LA145 K46 tranny is shot

[dglambert]

LT 180 K46

Thought I would post this as it may be worth a try for someone having K46 tranny problems.

Bought LT180 new in 2003. This tractor is used to mow 2 acres of some pretty rough mountain ground with some steep grades. I never pulled a cart or anything with it. Doing PM on it, I changed tranny oil @ 228 hours using 10W-30 Mobil 1 which at that time Tuff Torq was recommending 10W-30. Tranny was losing pulling power so I changed the tranny oil again @ 538 hours using 5W-50 which is what Tuff Torq was now recommending. That only made it worst as it would hardly move & the tranny made a howling noise. At that time I bought a used 2004 GT235 with less than 400 hours on it.

Figuring I have nothing to lose, I tore the tranny apart and found some grooves in the valve body & rotors. They were no more than .002 deep so I took some real fine emery cloth & put it on a surface plate and polished the surfaces until the grooves were removed. Put a new filter in & filled with 5W-50. I now have over 50 hours on the rebuild & I believe it is as strong or even stronger than when new. Keeping my fingers crossed.

That may be (more or less) what the rebuild service I linked above is doing to renew / repair the parts. I can confirm after putting everything back together again, the transmission was really crisp - much nicer than when I bought the tractor. Thanks for the info!

 

[leonz]

The problem with the LA115 I have owned since 2011 is the rear wheels.
They are sloppy as the keyway for each wheel is worn and if and when
the transmission goes the wheels will be useless as the wheels would
have to be replaced with new ones if I have it rebuilt or invest in a new
transmission.

So for now the LA115 is under a tarp with the E100 with battery tenders in use for
both machines to keep the batteries up.

 

[bmg88201]

Just wondering if and or when my JD X300 transmission dies, which right now is a K46, is there an upgrade transmission that will bolt right up without any modifications or having to replace a bunch of other components.

 

[tomplum]

Just wondering if and or when my JD X300 transmission dies, which right now is a K46, is there an upgrade transmission that will bolt right up without any modifications or having to replace a bunch of other components.

You could either contact Tuff Torque support via email- which are very good or sift through JD parts and compare a model higher up the food chain to see the differences.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

according to kanzaki, Deere didn’t want to pay the extra to have drain plugs put in. Their thought process was that the people who bought them, wanted a really inexpensive tractor and probably weren’t going to keep up the maintenance. That is one reason Deere made the new models with the filter and oil in one shot. Honestly, it’s a crap shoot with the k46, I’ve seen them last 15 years and I’ve seen them last 5. It’s really important to make sure the cooling fan works and keep all of the flutes on the transmission free of grass and junk.

im very sorry this happened. It’s a crap shoot again to replace the k46 you have when, for not much more, you can get another machine.
I’ve owned and operated a lot of Deeres and my favorite all-around series is the new 5xxx.

good Luck

 

[dglambert]

Just wondering if and or when my JD X300 transmission dies, which right now is a K46, is there an upgrade transmission that will bolt right up without any modifications or having to replace a bunch of other components.

At one time, I saw there was an upgrade kit available (to K66, I believe), but the kit has become so expensive that just getting a different tractor becomes a more reasonable alternative. With this transmission being so problematic, my understanding is that all manner of swaps & upgrades have been tried, including swapping internals from higher-end transmissions into your existing k46 case, and replacing the transaxel as a unit. When I looked at this stuff, I wasn't confident I could rely on parts fit and/or connector hook-ups to be identical, and I lack a welder & welding skills to be able to fix attachment points & such if needed, so the option to get my existing transmission innards fixed up was really appealing to me.

I think that with the ability to rebuild the K46 if necessary, I'm happy with the LA-145 for lawn-mowing duties only, and I'll just not expect it to do more than that.

 

[dglambert]

FYI, in case anyone finds this thread again, the LA-145 with the rebuilt K46 innards is still serving well for lawn-mowing duties. The ebay link above still works, so if you find yourself in this predicament, that or the approach buckbros mentioned may be better options than junking the tractor. Be aware, you're pulling the rear axel assy and dis-assembling the transmission to go this route, but after the fifth or sixth time, it goes quickly. ;-)

 

[sd455dan]

(Taryl fixes all) has a decent rebuild vid on the Tuff Torque (LA 130) Hydro.

Typical Taryl vid.

Glad the oil in my new to me K72b's Oil doesn't look like what they poured out of the K46