Help identify Craftsman lawn tractor

[scaredychicken]

tractordata.com doesn't always have photos, so it might take a little digging

 

[bkenobi]

I tried tractordata.com too but came up empty. I had hoped between them and manialslub.com I'd be able to find it within a few minutes. Ha!

Thing is, i dont believe they have all the models listed. I know the 2 at the local shop were built in 2000 yet I dont see 917.272201 at all. I filter by 20hp and 2000 and it shows 2 options that don't match.

 

[bkenobi]

I strained the transaxle fluid and found no particulate. It was really REALLY thick but I'm not familiar with 20W50 so maybe that's expected. Since the expansion tank was empty and the main body was topped off, is it possible that there is a blockage in the rubber expansion tank hose? When I was pumping the fluid out, the suction side hose kept collapsing which could mean it was pushed against the bottom of the tank or it could mean there was no way for air to get into the tank to back-fill the fluid being removed.

 

[stevem5215]

Possible but 20w-50 isn't right anyway for hydro stat. You want 5w-50. And TuffTorq is even recommending 10w-30 now. I'd put synthetic in it as well. Not conventional.

 

[bkenobi]

I bought what the service manual stated but if there's a better option 25 years later, i can easily return and get something different. The manual says 20W-50 Exxon Mobile conventional. Well, i actually don't recall if it says conventional but then synthetic wasn't what everyone was using in 2000 so may have been default to conventional unless explicitly stated synthetic?

 

[bkenobi]

Is there any guidance on removal and reinstall of the cooling fan? I need to drill out the expansion tank retainer screw and am nervous i could damage the blades. Seems smarter to remove and reinstall rather than break, find replacement, and reinstall.

 

[bkenobi]

Never mind, with weight on wheels the trans doesnt want to spin so an impact driver zipped the nut right off even with some crud.

 

[bkenobi]

I got a chance to talk to Hydro Gear customer support (now routed to Gardner Co) wo directed me to a local HG service shop. They said HG transaxles of that era are pretty good and most likely a linkage issue rather than internal based on ddescription. Also confirmed best oil to use is 20w50 full synthetic which was OOS at local store so ordered for delivery. I do wonder if it would be beneficial to use some thinner lubricant to flush the old stuff and use the synthetic after.

 

[bkenobi]

I got a black light the other day as a last ditch effort and it popped the sticker out like magic! Turns out, the tractor has a swapped engine and a different deck. It's a 917.272201 25HP v-twin 46" hydrostatic transaxle DLT lawn tractor just like the ones at the shop. The motor was swapped for a near perfect date matched 20HP opposed twin. Mystery solved!

As for the transaxle, I replaced the oil and it seems to work great. It does act a little strange with bypass enabled. It should stop any motion of the axle but it slowly reverses when full reverse and it jerks forward but only when in full forward. I performed the purge but it didn't make much difference with the bypass issue. Since I don't see that as a big deal (I'm not going to be running the engine in bypass for any reason I can think of), I'll not worry about it.

It looks like the electric clutch is running all the time which is a more concerning issue. I'll have to look into that since I'm not sure about how the electric clutch engages.

 

[tomplum]

Good deal. Your clutch, if you un couple the connector and it still runs with the belt attached- would be toast. As these age and the brake on the clutch wears out, they may turn w/o a load yet- but many times won't when the belt is on.

 

[Tinhack]

It does act a little strange with bypass enabled. It should stop any motion of the axle but it slowly reverses when full reverse and it jerks forward but only when in full forward.

The bypass is used when the engine is off, and you need to move the mower. There should be a way to keep the bypass fixed in either position--On when you need to push the mower and off all other times.

 

[bkenobi]

Yeah, I get what the bypass is for. But I was surprised that the mower would be able to move with the bypass engaged. It does allow the mower to be pushed with it enabled so it's doing all I need. I just thought it would prevent the engine from sending power to the wheels when bypassed. Since it works to push around, I'm going to skip it.

The clutch appears to have plenty of power when disengaged so I'm guessing something's broken. I figured I'd pull it off and inspect, but I don't think it's really servicable so I'll have to source a new one. Looks like I can get one for around $100 online. Is there a known good source for these or mfg that I should avoid?

 

[bkenobi]

I tested the electrical and see 12ish volt from the switch and 11ohm on the clutch so looks like the clutch is bad. I pulled the clutch and it spinns but its gritty. I removed the 3 nuts and separated the different parts and it appears that the issue is a bad bearing on the pulley half. Since there's no way to remove/reinstall a new bearing, it looks like a new clutch is required (as expected).

 

[Richard001]

I tested the electrical and see 12ish volt from the switch and 11ohm on the clutch so looks like the clutch is bad. I pulled the clutch and it spinns but its gritty. I removed the 3 nuts and separated the different parts and it appears that the issue is a bad bearing on the pulley half. Since there's no way to remove/reinstall a new bearing, it looks like a new clutch is required (as expected).

Really, you can't remove the bearing ?

If man made it, man can fix it.

Got a press or a large hammer ?

 

[bkenobi]

Not that I couldn't replace the bearing, just that I'd read it's not worth it for reasons unspecified. I suspect it's not worth it for a shop because at $150/hr or whatever they charge now, it's not worth the cost of the part to tinker with. My free time is close to free (if I don't hate doing it) so it's worth the effort.

That sounded like a challenge so I went ahead and removed the bearing. As I assumed, just a couple sockets of the right size and a heavy enough mallet to break the rust. I did have to grind the ears off the pulley that was holding the bearing in place. I'm assuming this isn't precise enough to need to worry about balance?

I retested the resistance again and now it's showing 3.5-5ohm so I think it should be fine. I'll clean the terminals a little better and add dielectric grease prior to reinstall which should get me below 3 ohm. Fortunately when the engine was swapped they used grease on the drive pulley so nothing was seized like I had feared!

 

[bkenobi]

I replaced the bearing which was badly grinding and the new one is much better. After reinstallation I noticed the clutch sort of drags as it rotates so it's clearly not quite straight. Having it reassembled already, I decided to install and see whether it would keep the blades spinning or not be an issue. Prior to adding the deck, I used a calibrated stick to see if the clutch would stop with enough resistance (it did). With the deck on and the clutch disengaged the blades are stopped but the deck engages without issue. I noticed the mandrel brake pads are pretty worn so I may have to replace them at some point but right now I'm pretty happy with my free DLT!

I mowed along the street which only gets touched once a month or so and my 17hp LT1000 struggles. This one had no issue. I ramped it up to thicker grass and eventually took it out to my field that I normally run my 30hp NH compact tractor with rotary cutter on. The DLT ran through it like nothing even though the grass was 5' tall!

 

[Richard001]

Great job.