New 3240 owner with stuck transaxle issue

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by Ohmboy

Here's a shot of how much drilling/tapping would be involved. Way out of my pay grade.Attachment 66126

The gear looks to be only a inch thick or so,-- and the threaded flange is thinner.
Obviously the initial design lacks, or we would not be repairing them.
A ring gear has a lot more bolts and we rarely have problems with them coming loose.
That is just too much "chucking" or "torquing" for 4 bolts to stay tight.
It would take longer to set it up than to drill the gear, 1 flange and drill/tap the other flange.
But everyone has their views on things, which I respect.

[Ohmboy]

Happy 4th everyone!

Finally got the chance to get back to my rear end problem. I hope this isn't too dumb a question, but I really don't know and at this point I sure don't want to overlook something. Should the cone shaped gear coming from the hydro spin freely? It's the one that engages the bevel gear on the output shaft. I can turn it by hand "barely" by grasping it with a shop towel. Also with the differential and axle back in place as shown the spider action when spinning the axle is ok. Trying to send them in the same direction and it's possible, but very hard. Same with differential lock collar pushed into position.

When all this started I could not spin the axle in either direction with the rear end clear of the ground. Now I'm wondering or should I say second guessing myself that when I popped the case it let the big spur gear become disengaged form the output shaft and I thought the problem was solved. The #17 bolts were loose and one had self destructed against the spur gear so I guess it really isn't in vain. Just hope that's all it is.

All in all though not a bad way to spend a rainy Fourth of July in West Tn.

[Ohmboy]

Quick recap and thanks to those who kept this thread going with their hands on advice. Your advice and personal experience with this problem gave me the courage to go for it. My wife calls me a "jack of all trades, master of none". Pretty much fits. For some this job may be a piece of cake, for me it was a challenge.

Took longer than expected because as we all know, life just gets in the way sometimes. Thankfully I have backup options when it comes to cutting my grass. Finished today and everything seems to be back and better than ever. I couldn't find replacement bolts locally so I ordered CC replacements. Needed new seals anyway so this was ok. I noticed the new bolts seemed to have a sealer already on the threads. Maybe CC has taken note. At any rate I added my own Loktite as well. Just a shame that a dimes worth of Loktite probably could have prevented all our grief if it was used in the beginning.

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by Ohmboy

Quick recap and thanks to those who kept this thread going with their hands on advice. Your advice and personal experience with this problem gave me the courage to go for it. My wife calls me a "jack of all trades, master of none". Pretty much fits. For some this job may be a piece of cake, for me it was a challenge.

Took longer than expected because as we all know, life just gets in the way sometimes. Thankfully I have backup options when it comes to cutting my grass. Finished today and everything seems to be back and better than ever. I couldn't find replacement bolts locally so I ordered CC replacements. Needed new seals anyway so this was ok. I noticed the new bolts seemed to have a sealer already on the threads. Maybe CC has taken note. At any rate I added my own Loktite as well. Just a shame that a dimes worth of Loktite probably could have prevented all our grief if it was used in the beginning.

Maybe, but looking @ the design with the constant fwd/reverse power application,
once the tightness/squish of the assy is over come, the bolts become the limiting factor or transfer factor then it starts to go down hill to loosening
the assy and ultimate failure.
It should be a little beefier or a better design so as the power can be transmitted to the bull gear without going through the 4 bolts.
If I ever encounter one in need of fixing I will seriously entertain adding 4 more bolts to the assy.
Prolly it passed all experimental and design tests but real world is a different thing. just look @ the airbag fiasco, and the peeling paint of vehicles some years back. just some things lab testing can't duplicate or anticipate.
That is just my opinion that nobody asked for.

[Oak]

One thing I see on these machines also is, when you let off of the foot pedal these machines stop quick, too quick. It would be like slamming a hand controlled hydro lever as fast as you can to neutral. Prolly not that much of a problem in grass but I found myself lifting off a little too fast on the concrete and that has to cause some stress on the gears too.

I'm you guys got them repaired.

[WiredLlama]

I know this is a pretty old thread but I just want to thank all those that contributed to the discussion. I currently have my 3240's transmission split and am getting new bolts tomorrow. Fortunately the transmission locked without breaking anything or grinding any teeth out of any gears. Getting new bolts to install with loc-tite this week.


thanks again!

[ol'George]

Wonderful thing this internet,----- I thank Al Gore every day!
nice thing us old farts can look back and say "dam, I don't remember posting that" never would of remembered without the printed word.
Just like the books of old days.
Good luck on your 'wrenchin.

[WiredLlama]

I got it all put back together last night but it was too late to start it up in the garage without waking up the family. Test day is today if its not pouring rain.

I hate to bring up a new question in such an old thread but are there any procedures I need to do to get the fluid back in all the places it needs to be?

[blsnelling]

Another great reference thread here for a new 3240 owner. I might just pull mine apart and "fix" it for peace of mind. Mine has 565 hours and is running great so far.