Zero Turn Transmission Oil Change on SEALED Hydro Gear! + Synthetic vs. Conventional Oil 

Toro time-cutter with zt-2100. The sealed unit does have a internal filter. I have a Pittsburgh handpump from harbor freight, I suck the oil out of the fill port then refill. Still have to purge afterwards but a lot less work then removing the whole tranny and can be done more frequently. I refill it with Valvoline VR1 conventional high zinc. Thanks for the vid 👍👊🏻

HUGE HELP! John Deere Z235 zero turn, sealed tranny's, 12 years old. I was ready to pay someone to do something regarding the "lag" it had on one side and the sound of hydraulics when they are low on fluid. Knocked it out in about an hour and an half (one side), only confusing part was using 20W50 motor oil. Got a lot of mixed signals during research of "tranny" fluid vs. engine oil. Used Mobil One and it runs great now! And saved $850.00 in the process (one side)! Where do I ship the Crown Royal?

Study gearbox diagram(know where to drill and tap),remove wheels (right hand bottm corner)

I use to use Amsoil in my Harley 1981 FLH, Cylinder head temp was lowered using this oil.Great video Corn Pone Mike, GET SOME FREAKING BOOTS ON TARZAN.

Just drill a drain hole in the bottom, by the filter. Use cheap oil, run it for an hour, drain it again, and put in good 15w-50. Simple, cleaner and way better.

The conventional 20w/50 expands more than synthetic, or so I’e been told by the manufacturers. If you have no reservoir to hold the expansion, you need to use Full Synthetic.

Just viewed your blog, perhaps while you’re filling the transmission with oil maybe the thing to do would fill a bit then turn the pulley or rotate the spindle to help move oil throughout the transmission a couple of times while it’s off the machine …🤷🏽 not sure if you tried or mentioned this idea… anyways great work, new sub….👍

So my left side wasn't working properly. Maybe even dragging when I've only cut half of my front yard.I took the left side off and went to drain it.Their was hardly a drip.So I filled it completely up. Works better but kinda stiff.now I'm wondering if you can put too much into a sealed unit.Because I didn't leave any room for air.Filled to the brim.

Notice any difference between the 2 fluids yet?

Can you siphon the fluid out , instead of removing transmissions ? I have a bad boy 42" with same sealed trannys. With access to fill plugs.

I’m going to do this. Brilliant.

How did you know the units needed fluid change and were not worn out?

barefoot? hurts to listen to you shut it off from high revs. Amsoil rules! great choice. thanks for video.

i needed that i dont want to spend $600.00 on another trans axel if i dont have too

There IS a vent on top of the trans……right by where you removed the plug you used to drain / fill the trans.

Well done vid, thank you.

So all sealed Transaxles you fill to the top??

I have 830 i doesn't work the right side. You can rebuild I can't find any video that explains how to do it

It's 100% synthetic oil. Not Full synthetic. No petroleum in Amsoil. Good video.

On JD Z225 transaxle should any oil drain from the vent plug when servicing the unit? My left axle which was not functioning properly about 5 oz of oil drained from the vent port. The fill port I couldn't see any oil and about a quart drained from it. The right side no oil drained from vent port and the fill port was full to top.

I have a 2017 bad boy left side whines a lot and has half the power of right side can I do this on those also

I can't get at the oil fill hole when the transmission is mounted. Is there a way to bleed the transmission off the or do I need to remove it a second time to top up with fluid and re-seal?

Anyone tapped and installed a drain plug at the bottom of each unit?

Thanks for the video. These sealed hydros are very stupid.

Taurean Canyon

If you get a decent vacuum pump you can leave them in a pull the fluid out.

😂i have about 3000 hrs on my husqvarna non serviceable hydrogears , runs fine but noisy , did the oil change quiet your down at all .

Came looking for info, left with an informercial.

Hermiston Roads

Rosina Glens

We have a 2014 eztrak z425.. it is different than that it has no obvious filter on the outside, or the plastic plug that holds the filter, but it does seem to have some sort of a pan on it can you just drop the pan to change the fluid, thanks

If you can fill it up while on the mower, then why can't you just pump the old oil out, and fill it back up a couple times?, your way seems like a lot of unnecessary work if ya ask me.

Kuphal Highway

15W50 MOBIL is what I use

Hagenes Radial

Elda Views

WHY REMOVE THE HYDROS USE A SUCTION DEVICE TO REMOVE/REFILL WITH CHEAP OIL /SUCTION THEN REPLACE WITH PREMIUM OIL. 90% OF THE SHITTY OIL WILL BE REPLACED.

You don't know how to purge hydro units. Check the service manual for the right way.

You’re bored and want to work on equipment I got lots of projects that got put on hold not by choice

Another Amsoil commercial.

Hey, it is NOT necessary to remove anything! Run your machine to operating temperature, remove the fill plug. Use a suction gun with the hose end reduced down to 3/8 synflex air brake line and fish it in through the filler plug hole all the way to the bottom and suck it all out. I do this to my John deere z245 once , sometimes twice during spring and mid to late summer. The reason I’ve discovered and do this is because I bought this mower used and the right steer pump is weak and after 10-15min use I lose all passenger side steering. I’ve tried so many different fluids. My pump is so bad I use straight lucus heavy duty oil stabilizer in that side and synthetic in the other side. Pump has been shot since I bought it and I’m still able to get by without replacing the hydro gear at at cheap Canadian cost of about 1500! I’ve put 175hrs on it, doing just what I said! Machine has currently 670hrs on it! If anyone is ever shopping for a used zero turn make sure to test them after they been good and hot! You’ll know if it has a weak pump when fluid gets up to full temperature. Good luck ppl. I got scammed with this machine, because it was my first ride on mower ever, had no experience or knowledge about them. Now I’ve learned a lot!

I've been using Amsoil for years, and I see a big difference after I change other fluids out of my machines. It made a HUGE difference in the transfer case in my 4x4 too.

Harbor freights vacuum brake bleeder is the way to drain fluids. 30 bucks and it works great for stuff like this.

Another awesome video! One of my mowers has sealed transmissions. Going to use this info! Thanks again!

I would be careful topping those units all the way to the top. As with anything as the oil heats it expands and there should be room to accommodate for this. To bad there isnt any info from the manufacturer on recommended fill quantity.

I just subscribed. :) I have a Husqvarna z254f with these sealed units. It's got 107 hours on it... at what number of hours would you suggest changing the oil? Thank you for your very informative channel!

Exmark has been using Mobil one synthetic in theirs for years.

thanks for the help .!.! rebuilding a z225 with a blown engine found one for cheap and enjoying the project so far .

Hi, just wanted to ask a quick question about how you topped off the transmissions via the plug at the top. All the way to the top? I have an older Toro 2010 zero turn with the sealed aka unserviceable transmissions. It takes it a few minutes to move forward or backwards but then all of a sudden, there it goes. I did a times trial test from 0-5.5 mph according to the math converter of 8 fence sections in 10 seconds, lol. I have read that too much fluid in it can cause it to burst some seals in the transmission but that could be BS, not sure. Thanks in advance and appreciate the video. I will update this if replacing the fluid wakes mine up a bit.

Did you give any thought to adding something to flush them out before filling. I've got a couple to do myself. Nice video.

Priscilla Street

Prudence Summit

Denesik Drive

How much gear oil does each side take? Not sure if I caught that in your video.

Do you think the stuff in the screen filter inside will come out? Or is it trapped inside for life?

Incorrect about sealed transmission, the plug beside the fill plug is the vent plug and tube.

Lifetime on 20w-50 motor oil. Yeah, right.

Filp the whole mowerrrr

I got this mower specifically to be able to drive it through a 36 inch door ru-vid.comUgkx1VWTrayKBdCKAjzAcZ_Eg4dhHTae3LkN also recommend or gate It is a little tight with the grass deflector installed but has more clearance with the deflector replaced by the recycler/mulcher. This model appears to be popular and a little harder to find for that reason. I can't judge the dependability as I have only mowed the yard twice but everything else on the mower is very nice and working fine so far. I added options for the run hour timer, arm backrests, recycler/mulcher, towing bracket, deck lift assist and cover.

Mower mike...I have same model with 103 hrs and a seal on the right trans is leaking...do you know if it's common or deffect

Hello, good morning, I have a Snapper 250z brand zero turn and it doesn't run backwards or forwards. It could be that many things have been done to it but they can't find the problem. Thanks if you can help.

I don't see any hydraulic s on my old tractor 😔 How do tou disingage with out hydraulic s

Why not just find a way to access the port and then vac out the oil?

Mine died at 200 hours. The oil looked like chocolate milk.

If it's sealed, how are you supposed to add fluid?

Do you have any experience with jerky steering on these machines? I’ve got an Ariens ikon and I have a leak on the right side axle which I used this video to top that fluid off, but when I’m driving straight it will start dragging to the left while making a rattling noise for like 2 seconds and then the noise stops and the steering snaps back into center and then it will repeat itself, it does it consistently while moving forward rinse and repeat, however if you’re going slow or in reverse it doesn’t do it? I was hoping low fluid on the right side was causing some sort of issue but that doesn’t seem to be the case

I have the same z225 and saw a video on a different mower where a drain plug was added to the bottom. Could this be done on the z225 transmissions? Trying to determine where a plug could be added…of course very carefully 😂

I’m have the same hydro but it’s leaking out of the seal by the brake. It keeps pushing out. Any help would be great

Ever tore apart and rebuilt a non serviceable peerless silent trac hydro?

Thank you very much, the exact same units in my Toro. I bought this mower very USED just to get me by till the end of season to buy a new mower. When I found out the units were "Maint Free" I asked the dealer where I bought my new mower if he had ever had one fail. He told me "never had he had one returned for steering problems." Well I think I figured out why mine has issues, I have welded almost every part on this mower to keep it together. The bar that lifts the deck was totally worn in two when I got it and I've had to build it up a second time. So my mower has outlived the steering units because I've made it do it. However after replacing the oil today I can steer it again with one hand.

Cool video would it be possible to suck the oil out of the transmission?

It's my personal opinion. Synthetic Oil is a 'waste' of Money. In your personal Vehicle, I can understand the investment. In something like small engine Equipment, you'll never see the return or benefit.

Why not just siphon it out through the fill port?

Doing research on mowers there is a version of this transmission that has an oil drain port on the bottom but I can only find it in the Gravely X so far. Are you happy with the transmission performance in general?

Hey Mike, I have a Gravley ZT-2550. She runs great but after running for about 20 minutes the right drive motor fades pretty quick and is all wine and no drive. Any thoughts? Has the motor leaked all the fluid out? Need to be purged?