Hydrostatic Transmission problem

Jeff G · Mar 17, 2025

I have a Transmisson on a Cub Cadet riding mower model TL-200D (787T0124021) that is not going forward or reverse.
I started mowing for about 10 minutes forward was working fine. Reverse was really slow. Thought there was grass build up where the reverse stopper is
but it was clean with no restriction anywhere. As i was reversing and stopped i went forward and this is when everything stopped working.
no movement at all in reverse. and no movement in forward. if i pushed the pedal forward about 3/4 full the pedal would start chattering.
so i tried doing a air bleeding with all four wheels on the ground and i was able to get the mower to move forward a little. after about 4 times of bleeding the air it
started to move really slow in reverse a slow going forward. if you have any ideal whats going on i would really appreciat it.
the mower will be 4 years old next month. it only has 63 hours on the meter.
If anyone has had the same problem or has an idea how to fix it I would really appreciate it. Thanks

tomplum · Mar 17, 2025

The chattering makes it sound like the splines on the inside of the driven pulley are spun. Typically the splines on the shaft are intact. So off with the pulley and have a look.
Below the pulley is a round, flattish coated plug. That is the fill port. If you pry the plug out, remove the magnet and check the fluid level. Should be ~ 3/4" below the top. If there is no signs of leakage and the pulley is the issue, I'd skip this part if it is hard for you to do. Welcome to the group.

Jeff G · Mar 18, 2025

There is no signs of leakage. I did check the pulley for slippage. It seems to be fine. When I bleed the system it stops the chatter. I did contact Tufftorq they may give me an extension on the warranty. This making me think the transmission is bad. I’m going to raise the rear wheel off the ground and try bleeding it again. Thank you for your input and help.

Richard001 · Mar 18, 2025

I did check the pulley for slippage.

How do you know that the pulley is not the problem? Did you remove it and check to see if the splines in the pulley are OK ?

Jeff G · Mar 18, 2025

I did not remove the pulley. But I remove the belt and checked for looseness. There was no movement at all. I guess removing the pulley is my next step.