ltx 1050vt transmission problems

[WTA]

I went out to mow yesterday with our two year old lawn tractor that has 200 hours on it and at first the forward and reverse pedals just made the transmission whine loudly for a couple seconds before it moved. Everything seemed fine after that till I was almost done. It just stopped moving and whining loud in both directions. I looked underneath and discovered the fan on top of the transmission is toast. All the blades are gone. I hope it's not damaged too bad. I have no idea what happened to the fan. I keep this thing clean and my yard is clean.

Can anyone give me any ideas or help on where to go from here please? My only experience with hydrostatics is Kubota. The dealer I worked at sent me to school for them and I rebuilt several at work but this one is entirely different.

What type of oil do these take is one of my biggest questions. How much to fill it with? Any common problems known that can cause this? Are there any manuals available online for this anywhere? I looked on Cub Cadets site and found owners manuals but no service manuals when I typed in the model and serial number.

It's just not my month for transmissions. I rebuilt the E40d in my kids pickup 4 weeks ago, My ZF 5 speed and transfer case are torn apart on my workbench right now waiting on one more part that the company I used forgot to include in the kit and now this. With my luck the riding mower is really going to cost me a fortune.

 

[rcbe]

I went out to mow yesterday with our two year old lawn tractor that has 200 hours on it and at first the forward and reverse pedals just made the transmission whine loudly for a couple seconds before it moved. Everything seemed fine after that till I was almost done. It just stopped moving and whining loud in both directions. I looked underneath and discovered the fan on top of the transmission is toast. All the blades are gone. I hope it's not damaged too bad. I have no idea what happened to the fan. I keep this thing clean and my yard is clean.

Can anyone give me any ideas or help on where to go from here please? My only experience with hydrostatics is Kubota. The dealer I worked at sent me to school for them and I rebuilt several at work but this one is entirely different.

What type of oil do these take is one of my biggest questions. How much to fill it with? Any common problems known that can cause this? Are there any manuals available online for this anywhere? I looked on Cub Cadets site and found owners manuals but no service manuals when I typed in the model and serial number.

It's just not my month for transmissions. I rebuilt the E40d in my kids pickup 4 weeks ago, My ZF 5 speed and transfer case are torn apart on my workbench right now waiting on one more part that the company I used forgot to include in the kit and now this. With my luck the riding mower is really going to cost me a fortune.

chk out this section from MTD's serv manual for 1000/1500 series - some good stuff there. Also replace that busted fan right away - you've prolly cooked the tranny oil already. Download a parts manual for yer tractor to get p/n. And don't forget to purge the tranny after refill.
Good luck.

View attachment 220634

 

[OldMachinist]

I've got a couple of downloads for you.
2009 and later 1000 series Cub Cadet service manual
2009_later_1000series_769-04590a[1].pdf
HydroGear service manual for you 618-0319 transmission
310-0510 BLN-51260_P2.pdf
Parts diagram
618-0319.pdf

The normal retail price for a new transmission is around $850. There's a new one on Ebay for $459 with free shipping.
NEW TRANSAXLE for MTD-CADET-TROY-BILT 618-0319/918-0319 | eBay

 

[JTKub]

Yes, unfortunately it doesn't take but one stick/twig shoved in just the right way to wipe out the cooling fan for the hydrostat.

You can also try the Hydrogear Corp. website for info. My dealings with them have been positive.

In reality though, 200hrs in two years, you really need a machine intended for that type of usage.

 

[WTA]

Thanks for all the info. I got it all drained out. That stuff is black. My kids going to pick me up some 20w50 synthetic motor oil tomorrow to try in it and I just ordered a new fan from messicks. Hopefully this fixes it. THis really is not my month. My big NEW new holland farm tractor clutch stuck solid this morning. Never had a problem with the clutch before and we haven't had an rain in 10 months till this week. It was rusted to the flywheel I guess. A hole bunch of 12th gear high speed panic stops fixed it.

 

[johndavid24]

I had some similar symptoms, lube the brake lever at the transaxle, the rain may have caused it to not return all the way,... it's like pressing both pedals at the same time...have a helper move the pedals one at a time while you watch the movement of the levers, study it carefully. My son said it would growl sometimes when starting to move, since I lubed the linkage up ,it now runs smooth and quiet....relatively. John M