GX345 hydrostatic & hydraulic control lever not working

Tweststrate · Jan 8, 2014

Hello- I am new to the forum and am seeking assistance diagnosing & repairing my 2004 GX345 with about 500 hours. We had a recent winter storm dumping about 18" of snow. The tractor kept up fine and I was able to plow my driveway and neighbor's driveways with the 42" snow thrower attachment without issues. The next day temps dropped to about -12* F and about 3" more snow arrived. My son took the GX345 out to plow and after about 7-8 mins he was back inside telling me it wouldn't move. We were able to raise the 42" snow thrower attachment, put the tractor in neutral and push it into the garage. I started the tractor and noticed a whining sound and found that I couldn't raise the snow thrower attachment or move the tractor forward or reverse. I checked the trans/hydraulic fluid and it was low so I added the proper Hy-Gard fluid. It still will not raise/lower the attachment or go forward/reverse. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thx,

Tim

Dutch445 · Jan 9, 2014

welcome to TBN!
now that it's warming up, see if the tractor comes back to life. It almost sounds like
there may have been some moisture in the hydraulic oil and maybe it froze?
may be due for a drain and refill...

Tweststrate · Jan 11, 2014

Stopped by my local dealer's service dept and talked to the service mgr. He thinks it's the drive belt. I bought a new belt, transmission filter, hydraulic filter, and fluid. I'm going to service the trans/hydraulic since it's due anyway.

TimberXX · Jan 11, 2014

Good luck. Let us know how it works out.

Tweststrate · Jan 12, 2014

I removed the fender & midsection of the trailer, then the gas tank and hydraulic/tranny fan. I was surprised at how much grass and junk had accumulated under there. I think I will make this an annual task. I drained the hydraulic/tranny fluid, removed the old tranny & hydraulic filters and installed the new hydraulic filter. The dealer gave me the wrong tranny filter so I need to go back Monday to get the correct part. I am also waiting on the drive belt which they said would arrive Wednesday. So far nothing has been difficult...just a lot of cleaning to make it acceptable.

Tweststrate · Jan 19, 2014

Finally had some time to work on the tractor today. I removed the tension spring using a spring puller that came with the trampoline I bought for my kids years ago (used to install all the springs used on the trampoline). It really made removing the spring simple. I noticed the drive pulley on the transmission was canted so I looked closer and noticed that the grooves inside the pulley that fit on the spline of the transmission were stripped. That was my problem. The material in the pulley is softer than the spline so that it strips rather than the spline. The spline is not replaceable so if was stripped, I would have to weld the pulley to the spline or buy a new transmission ($2600 according to my dealer). I will visit the dealer tomorrow to pick up a new drive pulley. With the tension released after removing the tension spring, I thought I would check the sheaves and idler pulley to ensure they are in good condition. I checked them by spinning them. If they spin freely and with noise, the bearings inside are no longer lubricated and it's just a matter of time before it seizes up & you should replace it. If they don't spin at all, the bearings are shot and the part needs to be replaced. If they spin but not completely freely, that's a good sign showing there is a little resistance from the bearing grease. The front sheave on mine spun freely with a little noise...I will be replacing that too.