Replacing lower seal in a Bush Hog RDTH 60 Mower.

   / Replacing lower seal in a Bush Hog RDTH 60 Mower. #1  

MiserableOldFart

Platinum Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
542
Location
Delaware County Catskills NY
Tractor
NH Workmaster 40, Kubota GR2120
Lower gearbox seal - Anyone ever done this? From the parts diagram it looks like if I can get the castle nut and big main pulley off, there is just a ring holding in that seal? Is this right? Or would I be better off just taking the gearcase to a dealer?

Any info would be appreciated. I have the "older" gearbox with the $7 seal, as opposed to the new one with the $22 seal, I think..
 
   / Replacing lower seal in a Bush Hog RDTH 60 Mower. #2  
I had to replace the lower seal in a Befco rear mower. Getting the nut off was the hard problem. I couldn't figure out how to hold the pulley / shaft in place and break loose the nut. I finally gave up and went to a tire store, a 3/4" pneumatic impact and 5 seconds later that nut was off. I went back and had them put it back on for me. Since I had just bought $800 worth of tires from them, they did this for free.

The rest was a piece of cake.
 
   / Replacing lower seal in a Bush Hog RDTH 60 Mower. #3  
I fill the gearbox with JD corn-head grease, then mess with the seal next winter.
 
   / Replacing lower seal in a Bush Hog RDTH 60 Mower. #4  
Kind of watching this one cause i will need to do this on a rth720.

Its not leaking like it was though?? Maybe some trash got bwtween the seal and saft on mine and leaked bad for awhile. One time i put a good amount in it, this last time i put an ounce or 3 in it???

I do have about 4 tubes of cornhead grease to put in and possibly leave in if i feel i dont want to pull it all apart. But as of now its barely leaking. Im glad though. Was a pain when i took my elcheapo bushhog one off trying to figure it out. But not that i know how to do it its easy.
 
   / Replacing lower seal in a Bush Hog RDTH 60 Mower.
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Thanks for the replies. Got the job done, with a little help from bro-in-law. Problem was the part. For some reason the seal in my gearbox didn't match the ones I found online. Finally got a new one on Ebay for about four bucks. Was easy enough to install. putting all the stuff back on after removing the gear box so as to get better grip on that big nut was a bear. Nothing seemed to want to line up without a little coaxing with a lever, and I had no extra hands around to help. Appears to be working okay now.

Once the big nut was off, there was difficulty getting the big pulley off the shaft - it's very tight. but My brother in law is a mechanic and has the patience with mechanical work that I lack entirely, and he and I got it off. He also busted out the old seal. The rest was not easy, but simple. The old seal was really bad, and it was leaking a lot, not just a drop here and there. It probably would make sense to change the gear oil and replace that seal every five years or so, but I doubt I'd ever do it unless it was leaking.

The key to the whole thing is the ability to drop that big pulley without having to remove the entire upper part of the deck. If you can do that, the job is a quick and easy one.
 
 
 
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