idler Bracket Spring to make sure it wasn't the main shaft and the vibration and bounce stopped. With the mower running, I carefully pulled the spring by hand to increase tension on the transmission drive belt and as it sped up the vibration would start. Could this just be a drive belt that needs replaced? Or possibly the idler pulley itself (bad bearing or something) The belt does not look worn, but I noticed that the idler pulley was nearly fully extended when the spring is re-engaged. I turned the two transmission pulleys by hand and they seemed to spin fairly smoothly. Any guesses on first steps? By the way, thanks for the great forum.

 

[OldMachinist]

The bearing in the idle pulley does go bad after awhile. I've replaced the idler pulley three times in over 400 hours on my Z Force 50. The first time I replaced it because it was plastic and one side of it had worn off. The new pulleys I got from MTD were steel.

 

[brianholland]

When your pulley went bad those times, did it cause the jumping or bouncing of the belt like I described? If so, that might be it.

 

[OldMachinist]

Yes when the bearing starts to fail you get noise, vibration and power loss. It's easy to check just release the spring tension, drop the belt off and see how it feels when you spin it by hand. Also check that the arm it mounts on rotates freely.

 

[brianholland]

Just a follow-up in case others have a similar problem. While taking the old drive belt off I was inspecting the right hand transmission pulley. While spinning it around I noticed something wedged into the grove of the pulley. It was something that looked like wood but had somehow melted to the pulley itself. A quick pop with a flat head screwdriver removed it and the mower is running like new again. Picture is attached. Do a careful check of each pulley if you have a similar problem. Thanks for all the suggestions, they got me going in the right direction.

 

[cpk68]

I think I'm having the same issues with the right side of my RZT22. Could someone please email me the manual for the Hydro Gear transmission?

Thanks.

 

[rplewis]

I would also like a transmission manual for the RZT50 if anyone has one. It seems I am having simular problems as described here.


Thanks,

RP

 

[TRWILL]

Richard, to date, Hydrogear is the only one in the game with an integrated zero-turn trans-axle unit. You probably could set your RZT50 up with a Hydrogear ZT-2800, 3100 or beyond (with some modifications to the machine), but costs can be higher than the whole machine is worth.

Setting your RZT50 up with separate pump and wheel motor drives like a $$$$ commercial machine would be a major ordeal.

I thought I had heard that Tufftorq was getting into the integrated ZTR trans game, but I've yet to see one.

Joel

I'm just coming on board for the first time. I hope I'm doing this right??? I was looking at the difference between the zt2100and zt2200 drives and the zt2800. The 2800 has different mounting positions but probably could be installed with slight modification.

I have a 4 month old rzt 50 with 71 hours and it is having the same problem on the left drive. I see in many threads that changing the oil may have fixed the problem. I have worked on many hydraulic systems (but not hydraulic drives) and I have yet to see Oil break down like that. Torque converters in autos take a real beating and the oil hold up there very well. I may be all wet, but my first impression is a leak or blowby somewhere in the system. In trying to diagnose my problem I can hear what sounds like a faint swooshing sound wheen power is applied. I have not taken it down yet but my fitst impression is the bypass valve leaking. When I operate the lever it does not feel quite the same as the right side. It feels like it is binding slightly.

Whatever I find if anything I'll let you know.

TRWill

 

[TRWILL]

In my previous reply I suspected that the bypass valve was not closing. I was correct. The left unit would barely moove in any direction when cold, hot, or anytime. I do not know why it would not close. I don't know why it was open to begin with. I removed the cover and pulled the jackshaft and could see the bypass valve was slightly open. When I touched th operating lever, it snapped closed. ??? The operating lever opens the bypass when moved in either direction. Before disassembly there was over an inch of free play. After the valve closed there was only about 3/4 in. free play. When reinstalled, it worked as it should.

I have another issue. after mowing in wet grass, the left drive lost most of it's drive. I quit mowing and waited for things to dry out. The problem was still there but not as bad. After an hour or so the right side also lost driv but not as bad as the left. The original drive belt is cloth covered. When it gets wet it slips. When it slips with all that horsepower, it only takes a few minutes to over heat the belt and it turnes into a rubber band. I think ( not positive without experimenting) why the left side starts to slip before the right side is the placement of the tensioner pully is to close to the engine pully. It should be closer to the left pump pulley. When under a load the engine pully pulleys the belt tight around all the pulleys and the tentioner takes the up slack between the last pulley and the engine pulley. Being to close to the engine this allows the belt to whip out reducing the contact surface on the left pump and it ,being under load, slips. One answer is to get a better belt. One that will perform better. Another is to redesign the tentioner. Getting a better belt is much easier. MTD makes a better belt that is all rubber with good backing. The Number is 954-04043A and I see them on line for as little as $28.00. Any way this works for me. My Cub jumps around like a wild hog. By the way, I mow about 15 acres with it and it sure is nice when it works right.

 

[rplewis]

TRWILL... would you happen to have the manual for the RZT50? If so could you send it to me?
Thanks,
RP

 

[TRWILL]

TRWILL... would you happen to have the manual for the RZT50? If so could you send it to me?
Thanks,
RP

Sorry ..... I do not have a service manual.
TRWILL