Broken John Deere LX172 (again)

[JayW]

It's a 14hp 1995 model with a clutch and 5 speed gearbox (not hydro). One or two of you may recall this tractor from a question I posted last year. My son ran it into a tree and the engine wouldn't turn over. Thanks to the help of this board, we determined that the engine was hydrolocked with oil. I cleared that out and the engine fired right up. I decided to replace the broken hood and subsequently got another year of good use out of it.

 

Well, last week I was hauling some logs up a hill. It started making a terrible racket in the gearbox under the seat and stopped moving forward. I unhooked the trailer and can get the tractor to move forward only if there is no resistance. The sound and symptoms occur in all gears.

 

I was hoping the problem was the axle keys, but replacing those made no difference. It sounds like a chain is clanking over a worn sprocket inside the transaxle. I can only find very limited information about the anatomy of these transaxles. You can buy a chain and new sprockets for them, but I don't know how hard they are to replace.

 

This little beast has had long hard use, but the engine, frame and bodywork are still in good shape. All 4 of my children learned to "drive" on it and I would like to get it working again. The question is, should I keep looking for a used gearbox/differential, or is it worthwhile to disassemble the transaxle and see if there is something repairable inside? Does anyone have any experience with this component?

 

Thanks,

 

Jay

[Rphoto]

I had one of these tractors and unlike the JD-branded crap being peddled by Home Depot it is built much stronger. The mower deck is much heavier gauge than even the current models at authorized JD dealers. Never had the gear box problem but had to replace the drive belt once. It may be worth getting a new or used box and keeping it going.

[JayW]

I had one of these tractors and unlike the JD-branded crap being peddled by Home Depot it is built much stronger...

 

You're right, which is one of the reasons I want to fix it. This one has probably seen year-round harder use than it was designed for, but has held up very well anyway. I have kept it well-maintained. Up until now even the unexpected repairs have been easy to do.

 

Jay

[Joel]

I don't know anything about your model (or much about LGTs in general, but I'm learning via my Deere 318), but have you poked around at www.weekendfreedommachines.com? I've gotten good info there.

[JayW]

Thanks, Joel - I'll definitely check it out. It is a pretty obscure question, so I am not surprised that no one here seems to know any more than I do about these transaxles. I had never heard of that site and appreciate the link.

 

Jay