John Deere 2305 Compact Tractor Transmission and rear PTO failure

[yelbike]

Cracked housing where the three point lift arm attaches.... Aluminum is light duty.... where might I find a used transmission?

Do you have pictures? Not sure you will have a lot of luck looking for those used parts as the transmission is a somewhat common failure on these tractors. If you do find parts, I would make sure the donor tractor is 2008 and up, that's when they upgraded the case.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

So, has anyone had the bearing on the shaft that drives the hydraulic pump go bad? My company has a 2009 model 2305 and there have been a handful of different people driving it. It is used with a 62 or 72" belly mower. Never have had anything hooked up to the PTO.

The shaft has a angle cut type drive gear that drives it. The gear, shaft and bearing are shot. The gear that mates with the gear has some bad spots on it. I did a really thorough PM on this unit less than a year ago. The screen filter with the magnets did have a bit of metal fines in it. I'd say a tablespoon or a little more. It was the first tranny oil change done to the unit that I know of. I cleaned everything and put JD OEM oil and filters back in it. It had 400 hours when the PM was done last July. So, I think it has maybe 500 hours now. Anyway the bearing exploded into pieces and got into everything. The estimate to repair is approx $800 parts and about 20-24 hours of labor. So, it's going to cost about $3000 to fix. Last year I did the fan replacement and many other fixes that I somewhat documented in another link.

The symptoms of this bearing failure was the deck wouldn't lift and I guess the guy drove it about a half mile to park it.

 

[buickanddeere]

Do you really think Deere makes thier own engines and transmissions for the consumer equipment line? They could not afford to sell against all the other makes if they did.
Want somebody to be angry at? Try Tuff Torq | K92 .
b.t.w. you can purchase an entire trasnmission cheaper than repairing a busted unit.
They have a pair of 2305's here at work and the dull witted types that drive them are merciless in the winter with the snowblower. And in the summer with the mower decks. Haven't busted either tractor in 5 seasons.
Is it possible tuff torq had a quality control problem and shipped some thinwall cases?

 

[CalG]

So whaty would a new K92 with rear PTO option cost direct from TT?

Just in case the Bolens HT23 rear end ever gives up the ghost ;-)

 

[Fixedon66]

It is used with a 62 or 72" belly mower. Never have had anything hooked up to the PTO.

I did a really thorough PM on this unit less than a year ago. ... It was the first tranny oil change done to the unit that I know of. I cleaned everything and put JD OEM oil and filters back in it. It had 400 hours when the PM was done last July.

The belly mower is powered by the PTO, just the front PTO not the rear. However it puts WAY less torque on the tractor than just about anything you put on the back.

PM at 400 is way over due....maybe... The the manual calls for a transmission fluid change after the first 50 hours then at 400 hour intervals after that. If that first 50-hour change wasn't done then perhaps that may have had some bearing on the bearing. I bought my 2305 used with 160 hours on it. The first thing I did was service the transmission in case the 50 hour service had been skipped.

I'm one who had the whole casing crack from hitting a buried t-post with the brush hog. I've since put slip clutches on the brush hog and my new frontier tiller (tiller came with clutch). No problems since. Knock on wood... I think I've also found and marked all the stumps, rocks, and buried t-posts on my land. That can't hurt. ;-)

Good luck with the repair or replacement. I'd be interested to hear about the new transmission option compared to repair.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

So is the tranny on the 2305 a K92?

Yes, I should say it has not had anything on the "REAR" PTO. Just the mower deck underneath. I believe it had the 50 hour PM done by the dealer. Actually I'm told the motor had to be replaced shortly after purchase but it was done in warranty and I don't know why it failed. The chiefs are deciding on what to do...trade it in or pay to fix. They are frustrated.

 

[BeaconWoods]

So what is the status of any class action suit? I also have a broken 2210. Hit a stump with a rough mower. The dealer offered to fix it for $9000. So, I took it home, took it apart and removed the busted stuff. I was quite surprised at the light duty appearance of the housing that held the inner PTO bearing. I now use it with mid mount mower only. Bought a 2305 to do the tilling I used to do with the 2210. No more rough mower for the small tractor. Now do that with the 3720. Great info here on TBN. I have read a few posts over the years. Never got very deeply into it until recently. I had not previously heard of any class action suit. What is the word on that?

 

[ddivinia]

$9k


Wow. That is crazy.

D.

 

[yelbike]

Make sure you use a slip clutch on your mower. I haven't heard anything about. Maybe your house insurance would cover it if you it something with it. Good luck.

 

[beemerdr]

So what is the status of any class action suit? I also have a broken 2210. Hit a stump with a rough mower. The dealer offered to fix it for $9000. So, I took it home, took it apart and removed the busted stuff. I was quite surprised at the light duty appearance of the housing that held the inner PTO bearing. I now use it with mid mount mower only. Bought a 2305 to do the tilling I used to do with the 2210. No more rough mower for the small tractor. Now do that with the 3720. Great info here on TBN. I have read a few posts over the years. Never got very deeply into it until recently. I had not previously heard of any class action suit. What is the word on that?

I would advise against using a 2305 to till, you hit a rock, 3 point lifts and shatters the transmission. Same can happen if the tiller binds and you don't have a shear pin that snaps easily, output shaft torques, stresses bearing, shatters housing. Any of the tractors with the aluminum transmission housing are over glorified lawn mowers. If you use them as a compact tractor you are courting trouble. Don't expect a class action suit.... JD is gambling it won't happen, but if it does it will be cheaper to defend and drag out then to make it right with their customers. Bottom line? The subcompact line are not real JD tractors, anyone who bleeds green should not feel bad about choosing something else, because these are just like the mowers at LOWES... they are painted green, say JD.. but they are cheap junk.

Mine cost me $7500. Our dealers in my part of NY are monopolys... two people own all the dealerships for 100 miles in all directions from where I live. They both refused to fix my tractor before fall, and wanted $9,000 to fix too. I NEEDED my tractor so reluctantly traded it for a used KUBOTA they had taken in trade. Funny thing? The mechanic at the dealership now owns my old tractor. SO I was hosed by John Deere and their NY dealers. Sell you JD's. Buy a Kubota and forget JD ever making it right.