How To: Change Fluid on RZT Hydro Gear Transaxle Cub Cadet 

Great video! I want to add the problem I had. I took off both tranny's and dumped out the oil because they were running so hot. After ½ hour the mower just stopped in its tracks and wouldn't move till it cooled down. I spent the money for the high priced hydraulic oil. I did the bleeding process, however I didn't know to pull the rod out on each side. Therefore I suppose mine never bleed out properly, because the oil change didn't help. It got to the point after sitting for weeks, the mower wouldn't move off the spot. I did this job in 2021. I pushed the mower into the barn and left it sit. Moving forward to today, 2023, I decided to give it one more shot. I watched several videos and learned about the bleeding process on this z2200-50 mower. Lucky for me, I have a car lift in the garage to make this job a lot better. I did the bleeding process and it seemed to get better, but I found the real problem. The v-belt that runs both trannys was so stretched the adjustment tension pully wasn't doing anything. I installed a new belt and it works great again. The belt is ½ wide x 59" long. Evidently my problem all along was the belt was slipping on the pulleys. Just an oversight on my part when I did the job 2 years ago. I almost sold this 50" zero turn for $50 just to get it out of my garage, sure glad I didn't......

Thanks for the tips. A coworker bought a new zero turn and asked if i wanted the old one, the deck was rotten to the point of falling off. I’m more then handy so i was sure i could patch it. I took it home the paint was the only thing keeping the deck together. I found a new deck for 50% clearance. Great mower plain to keep it that way. thanks for taking the time to make this great video.

You did a good job here. I have watched a few others step-by-step filter and fluid change as well. I should be be successful now on my filter and fluid change. Thanks for helping all of us!

The "Milky color" shows water and or lots of moisture in the system. A killer for Any system! Excellent video. Thanks for sharing.

Dude; this video just saved my bacon! Thanks man. Worked like a charm. Although those freaking plugs are a bigger to get out. I took a 2” hole saw and made an access hole above the plug!

Daniel great video! Hubby didn’t know he needed to do this. Now I’m stuck searching for parts we may or may not need. Getting very expensive! Subscribed to channel. Thank you from one Irritated Wife

Dude your a life saver I have this same mower. Picked it up second hand and I've had a hard time finding anything on it thank you so much for this video.

Thanks for sharing. I use a strap oil filter wrench on the farm. A must have tool. I’m fixing to service my RZT 54. Have a good one

Thank you for taking the time to do this video... your right I have never service my transmissions... I do the yearly tune ups but just did not know/think about the transmissions. So I guess I will be having fun working on mine very soon.

Thank you brotha for a great step by step video on this. Not to much on the web about this and isn’t in my owner’s manual. For some reason I have grass in my expansion tank. Bought the lawnmower from someone to find that afterwards.. Thank you!!

That video was helpful!, I just bought a used rzt 50 with 400 hrs it's in great shape!. I noticed with this one it has fill hoses behind the seat for each motor and the air should bleed thru them as well!. I hoping they put the hrs on filters like the engine oil filter!. Good job on the video!.

Transmission company's manual says after 1st 100 then every 400! Dealer said every 200. Great video!

My friend, nice job on the video - you certainly helped me out. You got're done! THANKS!

Nice video Daniel ...very informative !!

Thanks for the video. Just a reminder and its something that should be done on any "sealed" system. Remove the filler first and foremost before draining or removing fluid. If you cant get the filler cap fastener removed then theres no need to drain as you'll have an empty fluid case and no way of refilling.

Outstanding Video! Thanks for sharing.

Helpful video. Thanks!

Thx Brother. Very enlightening. Helped me a bunch. Cause I was freaking out. Thx

Thanks for a great video! Just ordered the kit from Amazon. Wished you would have had an affiliate link in the description so you would have gotten a little commission for the order.

Thanks for the video, helped me a lot

That was super helpful thank you!

Nice video. Helped confirmed processes.

Nice video, pro tip, make sure the fill plugs are loose before you drain the fluid. Nothing worse than draining it and then discovering you can’t fill it back up! Lol

awesome content brother! keep it up!

I'm thinking I'll remove both rear tires first. Looking at the video (great job by the way) I may have better access to the filters and the plugs by doing so. We'll see :-)

ty for making video learned what I needed too

Great video! Thank you for posting! I’ve had my rztl 54 for a few years but being that it was my first zero turn, I had no idea that I needed to do this OR HOW until my mower was pulling harder to one side. I’m about to go get the kit and get it done to see if that takes care of it! Thanks again! 👍

Great video good detail

Merry Christmas Well done Sir

Ya man I just did my XT two GS 54 cub cadet this afternoon took me about an hour for it to start running smoothly with no noises I have the K 66 transmission so I has two tanks one for the gears and one for the hydrostatic part pain in the ass of all was having to take the battery out each time I had to check the fluidbut anyways man great video we really appreciate it

Very nice video Daniel and gives me confidence to give this a try. Wish you would have shown the reservoir under the seat. Just how much oil should be in the reservoir when properly filled? Thanks for taking the time to create the video.

Great. Thanks for the tips!

good video, thanks

I usually flush mine out with kerosene or diesel fuel before adding new fluid. I helps in cleaning out old residue

Thanks for sharing very informative

very helpful ... thanks a bunch!

It should be noted that theses transaxles are HG-2800 class; not the HG-2200 series which are designed to be non-serviceable and do NOT have external filters. HG-2200 units can have their fluid changed by following steps outlined on many YT DIY videos, but filter replacements require cracking open the cases which is a much more involved process.

Nice video. Thanks for posting it. I have a Z-Force 50 which is the predecessor to this model. Not sure if I have filters or not or even a reservoir. Would you know if the procedure is the same? How much oil might mine take? Thanks again.

Good video! But my question is how do you know when its full? Mine does not have a Reservoir to fill up to keep it topped off

What type and weight of fluid should be used in the hydros? Any idea on the model number of the filters?

great video

Thanks, this really helps!

So if it has a reservoir to top them off it should be possible to fill them through such just much much slower time no? Also wonder if there is somewhere to drill holes so no pump is needed, just has to be anywhere higher than the plug and good to go.

I do not have 2 main filters on mine. I bought the kit to change out so do I just change the fluid.

So what size allen wrench did it turn out to be? How do you know when it's full? Just keep going till it overflows from the fill hole?

Do you have a video on how to set the control arms back to neutral? My control arms seem to be off. It’s a 2009 Cub Cadet RZT 54”. Thanks.

when i changed my fluid i just loosen the two nuts with allen tool, then i pump the fluid out with a regular spray bottle pump and let it pump into a container, then i refilled with a funnel. pretty easy and fast for me, hopes this helps.

what a legend

Thanks so much for this!!! My mower is in dire need of maintenance and I'm looking forward to this one :P. Next, I need to figure out what's behind the covers just above your head at 4:48. One of mine appears to be leaking oil :(.

Great video, I have similar cub cadet but never knew the tractor had oil filter there. I am curious how oil does it take or when do you when it is full. Again thanks

awesome vid man im about to maybe buy a 2nd hand 42 rzt maybe

Just like when you're doing a rear axle change in a truck I always make sure the fill and drain, if applicable, plugs can be loosened before taking the rear cover off. Just a thought

Great video - cannot figure what size Allen for the fill plug though/ this is driving me crazy !

Thank you for great content. Can i ask if you got a part# for the fluid kit? Thank from Norway

good information here

Should always remove/open your fill before draining old fluid! Engine oil, rear end, transmission, lawn mower transaxle, etc. If you couldn’t get the fill open and already drained all your fluid then you’d have a really big problem on your hands.

Thanks for this video! It’s surprising how hard it is to find good info on how to do this! It’s a relatively simple diy job that any dealer will charge you hundreds for. One question: can you get the pump with the end piece without the whole kit?

How do I go about this on the smaller rzt50? It doesn't have the resavouir under the seat that I see.

Great video, thx👍

Most of these Transmissions require filters # 52114 and almost all are filled with 20-50 Mobil Non-Synthetic !! The kits they sell are crazy priced because it's all about convenience ... In my shop when I service them , I buy my filters off of E-Bay for 20 bucks a pair ... and buy my 5-6 quarts of Mobil 20-50 oil at Walmart or Freds ... Please don't panic over Fred's Oil .... it's Warren HD and it IS Very Good Oil , A.P.I. Rated with an SL OR SL+ Rating !! I run it in just about Everything & Have NEVER had an Oil Related Failure .... I'm Not Preaching , just suggesting a way to Save Money !! Have a nice day !! 😆

I have a stripped fill plug as you did. How did you end up getting it out?

Good job

I am having problem with the deck height because it wants to cut real sd hort when it's on the highest setting

I just bought Rzt 50 with 470 hours . Can I do same service on this model. Guy who owned it before told me hydros are sealed units. I am noticing it's pulling more on one side and it's sluggish.

Awesome video my dude! If you could , please drop that affiliate link in the comments section so I can get the right one for the RZT 54".

Where did you pick up that pump at? I need me one of those.

To drain all of the oil from transaxle all you have to do is remove filters??

What transaxles are these? I thought the rzt line came with hydrogear ezt transmissions that were nonserviceable?

My zero turn only one arm works but the other one doesn’t what could be the problem ?

Thanks

How do you know when the transaxle is full?

Forgive me how to change the oil in the transmission of the no oil filter zero turn RZT cub cadet 50" deck thanks so much god bless you

Could this be why the right said of my hydro slowly stops working when it warms up

Got my suction hose stuck deep in transmission. Took awhile and finesse to get it out 😅

Where did u get the kit

I have the RZT S. I dont have the plastic covers on mine nor does it look like I have filters? Any guesses?

How to service snapper pro mod czt 19480kwv. Can't get my. Hydro to go forward or back

I have a cub cadet zero turn that will go fine for 25-30 minutes or so, then one side will stop. If I lit it cool down for 15 minutes it will work fine for another 25 minutes. Maybe this procedure will correct that. What do you think?

Thanks for the video, can you please send me a link to where you purchased this kit at? I'm looking for it and truly don't know what to search for. Thanks in advance.

My 2015 cub cadet rzt 54l doesn't have serviceable hydrostatic wish it did

My question is can we measure the oil and put exactly in the Reservoir since I believe it will go into the transmission anyway... Any thoughts?

I don't have a any speed difference but would this help with the whine when engaging the hydostatic?

why you don't take the tires off

the seat is on a slide you can move it back

Why didn’t you just fill through the Reservoir under the seat

How do I find the serial number on a RZT cub cadet

Hi Daniel, i have ZT3100 hydro gear drives on my brand new zero turn. When it was delivered to me the other day I noticed one Reservoir was empty and the other was almost empty. They were topped back up to the cold fill line by the dealer but 4 hours of running time later I have noticed both reservoirs are getting low again. I have noticed there is oil that keeps collecting around both wheel rims. Also I have been monitoring the levels parking in the same location and waiting until completely cold. What are your thoughts and have you ever encountered this. Cheers.

Replace those fittings with the new 9/16 external hex head plugs!!!!!! Don't you have a fluid tank????

By the way i changed the fluid out all from the top no ground work.

Is doing what it is suppose to do.

Wouldn't it have been a little more accessible if you had taken off the rear wheels?

Should put some new oil in the filters before installing

look at those rear tires wobble

Looks like you’ve got a bent right rear wheel

You honk if you would of taken the back tires off would of made it easier for you Sir

The tire has a wobble fyi

You said use either a 10mm or 3/8" but 3/8 will not work. 10mm is the only one of the common metric sizes that you can't use a non metric wrench or socket. 3/8 is too small, 7/16 is too big, and nobody makes 13/32 which would work.

take the back wheels off for better working space

No filter priming before installing? Good Lord......................

Wheel looks bent.