TuffTorq K46 Repair Guide with Pictures

[Feed Hog]

A big thank you to lotsofgreengrass.. I bought a LA165 with 315 hours on it last week knowing it had a weak transmission. The good news was I found this site before I went and looked at the tractor. Brought it home, ran it for 30 minutes and it was going slower and slower. Jumped on this form again and ordered the motor, pump and filter.
Parts came today put her all back together and it runs like a deere again. Thanks again for this great site and the detailed information.

 

[antelisim]

I refill to the correct level my K46 and It worked correctly during 10 min. After that period, no more power forward and back backward.
I put the tractor wheel free of the floor and start to run : if I put my hand on the wheel, she stops running.
Could you advice me what to do ?
Thanks,

 

[eastcoast9]

Received my parts today and I am confused with the parts that came with the center case.In the picture the new parts are on the left. # 28, 29 and 30 on the diagram. Part 30 says 3/16 ball on the parts list. Well you can tell from the picture it is not a ball, it looks more like a flat disk of woven material. Does that replace the ball? Derrick told me that the infamous little pin did not come with the new case, but he didn't say anything about the two 3/16 balls. Left a message, but I'm afraid he may be gone for the holidays. Has anyone replaced the center case?


Edit: Just talked with Derrick and the small filters replace the balls.

I talked to Derek today and he told me that sense my springs have a flange at one end they don't get the check balls, vents. I'm 99.9% sure that a check ball fell out when I had it apart a while back along with I found one in my driveway. Would you happen to know if I can install new check balls and if so is 3/16" the correct size. Thanks

 

[snaps]

thanks for all your great information it was truly helpful. keep up the good work.

 

[unseenthings]

Thank-you everyone for the info. Question, i failed to notice removing the hubs, but did notice on reinstallation that they have about an inch of travel up and down the axle shafts. Is the normal/good practice? Or should I attempt to shim it up tight with washers? I can't image the wheel walking up and down the axle would be good for the axle or the hub.
Thanks
Brian

 

[carlosdnc]

Your post was really helpful, Tuff Torq suggested I only change the oil to synthetic and see what happens, would be a pain having to go thou everything a second time but I will replace the belt also just in case.

 

[LindenBruce]

Well, darn it, I broke the right (short) axle tonight. Really ticks me off!!!! I did the left (long) axle 18 months ago. So..... I thought I saw somewhere someone here who was offering a conversion to the 1" axle K58 unit. Does this sound familiar? I have been looking through this post, but it is very long. Thanks, Bruce

 

[mrfix71]

Wow...what an informative thread!!!!! (Long time reader, first time poster.)

Upon the death of my last riding mower a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would upgrade and get a decent one that would last...John Deere vs Murray mentality. I have a few acres of moderately hilly ground and need something the wife feels comfortable operating in my various absences. The machine is used by my "better half" as her preferred machine and to fill in where my 6' finish mower cannot go. I went to the JD dealership and bought a decent looking looking LA130 with 200 hours. No warranty available but sure seemed like a good deal. The mower ran great...but only for less than 2 hours before it wouldn't propell itself forward on flat ground. Once it cooled down, moved around fine for a while. Dealership offered to help some, but no the "No Warranty" thing (naturally) came up. PO may have pulled a typical "fast one" upon trading it in.

Looking thru this thread, I thought I would try a simple oil change/upgrade to 5w-50 synthetic. What surprised me was how clean the oil was when I drained the case....looked like fresh engine oil right out of the bottle....no particles. Would it be adviseable to attempt oil change or does it seem like I am doomed to open up the case? I am going to check the pulley/input shaft and belt condition again momentarily as well as the exact K46 model that is on this machine.

When I bought the LA130, it appeared I could mount my 48" snow blade and pull my wheeled cart. However, after reading thru these posts, I assume I am stretching the capabilities of my machine.

 

[P901]

Good morning Mr. Fix,

Not that familiar with the LA130, I`ll take it that this machine has the K46 ?

You say you drained the oil, it was my understanding with my X300 that there were no drain/fill ports, maybe the LA130 is different.
If I recall correctly there is a spec sheet, on the Tuff Torq site I think, and it says that the oil pump on the K46 has a 10cc output. No matter what and taking physics into account, this transmission will only ever be able to do so much work.
More horsepower or more load will only cause the pressure overload device which is built into the pump to engage and dump the pump output. You will know when this happens because the tractor won`t move and you get a rather loud mechanical squeeling noise. My X300 pulled all of the implements that I have without a problem until I was using the core aerator going up a small hill, that was it, machine stopped, squeeling noise, had to back down the hill. Level ground no problem but it was obvious that the machine was at its limit.
If you have found my post I will take it that you have seen some of the other posts where the guys have taken the pump apart and dressed the mating surfaces with fine sandpapers. These pumps operate with very fine tolerances and when those tolerances are lost the pressure is allowed to bleed off which further reduces the capacity of the pump.
You say the oil was clean, wondering if the previous owner did an oil change to try to save the machine and found out that changing the oil didn`t do the trick.
If you have seen the photos from my post you will see the condition of the oil after ten hours from a machine that was purchased brand new with zero hours. The oil is black and the particle magnets are covered with metal. In the mechanical world it is only a matter of time before such a unit with fine tolerances is going to have a problem.
Too bad you are not a little closer, I have my K46 2013,X300 transmission for sale, working perfectly ~15hrs has fill and drain ports installed comes with wheels, fan/pulley, linkages and hitch plate.
Hope this helps, andrew

 

[mrfix71]

Thanks P901. Looks like I can kiss away the idea of towing my trailer and using a blade. My wife was looking forward to toting the little trailer around to carry gardening tools, pick up small limbs, and whatever else around instead of taking off the 6' finish mower from my big tractor every time she wants. We used the trailer with my old 18hp geared Craftsman without any problems for years.

I went ahead and filled the case with Castrol 5w50 synthetic and the maching seemed to drive ok for a little over an hour, until driving up a small incline to wash it off. Then the machine acted like it did not have any power. Maybe the incline is too much for this machine if it is even new, but my 18hp Craftsman made it up without any problem along with the various other inclines around the property (My LA130 is rated at 21hp). The incline is only as long as the machine but goes up maybe 30-45 degrees. Am I to assume that, if I do not use this machine for anything other than mowing, it should handle a small incline like that when it functions like new? Anyone with something I can compare normal operation with? Is this machine worth taking the axle apart to fix what may not even be broken?