I just changed the hydrostatic filter on my 2165. When I changed the filter, I also changed the hydrostatic oil (I didn't have a clean container large enough to hold all 7 qts of the old oil, so I opted not to keep it). I got the tractor at an auction a few years back and it didn't come with a manual. A friend of mine also has a 2165, so I made a copy of his manual. It calls for "Cub Cadet Drive System Oil" part number 737-3055 or specifies a 20W50 oil that meets API service class SG/CD. The auto parts store is closer than the Cub Cadet dealer, and the oil was cheaper there so I bought 2 gallons of the oil at the auto parts store and a replacement Puralolator filter from TSC(cross referenced in the book at TSC).
Now that I've changed them, I seem to have air in the system. When I first ran the tractor and engaged the transmission, it was very noisy and hesitated to move the tractor. I checked the oil level and found that the oil had a lot of air bubbles in it. I figured I would be able to let the air work its way out of the system, so I let the oil in the reservoir clear up over the next few days and then ran it again. Same thing - air bubbles in the reservoir and a noisy transmission that hesitated to move the tractor. I repeated this process 3 or 4 times with no real change. This weekend, I needed to move the log splitter, so I got the tractor out. I could barely even back it up to the splitter. The transmission just would not engage and drive the tractor. I would push the pedal all the way down and nothing happened. The tractor just sat there. I couldn't hear any noises from the transmission at all. Finally after a few minutes of frustration, I got back on and held the pedal down to go forward. After about 30 seconds of just holding the pedal down, the transmission engaged and the tractor moved. I managed to get the log splitter hooked up and towed it to the back yard where I needed it. Unhooked the splitter and tried to drive away. Nothing doing. I could not get the transmission to engage. I ended up disengaging the transmission and pushing the tractor back to it's home in the garage.
Help! Is there an air bleed on the transmission I should use? The manual didn't say anything about bleeding the system in the transmission filter change instructions. Did I use the wrong oil and/or filter?
Now that I've changed them, I seem to have air in the system. When I first ran the tractor and engaged the transmission, it was very noisy and hesitated to move the tractor. I checked the oil level and found that the oil had a lot of air bubbles in it. I figured I would be able to let the air work its way out of the system, so I let the oil in the reservoir clear up over the next few days and then ran it again. Same thing - air bubbles in the reservoir and a noisy transmission that hesitated to move the tractor. I repeated this process 3 or 4 times with no real change. This weekend, I needed to move the log splitter, so I got the tractor out. I could barely even back it up to the splitter. The transmission just would not engage and drive the tractor. I would push the pedal all the way down and nothing happened. The tractor just sat there. I couldn't hear any noises from the transmission at all. Finally after a few minutes of frustration, I got back on and held the pedal down to go forward. After about 30 seconds of just holding the pedal down, the transmission engaged and the tractor moved. I managed to get the log splitter hooked up and towed it to the back yard where I needed it. Unhooked the splitter and tried to drive away. Nothing doing. I could not get the transmission to engage. I ended up disengaging the transmission and pushing the tractor back to it's home in the garage.
Help! Is there an air bleed on the transmission I should use? The manual didn't say anything about bleeding the system in the transmission filter change instructions. Did I use the wrong oil and/or filter?
