New 3240 owner with stuck transaxle issue

[t6430gr]

Hello everyone. I am a new user to this site. Unfortunately, I am joining because I need advice, but can clearly see the enthusiasm about Cub Cadet tractors on here and I find that encouraging. I think I'll be sticking around checking out your great posts. I can see you are a great online community that’s eager to see the Cub Cadet pedigree live on!

Now for my novel: First of all, I live in a small town, and have been push mowing my small lot for almost 15 years. I recently purchased a large property in the country, and will be mowing around 4 acres of yard. I decided to buy the largest mower I could find without breaking my bank, and settled on a used Cub Cadet 3240 with a 60” deck that was advertised locally. The original owner only has about an acre to mow, the unit was in fantastic condition, and thought the $1,300 price tag was a bargain compared to most other mowers in this size range. I test drove it around and tested the blade engagement and hydrostatic drive. The deck wouldn’t lift properly, but I could see the obvious problem. Also, the seat didn’t want to adjust, and it was stuck forward. *NOTE* It has about 650 hrs on it.

I removed the deck, and put the mower on my trailer separate. I drove it home and parked the trailer in my garage to repair it where it sat. I had to replace the right side deck rod as it was snapped off, but that only cost me about $20 to fix. The deck lift should be good now. I was able to blow out the dust and grass clippings and lubricated the seat rails. All is good now. While I had the seat off, I used compressed air to blow off the buildup of usual junk from the transaxle area. I put the seat back on, started the mower on the trailer and double checked the deck lifts. All seemed great, and I couldn’t wait to use this bad boy! I set the parking brake and tied it all back down.

I drove it to my new property yesterday and removed the tie down straps and started it up. I disengaged the parking brake and began to move the mower backwards off the trailer. After moving about 2 ft or so, the mower stopped. Weird I thought, but jumped off to see if I left on a tie down or if my loose deck brackets had caught. Nope! Everything looked good! I started it back up, and tried again. Same thing. No more reverse. I pulled up to the front of the trailer and tried it again. Same thing, and it stopped in the same exact spot! I tried this several more times, and it would always move up to the trailer front, and back down normally until I got to the same spot. When the point that it would stop moving was reached, I could hear it load the engine and the transaxle would groan like it was really trying. I thought that I would try pulling out the lever that is supposed to free up the trans so I could at least back it off. Nope! That wouldn’t work either. I turned off the engine, made sure the lever was locked into the outmost position, and tried pulling it off. I rocked it back and forth, and it wouldn’t budge.

At this point, I was starting to see red! I started the engine back up and pulled it back forward. After a few more attempts, it actually moved about a foot more backwards from where it would stop in reverse. My wife clapped and hollered “progress!” Personally, I wasn’t feeling the moment. I thought ok, maybe if I get this thing off, then I can get it level and try it off the trailer. Unfortunately, I now noticed it had limited movement in the forward direction too! It was now stopping about a foot shorter than where it would before! It would move in reverse to the new spot further back and stop, but now I couldn’t get it all the way forward either. I turned off the motor and tried a couple of more times to unlock the rear axle, but it wouldn’t move an inch. I did check the axle fluid, but the trailer isn’t allowing the tractor to be completely level. Besides that, its level indicates between the tip of the stick and the add line. I’m picking up some Shell Rotella 15W40 after work today and adding some, but I don’t think it will make that much difference. My real concern is that the axle is shot since I feel the tractor was stopping at predictable positions. It’s as though an axle component allows limited rotation and physically stops the tractor, and allows only limited travel.

FYI, I tried holding down the axle lock pedal, and there wasn’t any perceivable difference in behavior. Also, I was careful to strap this tractor down using only the frame and not any linkage. I don’t know if I backed it in reverse the same length of my trailer or not when I test drove it, but I didn’t notice anything.

So, now I’m leaning on you guys to give me some advice. I think this mower is a supreme product as it's made right here in Amercia, but the carpet has been yanked out from under me emotionally. I have a really nice $1,300 paper weight that is stuck on my trailer, and my new yard is quickly turning into a jungle! I’m really hoping that I wasn’t just taken to the bank here! I thought my judgment was better than this, but I’m glad I didn’t check out this mower for a friend or relative only for them to have this experience.
I would GREATLY appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks in advance!
Greg

[Sam Mac]

Greg

Think you want to talk to Oak, he knows a fair amount about this series.

Here are a couple threads about 3240's seems as though they have some issues with the diff lock.
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=38321
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=26375

[t6430gr]

Thanks Sam Mac. I read through these two threads, and have an idea. I have not yet tried to jack up the rear tires and see how they move. That might give me a chance to listen for any mechanical noises too since the engine will be off. My problem is that it's on one of those "caged" mesh trailers without a true solid bottom. I'll have to connect the trailer to my Cherokee, chock the front tires, and slide a supported jack under the rear to try this tonight after work.

One of the posts had a link to this rear end "I think Oak actually provided this" in an exploded view. I'm wondering if I can also check these bolts that a couple of people referred to.

Does anyone know if I can get a peak inside this case without a complete tear down? It would be nice to inspect the bolts Oak refers to as part #17 in this diagram link:

https://polr.partstree.com/v1/iplima...I7aToxMDAwO319

[t6430gr]

Update:

Tonight I added about half a quart of oil to the transaxle. This brought it to the top of the full mark. I started the tractor and backed it off the trailer until it bound up, and then I moved it forward until it stopped. I tried it 3 times to no avail. Same symptoms.

Next, I rigged a jack under the back and lifted it until the rear tires came off the trailer. With the axle in normal position (not unlocked) I could turn the rear wheels as much as I wanted to. When I turned one wheel, the opposite wheel turned in the opposite direction. There was a mediocre amount of resistance to turn them. As I turned them, I could feel a deep pulsing from the mechanical side. Perhaps the pump??

Next, I pulled out the rod at the back which unlocks the axle to be pushed. Doing this didn't change anything. I could still turn the rear wheels, but with no less resistance with the diff axle locked. Next I put the rod to locked the axle again and tried. Same ability to turn the rear wheels and with the same amount of effort. I had my wife push down on the diff locker pedal on the left side while I turned the rear wheels. As I began turning them, I heard a small clunk from the transaxle and the rear wheels locked. Once they locked and while my wife held down the pedal, I could not budge either wheel. I pulled out the back rod to unlock the diff so it could be pushed. The wife held down the pedal and I got the same locked condition without any ability to move either wheel. She let go of the pedal, and I was able to move the wheels again the same as before.

I will note that during this entire ordeal, I never once heard any strange mechanical noises that would indicate a loose bolt or anything grinding, etc. inside the diff case.

I'm really beginning to wonder what could be holding the inside movement that is preventing normal operation but is allowing free wheeling with the wheels off the ground.

I double checked the diff lock cable from the pedal too. It is loose enough to disengage the rear end when not pushed down. The brake pedal manipulates the rear diff lock pedal anytime you push it in, so I wanted to make sure this wasn't partially engaged with the brake pedal when the brake is relaxed. This looked fine, and I even tried to gently push the diff lock cable back towards the rear of the diff.

Any other ideas? I'm heading to bed now. I get up at 3:45 am!

Greg

[Sam Mac]

My guess is that Oak will chime in tomorrow AM. Hang in there.

[Oak]

Greg, welcome to OCC. I'm sorry to hear about the issues your having with your new machine so lets do a little checking on the easy stuff.
How does the power steering and deck lift work? If they work normal and you can turn the steering wheel several times lock to lock with the engine running then that may rule out your gerotor. I have not had a gerotor fail yet but I have read about some of them failing. I would also take a close look at that rear for any oil leaks. Good luck and let us know on these things before we move on to the next step.

[t6430gr]

Thank you Oak for chiming in. Looking at your many past contributions, you seems like a master at these machines. A master is what I may need in this case!

Yes, the steering moves back and forth to the limits just fine. I tried angling it back and forth some as I was able to get my limited travel up and down the trailer. As far as the deck lift goes, I can't test that completely, but I believe it works ok. When I purchased the mower, I removed the deck because it was too wide for my trailer. One of the lift rods that connects to the deck brackets was broken and I replaced that. Both brackets seems to go up and down as I would expect them too.

When I had the rear lifted last night, I turned the rear wheels quite a bit. I was hoping for a clue like an obvious noise and I also expected for at least the same kind of mechanical limits on the amount of travel. I figured I would only get about one full rotation and then stop, but I didn't get that. As one wheel turns clockwise, the opposite turned counter clockwise. I could not get both to turn the same direction. I sort of understand the concept of how a diff works, but if both wheels turn at the same time when driving, why can't I turn them both the same when lifted??

My wife held down the diff lock pedal, and that would prevent me from turning either of the wheels.

Is there anything outside of the transaxle that could limit this travel? I'm assuming the shaft running from the engine to the transaxle turns constantly while the motor runs, correct? I'm just trying to think of anything mechanical that could bind this besides the transaxle. Is the gerotor the same thing as the hydraulic pump? I wasn't for sure where the pump is, but was assuming the shaft with the plastic cooling fan on it was connected to the engine and hydraulic pump. Sorry, still learning the ins and outs of a hydrostatic transmission on a mower. I work on the new Chrysler 8 speed transmission at the factory in Kokomo Indiana, so I would think I could figure this bugger out too! I'm going to review the link to the service bulletins today at work if I can sneak it in so I can get a better handle on the mechanical brains. Must wait for the coffee to kick in first!

When I removed the seat for repairs, I took the time to blow off the debris from the mechanics underneath. There was quite a bit of dirt and grass build up. Some of the dirt was a teeny bit wet from what I suspect is hydraulic fluid. I have this parked in my garage and so far not even a drop of oil has dripped through the trailer floor onto my fairly clean cement garage floor. The trailer floor is that caged wire type so any leaks will fall thru it. Otherwise, I added half a quart of fluid to top it off, which indicates it must have a small leak somewhere!

[t6430gr]

Another quick question to throw out there. I was perusing through the cast iron transmission service manual and had another idea. Is it possible to turn one wheel and allow the opposite wheel to turn in the opposite direction without turning the brake disk on the side of the transmission? If it is, I might have something binding in the brake assembly. After all, I drove this for about 50 miles on a trailer with the parking brake engaged, left it sit on my trailer in my garage for another week (with the parking brake on) and then drove it another 40 miles on the trailer with the parking brake on. I can see in the manual that the brake disk has holes in it (for cooling??) and could possibly be catching somehow as I move forward and backward and could be hanging up somewhere as this brake disk turns.

I can check that this evening.

Just trying to brain storm here....

[ol'George]

First I'm not familiar with your trans axle as in having one apart.
I looked @ parts tree diagram and understand the system.
A ray of hope here:
I am thinking you just might get lucky in as much as your description of the long trailer trips it underwent, rocking back/forth.
It is possible that the notorious loose bolts that hold the diff/ lock assy together, decided to back out during the trips and are what is locking it up.
Hopefully as it was not being operated when it happened as your test drive was successful, the damage will be minimal.
Now back to the others who have BTDT.

[t6430gr]

If one of the bolts have backed out far enough to bind the diff lock assembly against the case, will this allow the wheels to still turn? I believe it should still allow me to turn the wheels within the assembly since the spider gears (or whatever they are called) should allow me to, correct? If I'm correct, you are probably right. That might explain why if I hold the diff lock pedal down while turning the wheels with the back jacked up, I can't move either wheel with my own strength.