L130 Transaxle Retrofit

[OutbackL130]

I've had my JD L130 since new and back about 8 years ago the hydro transmission went out, which apparently is very common for them.

The cheaper version of my tractor, the L100, came with a 5 speed Spicer transaxle which were readily available on the interent new for $100 VS a new hydro L130 trans for around $500.

So I decided to retrofit a 5 speed Spicer transaxle into my L130. It was a direct bolt on and just required various L100 parts such as the shifter, trans pulley etc.

I've been using the mower like this ever since and the spicer transaxle is a beast compared to the old hydro unit. It's reaching 600 hours and I use it to mow my 3 acres and drag a 4' harrow on my 700' driveway.


The only thing I still dont know having never driven a factory L100 is:
When moving are you supposed to clutch to shift like driving a 5 speed truck or is it supposed to be able to shift with out pressing the clutch? I have to clutch everytime to get it to shift, but for some reason I was thinking the L100 was semi automatic where you didnt need to.

Also, I want to change the tension of the clutch. Now I have know idea if the L100 acts like this from the factory, but when you let off the clutch my tractor is 100% GO in whatever gear you're in. Running full throttle for mowing, the tires spin everytime I let off the clutch from standing still. If I am on pavement where it has more traction it will lurch very hard no matter how easy I let off the clutch, the drive belt grabs and OFF YOU GO! I dont understand why the belt wont slip a little to give a smoother start up. Any clever ideas on what to do?

 

[DonaldS]

..

I have a new D130 and a 2002 L100.
While mowing with the L100 I put a little pressure on the gear shift knob then suddenly move my body forward and back in the seat. This momentarily relieves driveline tension in the gearbox and it will shift up or down. I shift on the fly like this quite a lot and been doing it for years without ill effects. Ive never even looked at the transaxle I read it was a sealed unit so why bother. The clutch is very grabby and the neighbor kids love to see me do wheelies. It is possible to ride the clutch to make the mower slow down with out effecting blade speed.
The big surprise is Ive never had to replace the drive belt.
I have thought about making the same conversion that you have in my D130 when it take a dump. My L100 is in great shape except it has a safety switch problem.

Thanks for your post.. Don S..

 

[DonaldS]

Also, I want to change the tension of the clutch. Now I have know idea if the L100 acts like this from the factory, but when you let off the clutch my tractor is 100% GO in whatever gear you're in. Running full throttle for mowing, the tires spin everytime I let off the clutch from standing still. If I am on pavement where it has more traction it will lurch very hard no matter how easy I let off the clutch, the drive belt grabs and OFF YOU GO! I dont understand why the belt wont slip a little to give a smoother start up. Any clever ideas on what to do?

..

When new the L100 clutch was grabbier than a 1941 Ford. My 1940 Plymouth was smooth.
I have put a lot of thought into a fix for the clutch grabbing problem. I believe if there was an economical way to fix the problem the John Deere or the transaxle engineers would have fixed it. A viscous coupling on the input shaft might work but would not do well when needed to recycle often and would be costly. I tried to buy a new L100 but apparently JD got too many clutch complaints and quit producing drive unit. I did not check out the D105 1-pedal control with forward and reverse lever drive style.

Have a cool one.. Don S..

 

[RandyT]

I've had my JD L130 since new and back about 8 years ago the hydro transmission went out, which apparently is very common for them.

The cheaper version of my tractor, the L100, came with a 5 speed Spicer transaxle which were readily available on the interent new for $100 VS a new hydro L130 trans for around $500.

So I decided to retrofit a 5 speed Spicer transaxle into my L130. It was a direct bolt on and just required various L100 parts such as the shifter, trans pulley etc.

I've been using the mower like this ever since and the spicer transaxle is a beast compared to the old hydro unit. It's reaching 600 hours and I use it to mow my 3 acres and drag a 4' harrow on my 700' driveway.


The only thing I still dont know having never driven a factory L100 is:
When moving are you supposed to clutch to shift like driving a 5 speed truck or is it supposed to be able to shift with out pressing the clutch? I have to clutch everytime to get it to shift, but for some reason I was thinking the L100 was semi automatic where you didnt need to.

Also, I want to change the tension of the clutch. Now I have know idea if the L100 acts like this from the factory, but when you let off the clutch my tractor is 100% GO in whatever gear you're in. Running full throttle for mowing, the tires spin everytime I let off the clutch from standing still. If I am on pavement where it has more traction it will lurch very hard no matter how easy I let off the clutch, the drive belt grabs and OFF YOU GO! I dont understand why the belt wont slip a little to give a smoother start up. Any clever ideas on what to do?

You shift like driving a manual tranny vehicle, Push in clutch, shift gears, and then release clutch. Most mowers are like tractors, where you select a speed and go. Try backing off the tension screw a little for the brake pads, on the lower right side of the tranny. that may help fix the grab wheelie problem. Most of the newer mowers the brakes are set overly tight, and you actually start engaging the drive belt, and the tranny before the brakes release.