TuffTorq K46 Repair Guide with Pictures

[P901]

Great suggestion, thank you !

Looking a bit more closely last night you are correct, there is not a mounting bolt point on the K46 for the tab on the X360 tank so it might be the better way to go to adapt another tank.
Yes, as it stands right now for the X300 to do the oil change I would need to pull the drive belt, belt pulley and fan to access the fill plug, probably better for me to just drop the unit every 50-100hrs until I mount a filler tube or reservoir tank.
From this thread I was able to find the reference to the 8mmx1.25 and conveniently enough there were two recess molded on the inside of the cover that indicated the factory points for the location of the drain plugs. These recess actually allowed the machinist to "locate" center, drill and start the tap square using the spindle of the milling machine. A trip to the local auto parts store turned up two nice 8mmx1.25 plated bolts with the integral washer heads. Cost, 1.25$ not bad.
Still trying to understand what it is that actually puts the K46 out of service? Obviously broken or stressed gears and hard part damage will put any transmission out of service but it appears that the scoring of the pump faces is the downfall of the unit.
The scoring caused by metal in the oil and the breakdown of the oil due to heat?
If this is the direct cause of the loss of power transmission then it is apparent that if the oil is changed regularly then the metal particles in the oil supply will be kept to a minimum and also the degradation of the oil due to overheating, (if this cannot be controlled due to the duty impressed by the particular situation), should be addressed by the frequency of the oil changes and the quality of the oil.
Sure would like to be able to get some of that helicopter torque converter oil used in the Sikorsky USMC Sea Kings, that should do the trick !!
Cheers a

P.S. MILSPEC Aviation turbine engine oil on Ebay, Hmmm...

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Great suggestion, thank you !

Looking a bit more closely last night you are correct, there is not a mounting bolt point on the K46 for the tab on the X360 tank so it might be the better way to go to adapt another tank.
Yes, as it stands right now for the X300 to do the oil change I would need to pull the drive belt, belt pulley and fan to access the fill plug, probably better for me to just drop the unit every 50-100hrs until I mount a filler tube or reservoir tank.
From this thread I was able to find the reference to the 8mmx1.25 and conveniently enough there were two recess molded on the inside of the cover that indicated the factory points for the location of the drain plugs. These recess actually allowed the machinist to "locate" center, drill and start the tap square using the spindle of the milling machine. A trip to the local auto parts store turned up two nice 8mmx1.25 plated bolts with the integral washer heads. Cost, 1.25$ not bad.
Still trying to understand what it is that actually puts the K46 out of service? Obviously broken or stressed gears and hard part damage will put any transmission out of service but it appears that the scoring of the pump faces is the downfall of the unit.
The scoring caused by metal in the oil and the breakdown of the oil due to heat?
If this is the direct cause of the loss of power transmission then it is apparent that if the oil is changed regularly then the metal particles in the oil supply will be kept to a minimum and also the degradation of the oil due to overheating, (if this cannot be controlled due to the duty impressed by the particular situation), should be addressed by the frequency of the oil changes and the quality of the oil.
Sure would like to be able to get some of that helicopter torque converter oil used in the Sikorsky USMC Sea Kings, that should do the trick !!
Cheers a

P.S. MILSPEC Aviation turbine engine oil on Ebay, Hmmm...

I was thinking some of the high dollar screw compressor oil. I have about 2+ quarts left over after a couple of oil changes....hummmm Not sure what it is, but it is very expensive. $125 per gallon or more.

Like to hear back from some of the guys who have rebuilt and put a bunch of hours on their rebuild. Status report guys?

 

[pooleo]

fwiw, I have a different bearing at the inner most pump. This thread has it as a ball bearing, mine is roller bearing with a flat washer. TuffTorq K46 Rebuild

Pictures 8-12

 

[Voyager6]

fwiw, I have a different bearing at the inner most pump. This thread has it as a ball bearing, mine is roller bearing with a flat washer. TuffTorq K46 Rebuild

Pictures 8-12

I THINK the roller bearing is the newer, improved design. I read somewhere that the ball bearing tends to self destruct. You can call Tuff Torq customer service and ask. They are friendly and will work with you.

BTW, I got my X304 K58 transmission tested today. Works great. I filled it with oil on Tuesday and apparently it self-bled, as it took right off with no discernible sluggishness. I have the old engine loose, only held by a couple wires and will put the new FR600V on it tomorrow. Hopefully, by the end of this weekend, I will be done and have a virtually new tractor.

 

[pooleo]

I got her all back together last night. Waited till this morning to torque down the bolts. I used the gold RTV. No leaks. I put my electric impact on it and spun the motor then worked the forward/reverse and the free wheel rod.

Installed in tractor and oh my she runs like a champ!

So, I would venture to say that the sole cause of the failure is the gouging in the center case. Alot of guys replace the pump/motor and center case. And it does fix it. But I think money is wasted on the motor/pump.

Anyhow, the for sale sign is up and shes parked at the road.

 

[richfranklin]

Now fire up your tractor and drive off in to the Sunset

Mine worked fine immediately. I heard others had to get the air out by bleeding the transmission?

Here is how you do that: https://www.tufftorqservices.com/EnvEEdefault/FlatHTML/TechInfo/docs/AirPurging.htm



Drop me a line if this guide helped you : )
Brit

I just wanted to say thank you for the great write up ! Like many others I have a 155c that failed at 214 hrs. I ordered the full rebuild kit and followed your steps. Everything works great again ! Thanks again !!

 

[wactbn]

Like to hear back from some of the guys who have rebuilt and put a bunch of hours on their rebuild. Status report guys?

I don't have a bunch of hours, but I've mowed my ~1-acre and rather hilly yard twice since sanding the case, motor, and pump. The L130 used to stall out after just 15-30 minutes of mowing, even after the oil change to 5W50 synthetic, cleaning out the cooling fins on the case, and getting a new cooling fan. I would have to plan my mowing to start in the hilly sections while the transaxle was cold, and finish up on the flatter areas. Even with that strategy I'd still have to abandon it in place in the yard, and come back after 30 minutes to continue mowing.

Now it runs for an hour+ continuously with no issues. I even re-used the Castrol 5W50 synthetic after sanding to take the oil out of the equation. In fact, I found that I get too ambitious and try to tackle even more hilly terrain than I used to. I now get myself into situations where I end up spinning the uphill tire in previously un-mowed hilly corners of the property and have to back up out of them. The open differential is telling me that's all the L130 can do and I should upgrade to an AWD tractor if I want to be any more adventurous.

 

[ranc]

L110 JOHN DEERE INSTALLED NEW PUMP ,MOTOR,AND BLOCK WORKED ABOUT HALF HOUR THEN WOULDN'T PULL AGAIN ..BLED THE AIR PROCEDURE SEVERAL TIMES NO HELP .. TOOK IT APART AGAIN JUST TO DOUBLE CHECK BUT EVERYTHING WAS INSTALLED RIGHT ..THE BACK TIRES WILL ROLL A LITTLE WHEN I PUSH THE MOWER AND THE ROD IS NOT PULLED .. ANY IDEAS ????

 

[P901]

Good morning,

Removed the unit after 1.1 hrs of run time since installing the shims. (Prudence would suggest an internal inspection after such modifications)
Everything looking good, unit running very well. Warm but not so much that the hand cannot remain on the case after 1 1/2hrs of pulling
the tractor, ~500lbs, rider ~200lbs and 1/2 container of damp grass ~100lbs.
The oil darkened slightly but that was probably due to the oil that had remained in the hydraulic pumps.
Also a very small stream of silvery metal particles, (not at all the amount in the first oil draining) also due to the oil that had remained
within the system.

Installed a fill tube, (photos included), with a mark on the clear tubing that indicates the level of the oil.
The tube acts as a filler neck and a sight glass.
The unit was filled with the recommended amount of oil, (used Mobil 1 5w-50 synthetic), 2 1/4 qts which brought the indicated level
to the factory specification.

A curious action of the oil level once the unit was in service.
After running for roughly 1/2hr the level was observed in the tube to be 1 inch higher ?!
Then after running for another half hour the level of oil was not in sight ?!?
The oil had risen 1 inch and then dropped 2 inches ???
Later after the tractor had been parked and cooled off the oil level was back at the normal position, odd.

It occurs to me that the engineers that had designed the other units that incorporate a reservoir tank must have concluded
that any air within these units is not to the benefit of the hydraulic function. (Now noting that the oil level does rise and fall)
With the reservoir tank the oil will be held higher than the internal volume of the unit, (Archimedes, "liquid seeking its own level", I believe).

With the observed action of the oil from the clear sight tube it must be that under changing conditions of temperature and load the oil level
will rise and fall. If the unit is not purged of air at the factory then it might be possible that the unit could run low on oil under some conditions.
Also if we observed the sectional side view of the blueprint of the K46 unit we can see the that the upper level of the pump which feeds the hydraulic
motor may possible be exposed to the air which is contained in the unit. If there is any negative suction in the vicinity of this pump around the pistons
or mating faces it might be possible to draw small amounts of air into the hydraulic circuit which would then be thouroughly entrained within the fluid stream which would then degrade the overall hydraulic action.
This then would probably cause stress to the oil itself and probably create an increase in operating temperature since the unit will need to work harder to perform the same amount of work.
It cannot have been lost upon the thought process of the design engineer that ANY air within these units will not be beneficial so therefore this is probably the reason why we see the reservoir tank on the [upper] level models to ensure that all air is sooner or later purged from the unit while in service.

It might then therefore follow in our thought process that there may be no reason for the K46 to have received a bad reputation but for the simple facts that without the ability to change out the oil along with the additional function of being able to purge all of the air from the system that the K46 is in fact not able to receive the basic service due any precision piece of machinery to facilitate a prolonged period of service and reliability.

Cheers, andrew

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Nice write up again P901.

I wonder if you just used the tube as a reservoir, meaning you could fill it above level but leave a small amount of air at the top. Keeping it upright of course.