D170 with failing K46 transmission, now what

[ariesbeck]

Good evening!

I own a John Deere D170 and did not do my research when I bought it about 4 years ago. We recently moved to a flatter terrain but for the first 3.5 years I used the tractor on fairly rough hilly terrain and I'm certain my K46 transmission is shot. As the tractor warms up it slowly loses its ability to climb up hills.

I am looking for advice on what to do. I am no longer living on hilly terrain, have about 1.5 acres to mow, and have the snowblower and cab for clearing a rather large driveway. I'm looking for recommendations on which path to go down:

1.) Rebuild/replace the K46 transmission

2.) Replace the K46 transmission with a K66

3.) Buy a new tractor that's compatible with the snowblower on the D170 but has a better transmission

4.) Buy a new tractor, snowblower, and cab

Looking for general recommendations on which way you would go and if 3 or 4 is your recommendation then what tractor you would recommend? Budget wise, I can flex pretty significantly(2k-15k let's say), but would need to justify to myself that I'm getting enough extra to justify the cost.

Thanks for your help!

 

[tomplum]

It sounds like the tractor is sufficient for what you do plus you have the accessories. Money logic says fix what you have. Is the itch is there to get something better? I doubt that your cab and blower will be interchangeable except like with a D or maybe E series. An X series is certainly a different animal. Would you be willing to try a fluid change first?

 

[buickanddeere]

Purchase a X380 or higher . The K46 may run a little longer if the oil is swapped out for Sae 60 motor cycle engine oil.

 

[Richard001]

ariesbeck,

Welcome to TBN

:welcome:

Richard

Seeing as you have all the grass and snow moving parts, maybe just rebuild the trany or install a more heavy duty tranny if you are mechanically inclined.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Welcome to TBN. Dont forget this is a site that likes to spend other peoples money. Lol

There's also a bunch that don't like K46, maybe they will give you some money to upgrade.

Personally, only issue i had with a K46 was my axle broke, was an easy fix. My current K46 is 10 yrs old, and i take it on some steep hills.

 

[ariesbeck]

Thanks everyone for your responses. At the moment I am leaning towards rebuilding. Its well within my technical capability and I wasn't aware how affordable it can be (parts from tuff-torq). After watching a few YouTube videos and such I believe my issue lies with the pump and motor. To limit downtime I am thinking I will just replace both (and filter obviously).

Some people had issues with their spider gears getting ground up, does it make sense just to replace those as well? I figure if those gears were shot my issue wouldn't wait until the transmission gets hot to show symptoms.

Also, The videos I watched were primarily K46's coming out of L series mowers and they were able to remove all linkages and remove the transaxle from the bottom of the tractor. I saw only one video which happened to be of a D170(swap from K46 to K66) and for some reason that person removed the entire top (seat, stearing, hood, gas tank, etc...) in order to get to the linkages(YouTube video v=8pIVYa0nbZk - cant post links yet). I am assuming at this point that what they did was unnecessary, or only required due to something special about swaping from K46 to K66, but anyone have any experience removing the transaxle on a D100-series that can confirm it comes out easily from below?

Thank you,
Aaron

 

[tomplum]

Yep, they come out easily. The most difficult thing is being ready to either remove the input pulley or the belt guide so that you can get the belt off. The guide is 15 MM on the nut or an allen head socket will spin it out from the top. A small snap ring holds the pulley. For me I support the transaxle as it comes out with a jack. That way you can get it lower to pop off the link clips along with the pulley and guide. I can never stress enough that even though your issues indicate that the trans itself has weakened, it pays to cover the external bases first. The most common on these is grass packed on top of the lower steering support plate. Essentially it keeps the brake pedal from fully retracting and is like riding the clutch. Brake should be releasing, belt and fixed pulleys not worn or badly glazed plus the idlers not melted from intermittently seizing. Bear in mind that the original fill was low vis hygard which is close to 10w30. 15/20w50 can give them a nice boost.

 

[Richard001]

Good evening!

I own a John Deere D170 and did not do my research when I bought it about 4 years ago. We recently moved to a flatter terrain but for the first 3.5 years I used the tractor on fairly rough hilly terrain and I'm certain my K46 transmission is shot. As the tractor warms up it slowly loses its ability to climb up hills.

Did your purchase this Deere new?

How many hours on it?

Richard

 

[ariesbeck]

Yes, it was purchased new. I believe I am right around 120 hours. In case your curious about warranty status, I looked into the warranty and I think the D100 series only come with 2 year max warranties.

 

[Richard001]

Yes, it was purchased new. I believe I am right around 120 hours. In case your curious about warranty status, I looked into the warranty and I think the D100 series only come with 2 year max warranties.

OK here goes. I can't believe that JD would build and sell a lawn tractor the only last less than four years and at only 120 hours.

I know that this is the JD forum, but really, less than four years and the tranny is shot???!

It's not like you were using it to pull semi-traliers with it.

Did you buy this from a big box store or from a dealer?

I was never a fan of these hydraulic transmissions, and now I know why. Yes there convenient but don't seem to last long. Give me a geared tanny with a shift lever. Last forever, well almost.

Try going back to JD regional office and see if you can work out some sort of deal, other wise threaten to go on-line with derogatory comments about their products.

OK i'm putting on my flame proof suit now, have at it.

Richard