slt 1550 rear axle snapped in half

logan7ofus · Jul 5, 2014

We own a 2006 cub slt 1550 hydro lawn tractor and the rear axle snapped in half while I was mowing and the tire fell off!!

My problem is im having a hard time locating just the right rear axle, anyone have any ideas? When we look up the part it says something like "transmission, hydrostatic"....and thats on the part finder and says it on every site we go to...well thats not the right part cuz thats like $500-600$!! All we need is the axle :/ Can someone help?

alchemysa · Jul 5, 2014

New drive shafts can be horrendously expensive and some of these transaxles have no replacement parts available through the usual sources anyway. They simply expect you to throw the whole unit away.

This may be no help but have you considered repairing it? I recently had to repair the drive shaft of an old evinrude outboard. The spline at the top, about 3 cm long, had snapped off. (A new replacement was nearly $200!). So I carefully cut a new spline into the end with a dremel tool then extended the shaft by cutting it in half then rejoining it with a snug fitting piece of stainless steel pipe about 6 inches long. I simply used a metal glue (like JB weld) to glue it back together. I swear that sucker is stronger than it was originally and it works perfectly. Total repair cost was about $15 and took about 2 hours all up.

The story above is probably not really relevent to a mower axle but I'm just saying that sometimes a repair is possible even though the machine builder has done everything to make you believe otherwise.

Or talk to a machine shop. Its amazing what a good tradesman can do. They might be able to make a new one quite easily.

Then again, try this crew..Lawn Mower Parts, Small Engine Parts & Much More! | PartsTree.com - Briggs, MTD, Toro, Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, Troy-bilt...

rcbe · Jul 5, 2014

logan7ofus said:
We own a 2006 cub slt 1550 hydro lawn tractor and the rear axle snapped in half while I was mowing and the tire fell off!! My problem is im having a hard time locating just the right rear axle, anyone have any ideas? When we look up the part it says something like "transmission, hydrostatic"....and thats on the part finder and says it on every site we go to...well thats not the right part cuz thats like $500-600$!! All we need is the axle :/ Can someone help?

may take some crawling around with a trouble light, but somewhere on your tranny there will be a mfgr's decal giving mfgr's name, model #, etc. (make - either hydro gear or tufftorque) . With all that info, find a Phone # on the web to the mfgr's service dept; give 'em a call and see if they can help you out with replacement parts, etc...

OldMachinist · Jul 5, 2014

Transmission parts breakdown

2006 SLT 1550 transmission parts

logan7ofus · Jul 5, 2014

So what you guys are saying is there is no way to just replace the axle that broke? It had already broke once, welded it now broke in another place that is just to close to other parts so dont think we could weld it again. We are at a loss just not sure what route to take next without spending tons of money :/

OldMachinist · Jul 5, 2014

The link to the parts breakdown I posted will show you the part numbers for just the axles. They're $40-$47 depending on which side you need.

Gator6x4 · Jul 5, 2014

logan7ofus said:
So what you guys are saying is there is no way to just replace the axle that broke? It had already broke once, welded it now broke in another place that is just to close to other parts so dont think we could weld it again. We are at a loss just not sure what route to take next without spending tons of money :/

Please read post # 4. OldMachinist posted a break down with part numbers for your transmission. Please look at parts # 35 and 36 these are the axles. OldMachinist also has access to Service Manuals and will sometimes provide them if asked. You may also ask if he has the Service Manual for your unit. Axle replacement looks like a bear on that unit. This is probably the reason it was welded the last time. It appears the unit can be repaired by you for less than $100.00. Now if you start paying labor costs I would say the cost will be $250 - $300.

In case you are overlooking it, here is the part# and cost of the right rear axle shaft you will need.

Cub Cadet HG-51079 Shaft, Axle (R.H.) DD

Your price: $40.19