TuffTorq K46 Repair Guide with Pictures

[Shimgee]

Hello. I recently replaced/rebuilt my K46 after the differential gears got shredded. I did not replace the pump or motor assembly, just cleaned them and reinstalled correctly. The other day I cut my brothers lawn and after about an hour, it started making a lot of whining noises and would no longer go over small concrete ledges in his yard while in reverse. I called tuff torq and he thinks I need a whole new rebuild kit, near 400 dollars in total.

What do you guys think? I would really not like to spend all that money and wonder what my options are and if I can just replace a certain piece and make it work.

By the way, I followed this while doing my repairs and really appreciate this forum. Thank you!

 

[lsaling]

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

Yes i did, a quote from me a few posts back ----

I purchased one of these
in the process of putting it back on the mower now, pulled the clips and swapped axles, pulled the pump and flipped the wedge over, and swapped input shaft will update how it went when i get her back on the mower.


The update now is i have mowed 6 times and it climbs hills like a mountain goat :thumbsup: and i have a steep yard !

I took the chance and installed this also. Swapping the axles is easy but I could not figure out how to remove the input shaft. It is shorter and has a threaded end to hold pulley and fan. I used a spacer to mount the pulley as high as possible and that seems to work fine. two other items have to be changed that I did not know until it was back on the tractor . The levers for both the brake and forward-reverse engagement are different CAUTION CHANGE THEM WHEN OFF THE TRACTOR IT WAS A BEAR ON. The wedge reversal seems easy but it was difficult to get it back together.
It all works but I get a strange hesitation when I encounter a hill and I have to actually back off the pedal a bit then it climbs nicely. I think it is the engagement adjustment on the side. Anyone know of the procedure for this adjustment?
Thank you to all for this forum it saved me a lot of money

 

[saboism]

Just a quick update that I performed this repair following the guide back in April 2011 and the trans has held up great ever since. I still mow a good amount of inclines as well. Happy to have found this thread, save me a lot of cash and frustration.

 

[RBLapham]

Update report - 2010 Deere X300 with K46, changed oil to 5-50 Synthetic at 50 hours. 4 years plowing snow on a 300 ft. driveway on small hill, heavy use of Cyclone Rake, mowing 1 hilly ac. and aerating. A year ago I moved from OH to TN and now have a .5 ac. flat yard and mow every 4 days and aerate once a year. Now have 170 hours on the K46 and it will still "Chirp" the tires. Shows no problems at all. I blow off the tractor and especially the K46 after every use. Thinking about oil change again for the K46 just for good maintenance.

 

[AFG]

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

Some K46's last a long time, while others do not. What is the secret? Read on..

The K46 Transmission, found in many models of small lawn and garden tractors, is often cursed at for it lack of durability. This transmission often requires replacement long before the rest of the lawn mower dies. Replacement cost reach 50% or more of the tractors original cost, if the work is done by a smiling JD Tech. Thus the phrase disposable tractor and transmission is often tossed around. Owners are stuck with few options.

I had noted that my John Deere L110 max. speed was down a bit, and the groans from the rear end had increased. I knew the end was nearing. I found very little information on how to do this rebuild on the net. Most of what I found was pushing for an upgrade to a K66. At over $1000, I felt this is not viable option. After all, I only paid $1495 for the tractor! My feeling is that this tractor is not really designed for what a K66 can do. Something else is likely not going to hold up in the long run, even if the transmission is bullet proof. I decided to rebuild the K46 myself. After all, what's a good weekend project without the Fire Department involved?
: )

My journey began with a discussion with a TuffTorq service tech at the TuffTorq Service Center in TN. Their telephone number is (423) 585-2000. Their web parts address is: https://www.tufftorqservices.com/EnvEElogin/html/login.html. Derrick Dalton was quite helpful. I had heard there was a rebuild kit, but it was over $300. So I asked the question of the Derrick. "What are the parts that are most often replaced when the K46 fails?" He graciously provided this information. My parts totaled $162.95 delivered with tax. Amazingly the parts arrived in 1 day!

Parts List*:

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

*You will need to go to the TuffTorq site with the bar code tag from your transmission. Apparently there have been many different versions of this unit. Mine was a K46V. Yours may be another iteration. You will see an exploded view of the transmission for your version. Print this out for reference. I found the site challenging to use. No big deal, you can call the Tech and he will do all the work for you. Just have your bar code handy.

Disclaimer:
I am providing this information as a reference ONLY. Any work on a tractor can be dangerous, cause injury or DEATH. You assume your own risk and any and all risks to others if this information and / or pictures is used.

I am going to probably upload the picture individually with the relevant info. for each one. Please be patient.

The photos are Copyrighted. I decided to do this after a previous bad experience with a website stealing my photos from another project. I have no financial interest here.

My John Deere L111 also was losing power to the point where my tractor just stopped. I used a YouTube video to pull the transmission and do the repairs. I made one mistake when putting the motor housing and aluminum wedge back in. I put the wedge upside down which makes everything run backwards. Now I need to pull the transmission, drain and put it back together correctly. Oh, the pain!. Anyway, thanks for the great directions and pictures. I wish I had them before I reassembled.

 

[Dapped]

I'll give you all the short version.

I'm experimenting with a thicker oil. Volvo Penta Synthetic 75W 90 Outboard Leg Oil.

Thicker oil, less bypass, more pressure.

This has given my once again weak K46 much more power to the tires.

It may be too thick to use in winter but seems to work great for summer use.

Choice is yours.

I'll post further results as new info arises.

Don

 

[Dapped]

I'll give you all the short version.

I'm experimenting with a thicker oil. Volvo Penta Synthetic 75W 90 Outboard Leg Oil.

Thicker oil, less bypass, more pressure.

This has given my once again weak K46 much more power to the tires.

It may be too thick to use in winter but seems to work great for summer use.

Choice is yours.

I'll post further results as new info arises.

Don

Update:

I have been running this oil for a month now and have about 15 hours accumulated.
It is working as good as it did when I first started using it.

Here's Two example of the differences between 5 Winter 50 synthetic and the Volvo Penta 75 Winter 90 synthetic.

#1

Before: Pull up to wall, stop and go full speed ahead; nothing other than transaxle noise with very little forward power pushing.

After: Pull up to wall, stop and go full speed ahead; tires took turns spinning out.


#2

Before: Back up to 4" raised concrete deck, stop and then continue full speed in reverse; nothing other than transaxle noise with very little pulling power in reverse.

After: Back up to 4" raised concrete deck, stop and then continue full speed in reverse; lawn tractor climbs up the 4" deck with ease.

There is no degrading power after 1 hour of use.

I hope this may help some of you, it is a real cheap option vs pump, motor and center case replacement.
Note: I previously had done the pump. motor and center casing sanding and lapping. This did help back then however it was still not full power. I think when one gets as far as doing that there is also wear in each piston and casings which does not get addressed. This thicker oil helps to address this issue.

Don

 

[JSH1]

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

Does anyone know what the "Ball IDS" and "Filter IDS" do?

Are these fluid relief valves? If they are fluid relief components, has anyone tried stiffer springs to improve pulling power?

Restorer

The IDS valves are fluid relief components that smooth the transition from moving to stop. If they were not there the transaxle would stop turning completely when you took your foot off the forward pedal and the wheels would lock. They are open or closed based on grooves machined into the plate they push against. The springs are there to keep them against the plate.

 

[reeset72]

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

I have an L120 with 450 hours. The K46 needed a rebuild as it would lose nearly all power after driving 30min of warm up. This thread and forum was extremely useful and great videos out on youtube as well. I'm posting because my findings seemed different than most. After research, I ordered the motor, pump and filter from tufftorque like others...and fill cap!...by the way, stick with the tufftorque website. There is more than one avenue to see/order parts separately even though the over all parts list looks hopeless. copy the part number u want and enter it in the search window. Opened my K46 and really didn't find any defects with my motor and pump although I did replace them. I found that my gears were fairly worn (fretting corrosion) so i ordered and replaced them. I also pulled the IDS valves out of the center case and found that the ports on the center case were damaged...not smooth at all. I ordered and replaced the center case with the new improved center case with filters and magnets (probably a reason the design changed....). I used 5W50 synthetic. The tranny is tight and runs strong and quiet. After my rebuild, I think I would have to recommend opening and inspecting your parts before you order anything. I'm pretty sure the center case was my smoking gun in my case and I'm glad I have new gears and filter in there. Motor and pump were wasted money I believe. Here's some pictures for reference.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

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

I have an L120 with 450 hours. The K46 needed a rebuild as it would lose nearly all power after driving 30min of warm up. This thread and forum was extremely useful and great videos out on youtube as well. I'm posting because my findings seemed different than most. After research, I ordered the motor, pump and filter from tufftorque like others...and fill cap!...by the way, stick with the tufftorque website. There is more than one avenue to see/order parts separately even though the over all parts list looks hopeless. copy the part number u want and enter it in the search window. Opened my K46 and really didn't find any defects with my motor and pump although I did replace them. I found that my gears were fairly worn (fretting corrosion) so i ordered and replaced them. I also pulled the IDS valves out of the center case and found that the ports on the center case were damaged...not smooth at all. I ordered and replaced the center case with the new improved center case with filters and magnets (probably a reason the design changed....). I used 5W50 synthetic. The tranny is tight and runs strong and quiet. After my rebuild, I think I would have to recommend opening and inspecting your parts before you order anything. I'm pretty sure the center case was my smoking gun in my case and I'm glad I have new gears and filter in there. Motor and pump were wasted money I believe. Here's some pictures for reference.View attachment 432396View attachment 432393View attachment 432400View attachment 432397View attachment 432394View attachment 432401View attachment 432398View attachment 432395View attachment 432392View attachment 432399

Good post, thanks!