Rear Finish Mower Rear Discharge Mower Gearbox

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Hard to believe condensation alone can account for enough water to turn the lubricant milky.

That’s how I felt, but I wasn’t sure considering how hot the gearbox would get. Although with a vented dipstick one would think this would “help” prevent that issue.

 

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I’ve got a Woods PRD8400 and an RD60 rear finish, rear discharge mowers. Both are living in a barn on the floor on the wheels (not standing upright) in a shady spot in the corner. I just finished maintenance on both of them and I never have any trouble with milky oil in the gear box now. Even not after 10 years of the same oil in the gearbox.

Here is a story for you: when I first got the rear discharge mower, one of them always gets a bit muddy. Being nice as I thought I was, I cleaned the deck top and bottom with the garden hose and it the pressure washer. Even so I didn’t directly spray on the gearbox, the oil was milky in the gearbox and the bearings in the spindles were bad faster.

I quit cleaning the mowers, leave them dirty and just lube the spindles after the 3rd use. Sharpen the blade and check the oil every year. After 10 years, the oil gets replaced and I’ve got no more problems with the oil being milky.

The other problem is that it takes a while for the milky oil to be totally replaced. I think I had to fill the gearbox up twice or three times before the milky oil disappeared. I can imagine a cold day and then the sun beating on it makes the gearbox breath. So find a cool spot, no sun, no water = no trouble.

I’ve only ever used my backpack blower or air hose and a soft bristled brush to blow off the top of the deck. Never once have I resorted to a hose or pressure washer.
I routinely check the underside of the deck to prevent any large buildup when cutting tall grass. Sometimes it can stay wet a little longer than the shorter areas, plus you never know if there’s anything hiding in there that could have gotten sucked up (binder twine, fencing, Mylar balloons, homemade tail socks or horse tail fly switches that fell off).
After this next gear oil change I’ll keep it parked inside and see how it holds up. If it wasn’t an 84” deck I might consider draining it and standing it upright, but that’s a whole lotta deck to stand and maneuver by myself.