Cub cadet RZT 50 hydrostatic transmission

[Diamondpilot]

These mowers suck. My cousin bough one new at TSC 4 years ago. He has replace one tranny, the electric clutch, many of the switches and relays, 5 belts due to a misaligned deck that is now cracking, 1 spindle, and just last night broke the drive shaft on the other tranny. I took it apart and welded it all back up but now can not get it to take any oil through the vent.

How do you get the 60oz of oil back in the tranny?

Chris

 

[JTKub]

... but now can not get it to take any oil through the vent.

How do you get the 60oz of oil back in the tranny?

Chris

If it won't take oil from the top vent you need to use the fill port:

 

[Diamondpilot]

Well we got it. It did not have a fill port unless it was the 1/4" Allen Screw that we could not get off. I bet we put 100 ft lbs of force on the wrench and still could not budge it.

Anyway we adapted a hose to the fill vent hose then hooked it to a hand pump and put it in via pressure. When we went to take the hose off it sprayed out a little oil in a foamy mist but we only lost maybe 1 oz. It worked fine but took some effort. I had read on a few other sites where others reported having to do the same thing and put the oil in via pressure. One guy even used a basketball pump. Its off and running so all is good for now.

Chris

 

[JTKub]

Well we got it. It did not have a fill port unless it was the 1/4" Allen Screw that we could not get off. I bet we put 100 ft lbs of force on the wrench and still could not budge it.

That's the one. You need a strong Allen socket and breaker bar/cheater. At least you got it filled. I have heard of owners force feeding them that way. Worst case you'd blow the input or output shaft seal from the pressure. That top vent is your only vent.

Joel

 

[Jamesisit]

New member here. Sorry to say folks but all your Frustrations are being taken out on the wrong Company.
The Company you want is Hydro-Gear, who is the Manufacture of these JUNK Transaxials. They have Admitted several times, and their repair people have also stated that these Transaxials have a Manufacturing and inservice Problem. The fact has been stated that they used Single surface seals ( RTV ) on the Case halves, and that the input shafts will allow water into the units. Water is what starts the problems. Contaminated Oil, 20W-50, that has water in it will foam up inside, causing the units to begin to overheat. The Overheating causes the Oil to expand, and belch out of the overflow port, which you may or may not see, causing more air to become entraped in the system, causing more overheating and the slowing of operation, until the point where enough oil has come out that the pump is mostly just cavatating with no Oil and the unit stops.
If this has happened and you have completely Drained and refilled the unit as soon as the first occurance happens you May have saved your Transaxial. If not or this has happened several times you need to have the unit REPLACED. There has been internal Damage done!
As these units are on Numerious Makers and Models of Lawn Tractors and Zero Turn Mowers there NEEDS to be a Class Action Suit Brought against HYDRO-GEAR, as they have a KNOWN issue that mostly occurs J.U.S.T. after your warranty is up. If anyone out there has the connections to start this Suit I sure would love to get involved. A $500.00 part plus installation costs, is outragious for Consumers to have to pay, especially since this is a issue that EVERYONE that has worked on these Hydro-Gear Transaxials and the Manufacturer Knows about. Sorry about the Bad News Folks. But it's really not a Cub issue.

 

[DSELLERS]

Just got off the phone with service manager at Dixie Sales and Service in Summit, NC. Concerning the hydrogear EZT transaxles on my 2004 RZT 50.
He said, not the single surface seal still being used on the hydrogear models.
On the older models like mine , the vent tube sticks straight up allowing water to infiltrate into the tube causing the problem. A bent tube attachment is available to retrofit and solve the problem. On the newer models a vent cap is used, unfortunately it can be dislodged by spraying high pressure water around the vent. If you catch the problem early enough, remove the transaxle and change the fluid, and replace. if it is not caught soon enough the unit is scored and needs replacing. So check your vents and watch your water infiltration.

 

[DSELLERS]

Have solved the problem. Removal transazle, pretty easy, no water found in the oil. Pretty dark considering only 60 hours use. Drained and changed the fluid through the fill hole on the trans axle, no problem, used Amzoil 20/50, takes the heat much better. Did a long mow, no problems now.

 

[RICKYMARK]

Ok guys, my first post was back in April of 2008 when my left Transaxel when out. After months of battleing with Cub and an admission from Hrdro Gear about the condensation build up in the Trans. followed by a royal blessing out from the Head of service at Cub, they agreed to replaced it under warranty, which it was. That was at 60 hours. Got the tractor back from the shop roughly two months after it went belly up and - oh yeah, had threatend a class action and did actually file a complaint with Consumer Product Safety Commision because of the safety concerns with the thing going out with not warning, nearly killed a kid with it. Tonight it did it again. Exactly 116 hours. ZERO water has been in contact with that tractor I made durn sure of that after the discussion with the service dept. guy who called from Cub. Looks like it's a 60 hour failure problem and piece of junk. I'm ready to just trash it and pay somebody to cut my grass. The cost of a mower and repairs aint' worth it. I cut the same 3 1/2 acres witha little 42" craftsman that I still have for over 6 years - just takes hours and hours - go figure.

 

[RICKYMARK]

So here's my proposal, anyone who has had a failure of these transaxles, go to the following FORM and Fill it out. That's the Consumer Product Safety Commision Incident Report. If no injury, just indicate NA in the victim field. Describe in detail in the summary field what the Potential for injury is if if goes out while you are mowing, for instance in my case on one occasion when the left side went out it nearly took off my wife's feet and in another I almost rolled into a deep ravine. Then fill in the model numbers etc. and submit it. We might be able to get a recall if enough file complaints but it will have to be done by cub, not Hydro Gear, cub will have to go after Hydro Gear.

 

[GrassCatcher]

I am having the same problem with the left side tran on my 03 RZT50. Nearing 600 hrs on mine as I am a lawn pro. One thing you can do to get it back on the trailer is to run a hose over the tran for about a min to cool the exterior. That will get you going for about 30 minutes or so. I am going to tear mine apart this week, drain out the oil and replace it with new 20/50 synthetic. It is maddening to say the least. Thank God I found this forum!

 

[JTKub]

Close to 8yrs and 600hrs has to be the record on an EZT as far as I know! Good deal. Water in the oil has been a confirmed issue with them, but not the only issue. One fella removed the troubled unit, split the case and found an internal shaft rubbing the inside of the case. He shimmed it back into alignment and the unit went back to working as designed with fresh oil and a careful re-assembly. Water isn't the only issue with these. I apologize for the earlier post. There isn't a fill port on the EZTs (I got confused with the pic in the SM). It's referring to the top vent/fill port I believe. Can anyone confirm?

Joel

 

[GrassCatcher]

Do you mean RZT? I am not familiar with the EZT. Mine is an RZT and from what I have seen, you remove the allen screw(with a lot of force) and fill from there. I am def going to do it in the morning as it is the first break I have had this month to fit it in. Going to let it drain over night and refill with synthetic 20w50 on Thurs possibly even Fri. Going to give it plenty of time for all the old, grey fluid to come out. I know my prob has to be water because I pressure washed it to fix a leaking line the same day the trouble started. It started the very first yard I did after washing it. Would have been nice for Cub to warn us not to use a pressure washer on it huh?

I emailed the guy that claimed to have a manual on the trans, but as far as I know, he has yet to email me back. Anyone else have it? I have the service manual for the tractor, I need the manual specific to the trans. Anyone?

Thank you all for the help and I will post my results later this week!

 

[GrassCatcher]

So sorry, just checked my email and I recieved the manual. Thank you very much JTKub! Again, I will post results later this week. Anything else I can help anyone with, please feel free to ask as I have become very proficient in dealing with this mower. I do not trust anyone else to do my work and just can not bring myself to shell out $65/hr to have something done that I can, :thumbsup:with a little help from my friends, do myself!

 

[GrassCatcher]

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!

 

[skband]

Just found the forums and wow what a lot of info, Thanks. My Cub Cadet just started acting up and I guess it's time to break out the wrenchs, oil and patience to drain the Trans oil and refill. This mower has always been kept in the dry and only hosed off a couple times, mostly just take the blower and blow the grass off the deck. Sometimes being lazy about power washing your equipment can be benificial, lol. If someone could email me the manual on the trans it sure would be usefull. Thanks again

 

[JTKub]

skband, DON'T use a garden hose or pressure washer on these. Many of the issues reported were caused by water contamination in the hydros. From what I understand, water can work it's way down the input shaft and past the shaft seal. These units must not vent well, because the water doesn't seem to evaporate out on them. It should given how hot they get.

Joel

 

[skband]

Just found this great site for parts manuals for all kinds of mowers with exploded views and prices. Just enter your brand and model number on the left and enjoy.

Partstree.com - Genuine replacement parts for Toro, Echo, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, Troy Bilt, Lawn Boy (Lawnboy), lawn equipment (lawn mowers, saws, blowers, trimmers, snow blowers) and Tecumseh, Kohler and Briggs and Stratton Engines.

 

[coloradoricardo]

This forum is GREAT!

I have an RZT 50 that's about 3 years old now. Aside from stripping the spindle bolts occasionally, it's really been a good workhorse for us.

However, just before the end of the summer, the left side transmission stopped working, made a horrible noise and smoke was coming out of it - all within about 60 seconds. I think it's kaput.

My question is this... since many of these ZRT 50 trannys seem to have problems, does anyone know of any kind of a DURABLE retrofit transmission that could be installed (even if it requires some major manipulation) that would work to replace the stock Cub Cadet units?

All ideas would be appreciated

Thanks in advance.

Richard

 

[JTKub]

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

 

[coloradoricardo]

Thanks Joel!