hydrostatic gearbox oil change

[carlos]

i have a john deere lx 279 with a tufftorque k62 gearbox , just wondering wether it is wise to change the oil as it hasent been done for a while?

thanks carl

[BishBashBosh]

For domestic users Tuff Torq state that "...the transaxle will outlast the life of the machine, but changing the oil will extend the life of the transmission...in commercial use oil changing is recommended after 50 hrs and 200 hours thereafter".

 

If yours has drain plugs then it's a fairly simple job and worth doing imo if you're uncertain of its history and give it more than light use.

 

Use the correct oil, Eg.K62 (J20C Hy-gard HV) and K62E (OEM was 10W-30, now use 5W-50 fully synthetic motor oil) have different specs:

 

-Clean everything down before disassembly and be scrupulous in ensuring no contamination/crud enters the system.

-Collect the old oil so you know exactly how much came out.

-Accurately fill with correct grade lube and follow the purge procedure (link below).

 

TuffTorq site link. Purging procedure , unit ID etc.

[carlos]

cool thanks for the detailed reply, i think i will change it as i do a fair bit of towing crap round our hilly 4 acre garden.

ive just got some 5w 30 as i read that was right but shall change it for the 5w 50 as i imagine replacing it with the wrong oil would be highly counter productive!

thanks again for the info.

carl

[BishBashBosh]

...towing crap round our hilly 4 acre garden...

ive just got some 5w 30 as i read that was right but shall change it for the 5w 50

 

Worth it given your usage imo, and yes the 5w30 won't do you any favours!

 

Definitely use the recommended spec oil. Here's a link with some of the Tuff Torq part numbers and specific drive designators.

 

Find your mower's part number and compare with the oil spec given in the link above [click on the appropriate blue part number, then click Parts and the first item is the required oil spec].

 

At least 5w50 fully synthetic is easy to buy these days (Halfords/Amazon/Ebay), a few years ago you'd have needed luck and a deep wallet.