Yesterday while cutting my 48 bobcat seemed a little sluggish. After cutting a while I figured the belts were slipping. While going up the trailer ramp later, I actually had to "help" it out to get up the ramp. I noticed that the belts were not slipping, but the tranny stoped turning under the load. Is this the sure sign of a tranny going bad ? If so is a 5 speed tough to change or should I head for the shop ? Help is always appreciated. jeffyr
It sounds like you just need to tighten the belt like Mr.Stone advised. Bad trannys usually make noise and are difficult to change gears in. You <i>would</i> know if the tranny was going up.
If you see that the bottom belt is spinning the shaft then unbolt the top cap off the tranny and look at the gear. if it is all worn down, dont buy the rebuild kit. It is totally not worth it. Alaways check the tranny oil. That's how it burned up, If thats the case. The gear is made out of brass and the shaft gear is steel.
Be sure to also check the square keyway 'key'. If it's rounded off, it will cause it to slip & miss. A $5 problem.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Lawrence, I think you got this one. This is so much better than paying the mower shop ! Yardsmith, which keyway are you talking about (on the pulley ?) Jeffyr
Keep an eye on this, tightening the belt will help for a while. The input shaft on the tranny can wear out the bushing it turns in. These can be replaced before you need to replace the whole unit, but you need to check before the shaft eats through the bushing into the aluminum case. I waited too long and now I have a new tranny. I was able to rebuild the other one. They aren't very complicated, but if you're not good with a wrench, you might want to have someone do it for you. If you can afford the $$, get a new tranny and keep it in your shop. You can always rebuild the one you have and keep it as a spare. You should keep some spare parts around to minimize down time. I'm not saying enough spare parts to rebuild the machine, but a tranny, belts, blades, tires, tubes, bolts, snap rings, and maintenance things. If you have the parts and keep track of how often they are used, you can do a better job of making sure your mower is serviceable when you need it to be. And you can do much of this on rainy days. Mr. Murphy will cut with you anyway some days, but what can you do?
The new belt did the trick. When I have time (winter I guess ?) I will check the bushing and give the mower a once over. Thanks for the help. jeffyr
