TuffTorq K46 Repair Guide with Pictures

[RockRidge2305]

I thought I would just mention how I got my Scotts 2554 working again. I believe it is the K66 transmission. Three years ago the tranny went out. I changed the belt and fluid (turns out the fluid needs changing on a periodic basis - not that the owner manual ever said this) with no change. A new transmission from JD $1700 w/o installation. In my efforts to come up with an alternative, I came across a guy who rebuilds these for $400. But instead of a new cylinder/piston?, he has the original milled down. New oil and filter and whatever he else he needed, the tractor ran better than when it was new. I was impressed with the fix.

 

[nettelec]

I replaced these items as described on the first page of this thread AND got the 5W-50 oil.


1. Cylinder block (pump) kit
2. Cylinder block (Motor) Kit
3. Filter 105

I rebuilt mine and upgraded with k57 recommendations from Duane. I had wondered if I could have gotten by cheaper with just the parts you did. Quite a few people have posted that those are the only parts they did. My theory was that if I was going to do the rebuild it was going to be better than before, so I went with all the parts, about $400 worth. Costs even more now I heard.
My center case also was worn, not just the pump and motor. Seems to me the machined surfaces of pump/motor and case wear together. Center case is aluminum, pump/motor are steel. The machined surfaces are what I was told by tuff torq that go bad. Why would the steel wear and not the aluminum? I don't know why people are replacing pump and motor without replacing center case. Am I not understanding something right?
I am very happy so far with the result, hope it lasts. I have mowed 20+ acres so far this summer since the rebuild.

 

[golfhacker]

I installed the motor, motor thrust bearing and pump over the weekend and it is pulling the hill alot better (would not pull up hill at all after half hour use) but I think it could be better so I ordered the center case kit and pump thrust bearings and will install in a couple of weeks.
I will post and let you know how the additional parts help. If nothing else I am becoming a pro at removing and reinstalling the tranny..LOL

Ok just got done adding the new center block and thrust bearings and now it works like new. I think if all I did was mow this transmission would be fine but I push snow in the winter and I think that must be a killer for this tranny.

 

[golfhacker]

Hello Again! I did a rebuild last year in April. I got thru the whole summer mowing my acre and a half of hilly yard and plowed my 600 ft driveway all winter.

I don't think putting another K46 in is the answer. Maybe upgrade to better tranny for snow removal.

 

[Arctic440]

I too upgraded from the K46 to the K57 spec's in my L120 Deere as I will be blowing snow this winter also...Just buttoned it up last night and started beating on it immediately....It's going up hill's that it never did before and is very quiet....Duane and Derrick have gone beyond most in regards to customer service....Good people...Many thanks for posting this thread in the first place !:thumbsup: Now if I can figure out a way to circulate the oil through a oil cooler through the drain ports I just put in...

 

[Arctic440]

Hello Again! I did a rebuild last year in April. I got thru the whole summer mowing my acre and a half of hilly yard and plowed my 600 ft driveway all winter.

This year So far Ive mowed a few times and guess what. The transmission is heating up and Im loosing power again. The transmission lasted over 6 years from new and then the rebuild lasted only a year.

Im hoping for anybody's suggestions on what I may have done wrong. Im considering just getting a new K46 since I see them on eBay for $525.

Anybody's input is appreciated!!

It might not hurt to contact either Duane or Derrick @ tuff torq and run it by them and see what they have to say....If it ran fine up until this point with no issues or noise then I am at a loss as to what the reasons are for the drop in performance....

 

[golfhacker]

I too upgraded from the K46 to the K57 spec's in my L120 Deere as I will be blowing snow this winter also...Just buttoned it up last night and started beating on it immediately....It's going up hill's that it never did before and is very quiet....Duane and Derrick have gone beyond most in regards to customer service....Good people...Many thanks for posting this thread in the first place !:thumbsup: Now if I can figure out a way to circulate the oil through a oil cooler through the drain ports I just put in...

Could you post a parts list for your k57 upgrade?

 

[BATTY54]

I too upgraded from the K46 to the K57 spec's in my L120 Deere as I will be blowing snow this winter also...Just buttoned it up last night and started beating on it immediately....It's going up hill's that it never did before and is very quiet....Duane and Derrick have gone beyond most in regards to customer service....Good people...Many thanks for posting this thread in the first place !:thumbsup: Now if I can figure out a way to circulate the oil through a oil cooler through the drain ports I just put in...

Any chance of pics of the drain ports and location, or is it part of the K57 upgrade?

 

[Arctic440]

Parts Required to Convert K46 to K57 This lists out as a K57A (Simplicity spec'd) hydrostat...This was the current pricing also....It's not cheap, but you have alternatives...

Item #/ Part Number on diagram / Quantity / Part Number Description/ Cost
1. 1 1 1A646088840 Pump Shaft (K57A) 25.47
2. 100 1 187Q0026010 Charge Pump Case Kit 8.35
3. 102 1 1A646088350 Inner Rotor 4.61
4. 101 1 1A646088360 Outer Rotor 4.82
5. 103 2 22351030018 Roll Pin 3.0 x 18 0.21 @
6. 97 1 1A646088450 Charge Spring 2.68
7. 96 1 1A646088410 Pin 2.5 x 9.8 0.34
8. 83 2 1A646025300 Spline Collar 1.34 @
9. 26 1 1A646088211 Filter 8.64
10. 87 1 19215489090 Snap Ring 0.26
11. 37 1 187K0099750 Motor Thrust Bearing 28.08
12. 201 1 1A646099530 K57R Repair Kit 373.81
13. 47 1 1A646029010 Magnet Holder 1.83
14. 8 2 19216324360 Magnet 2.94 @
15. 2 1115 1 liter 5w50 Synthetic Motor Oil 8.29 @
16. optional (104) 1 1A646099630 Thrust Bearing/Swash Plate Kit 37.12
Total $484.45 plus shipping

 

[Arctic440]

IF YOU WANT TO ADD A DRAIN HOLE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE K46 CASE
SEE BELOW
Part Number
1. Add the (2) ports yourself by drilling & taping holes through the bosses provided in the lower case. (See ATTACH #1)
2. Order and install the following model K46 service parts w/8 mm drain bolts.
1 pc. 1A646084163 Lower Case (includes drain ports) IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DRILL AND TAP YOUR OLD CASE
2 pc. 187Q0399940 Drain Bolt Kit (includes seal washer)

Location A = Drains oil from Hydrostatic compartment.
Location B = Drains oil from Gear Compartment

 

[Arctic440]

I can't quite figure out how to paste the picture from Word.....I can give the general location though....If you are looking a the hydrostat base cover...The large gear portion of the casting should be to the left........The drain can be drilled and tapped in the flat/boss area just below the gear portion of the casting.....
The location for the hydrostat drain is on the flat/boss just to the right of the round part of the casting closest to the outer part of the casting...Hope that helps...

 

[Arctic440]

Hope this works..View attachment 216990

 

[BATTY54]

Thanks for the pic just what I was looking for.

 

[Jet800]

First off I want to Thank LotsofGreenGrass for this very informative post. Also thanks to GixxersRevolt for the videos. Very helpful! :drink:

I started to notice the lack of torque and power loss this spring when pulling my dethatcher. I have a 2007 LA140 with a K46BE with 1243 hours and have about 2-2.5 acres of hilly yard. Also have a steep 400 ft driveway I have to go up and down to get to my lower level lawns. I have mowed about four times this year and the last couple of times I wasn稚 sure if I would make it back up the driveway.

I have read a lot on this forum in the past, but found this post by a Google search.
I talked to a few people about my issue and some said it was the belt. Took a trip to my local JD dealer and got a new belt. I asked him if they ever had any problems with loss of power. He told me they do and that the transaxle is a 渡on serviceable part and I would need to replace it. So I tried the new belt first and had half the tractor apart to get it out. I ended up dropping the transaxle out in doing so. Since it was out I washed it and drained the oil. Refilled with the 5w50 synthetic. It took one quart. And once back together it did not perform any better.

I ordered the pump kit, motor kit & filter from Tuff Torq and had in four days. Pulled the transaxle out and drained it not really paying any attention to how much came out. Removed the cover and replaced the new parts with only one problem.

I got everything back together and was all excited to give it a try. Well that's when my problems started. It did nothing!! I tried bleeding it as per Tuff Torq instruction and still nothing. Took it back out and pulled it apart to see what was wrong. I found that I forgot to put the small washer (#39) in when replacing the motor. I did find that with out the washer the bypass would not function. I got it all back together and back in and it still did not work! Back out for the third time. Did some more reading and found that it calls for 2.3 liters of oil or about 2 quarts. That was my problem from the beginning! When I had the trans out to replace the belt I drained about a quart out thru the top vent, so I just assumed that that's what it would take to fill. Once I got everything ready for what I hoped to be the last time before replacing the cover I filled the case just up to where it seals to the case. It took 2 quarts and I new that was hopefully my problem. After replacing the cover I added about a 1/2 quart.

Looking at how the differential area and the motor/pump side are almost two separate sections I believe that the first time after installing the new parts and filling from the vent that the oil filled only the differential side and did not get much at all into the motor/pump side. It looked to me that the gear side would have to fill up to be able to flow over into the pump/motor side. The one quart didn't do that. Looking in the vent hole it appeared to be full. But it was only the gear side.

All back in and this time it moved!! Growled a bit a first then quieted down after driving it forwards and backwards for a bit. Plenty of torque and power now. When going down my driveway for a test run I realized how bad it was before. Now if I let of the pedal too quick the rear tires will skid like when it was new. Test run was a success and had a big grin when I could just cruise back up the driveway.

 

[summitsmallengine]

@ LotsofGreenGrass...Thanks for the heads up on this transmission. I opened a small engine shop with a friend and wasn't sure if I wanted to tackle ripping into this K46V without researching first. Not only was your post informative but funny as ****. I know the frustrations of parts popping back out and "Jesus" clip type parts. Now I can give my customer a good idea of what to expect in the price range of both repair VS replacement.

 

[Rakestir]

Re: TuffTorq K46 / John Deere L110 Transmission Repair Guide with Pictures

Thanks for your info on the john deere L110 K46 hyro.
After reading your post, and watching the video on You Tube (k46 Rebuild parts 1 & 2), I was able to rebuild the K46. It works great now. The bleeding or "Air Purging" took about 20 minutes before it regained its strength. From start to finish it took about an hour to rebuild. replaced pump block & motor block parts and some other odds and ends.

 

[GeneralEclectic]

Hello, all!

What an awesome thread! Excellent work by everyone who took the time to learn and post. Awesome.

I'd like everyone's take on a slightly different but related matter concerning the K46. I'm about to take delivery of a Husqvarna 24V42LS with a K46 and Hilliard auto-locking diff. From the perspective of present owners, and especially those of you who've actually dug into and revived damaged K46s, what should I, as a new owner, do to prolong the life of my new transaxle?

For example, was anyone able to pin down specifically the failure mode? IOW, what started the cascade of damage that led to your failed transaxle? How would you avoid that problem in the future, if you could?

A complication I see here is the 3-year warranty from Husq. Do I tempt fate and go with the "lifetime oil" (ha ha) proposition, or do I do the smart thing and drain it after 10 hours and refill with good quality synthetic 5W50, at the risk of voiding the warranty? As I see it, NOT changing the oil at 10 or 20 hours and then every 100 hours is a bad idea, but if it's going to void the warranty then....? So if I DON'T change the oil, have I set the transaxle up for a failure soon after the warranty expires?

The first thing I'm going to do when it drops onto my driveway is crawl underneath and look for the drain bolts. Maybe they've seen the error of their ways and have included them on recent production. (ha ha)

What would you guys do?

 

[LotsofGreenGrass]

Hello Again! I did a rebuild last year in April. I got thru the whole summer mowing my acre and a half of hilly yard and plowed my 600 ft driveway all winter.

I don't think putting another K46 in is the answer. Maybe upgrade to better tranny for snow removal.

I think this would be wise, or upgrade to a larger tractor.

 

[LotsofGreenGrass]

Hello, all!

What an awesome thread! Excellent work by everyone who took the time to learn and post. Awesome.

I'd like everyone's take on a slightly different but related matter concerning the K46. I'm about to take delivery of a Husqvarna 24V42LS with a K46 and Hilliard auto-locking diff. From the perspective of present owners, and especially those of you who've actually dug into and revived damaged K46s, what should I, as a new owner, do to prolong the life of my new transaxle?

For example, was anyone able to pin down specifically the failure mode? IOW, what started the cascade of damage that led to your failed transaxle? How would you avoid that problem in the future, if you could?

A complication I see here is the 3-year warranty from Husq. Do I tempt fate and go with the "lifetime oil" (ha ha) proposition, or do I do the smart thing and drain it after 10 hours and refill with good quality synthetic 5W50, at the risk of voiding the warranty? As I see it, NOT changing the oil at 10 or 20 hours and then every 100 hours is a bad idea, but if it's going to void the warranty then....? So if I DON'T change the oil, have I set the transaxle up for a failure soon after the warranty expires?

The first thing I'm going to do when it drops onto my driveway is crawl underneath and look for the drain bolts. Maybe they've seen the error of their ways and have included them on recent production. (ha ha)

What would you guys do?

Change to recommended synthetic oil at shorter intervals. Run it until it dies.

If I had to do it again, I would neodymium magnets to the case to trap more metal and do the upgrade. Metal is the main issue.

 

[LotsofGreenGrass]

Hope this works..View attachment 216990

Excellent post!