Lawn tractor - loss of power

[John Skull]

Yes, sounds like you may be another victim of the big brand (green or orange) mower makers slappin' an undersized (cheaper) Tuff Torq transaxle into mowers for the big box sellers (blue and orange) in order to move product. I own a JD D130 and have a blown transaxle right now (a thrust bearing inside destroyed itself). Working on an upgraded unit now and want to keep the mower since it's only 120 hrs. and I've invested some upgrades on it.

 

[Tinhack]

12 years on a low-end lawn tractor is pretty good. You certainly got your money's worth. Those are the "free to take" mowers often seen on the side of the road. Not worth fixing. Time to step up and buy a new one.

You can get the Owners Manual here: https://www.searspartsdirect.com/manual/356dj8k4on-003199/husqvarna-yth20f42t-front-engine-lawn-tractor-parts

 

[showcattle]

I had a John Deere riding mower that did the same thing. Wouldn't go up hills at all. Turned out, all the motor mount bolts but one, had fallen out, letting the motor pivot back, taking off the tension of the belt. Replaced bolts and it was good to go. About two years later, transaxle blew up.

 

[beowulf]

Well, an update: As mentioned, this year we found that the old faithful Husqvarna riding lawn mower still mowed fine on flat ground but immediately lost power on even slight inclines. We replaced the belt but still had the same issue. I got it ready to sell, cleaned it up, changed the oil, and put in a new battery (old one had a Jan 2015 date), and then posted it for sale advising any buyers of the issue on inclines. But then I tried it tried it out - and guess what? Works fine- takes the hills in stride, runs perfectly.

I have no explanation for this.

The other part of the story is that two days ago I bought a brand new riding mower. So now I have two. I won't be disappointed it the older one does not sell though as I will keep it and give it to my daughter and son-in-law when they are in their new going-to-be-built home.

 

[MoKelly]

Well, an update: As mentioned, this year we found that the old faithful Husqvarna riding lawn mower still mowed fine on flat ground but immediately lost power on even slight inclines. We replaced the belt but still had the same issue. I got it ready to sell, cleaned it up, changed the oil, and put in a new battery (old one had a Jan 2015 date), and then posted it for sale advising any buyers of the issue on inclines. But then I tried it tried it out - and guess what? Works fine- takes the hills in stride, runs perfectly.

I have no explanation for this.

The other part of the story is that two days ago I bought a brand new riding mower. So now I have two. I won't be disappointed it the older one does not sell though as I will keep it and give it to my daughter and son-in-law when they are in their new going-to-be-built home.

A possible explanation - Machines are like women. They don’t work so well when neglected. But, show some attention and buy them new stuff, and they perk up and are happy!

Just a joke!

I’m glad it is working properly again.

MoKelly

 

[tomplum]

There's no hiding the fact that you are a wise man none the less!

A possible explanation - Machines are like women. They don’t work so well when neglected. But, show some attention and buy them new stuff, and they perk up and are happy!

Just a joke!

I’m glad it is working properly again.

MoKelly

 

[hube2]

Well, an update: As mentioned, this year we found that the old faithful Husqvarna riding lawn mower still mowed fine on flat ground but immediately lost power on even slight inclines. We replaced the belt but still had the same issue. I got it ready to sell, cleaned it up, changed the oil, and put in a new battery (old one had a Jan 2015 date), and then posted it for sale advising any buyers of the issue on inclines. But then I tried it tried it out - and guess what? Works fine- takes the hills in stride, runs perfectly.

I have no explanation for this.

The other part of the story is that two days ago I bought a brand new riding mower. So now I have two. I won't be disappointed it the older one does not sell though as I will keep it and give it to my daughter and son-in-law when they are in their new going-to-be-built home.

Just curious. I don't have an explanation, only some thoughts.

Was it cold there when you had the issue? Do you remember how long it was running?

My limited understanding of the transmissions in these little tractors is that they are in many ways similar to HSTs in larger tractors and work on the same principle. They have relief valves in them. Also, as with the larger ones they should be warmed up a bit before using them when it's cold outside. It could be that either the oil was thick and not flowing well or that the relief valve may have been stuck open or otherwise not working.

 

[beowulf]

Hube2, I don't recall how cold it might have been - as we are in central California it was probably not too cold - but it could have been somewhat cold, and certainly was colder than now as that was in December. My recollection is that I had to use a battery charger to start it (later learned I needed a new battery) and then started mowing but found it had no power even on a very slight incline - very slight. It just slowed to a stop. I replaced the belt thinking it might be slipping, but that did not help. That was when I started this thread looking for answers.

Anyway, as it was 12 years old, I bought a new riding mower as really needed to get ahead of the mowing, and then got the old one ready to sell. I cleaned it up, discovered the battery was old, so replaced that and posted it for sale - advising that it mowed fine on level ground, but lost power on inclines. After getting it all ready to sell, I tried it out again and it handled the inclines, even the steeper ones just fine. So I posted an update that it now worked on inclines, and sold it for $650 a few hours ago. I was a bit worried when I delivered it to the guy who bought it as he weighed - my guess - at least 300 lbs. But he jumped on it and started mowing his lawn. It worked fine and he bought it.