Hey everybody. I recently inherited my father's old John Deere 165 Hydrostat. I cut many a yards with this thing growing up. Now that I have a house of my own, It's been passed down to me.....
The reason we stopped using it years ago, was because it has this funny issue where after about 15-20 minutes of running, it starts to lose power to the wheels. Engine stays really strong, but the transmission just starts failing. Sometimes it happens over the course of a few minutes and I can limp it back to the house. Other times, it happens within seconds. I can let it (and me) "cool down" for about 30 minutes. I start it back up, and it's strong enough to get me back home. I've noticed that when putting it under load by going up a slight incline, is when it happens most. Usually after the cool down period, there is about 1/4 cup of the transmission oil laying under the transmission. I top it off before every ride.
Some things I've checked-
- Transmission fluid is good before every ride. I've even tried SAE 40 instead of 30, just in case a thicker oil would hold better.
- Transmission fan is running just fine, blowing lots of air
- Getting off of it and giving it a push along is enough to get it going usually.
- I am able to push the tractor when it is in neutral. When it cools down, I am unable to do this. I always remember being unable to do this as well, which is why I am mentioning being able to push it when the transmission gives out.
- The manual push lever is not engaged.
The reason we stopped using it years ago, was because it has this funny issue where after about 15-20 minutes of running, it starts to lose power to the wheels. Engine stays really strong, but the transmission just starts failing. Sometimes it happens over the course of a few minutes and I can limp it back to the house. Other times, it happens within seconds. I can let it (and me) "cool down" for about 30 minutes. I start it back up, and it's strong enough to get me back home. I've noticed that when putting it under load by going up a slight incline, is when it happens most. Usually after the cool down period, there is about 1/4 cup of the transmission oil laying under the transmission. I top it off before every ride.
Some things I've checked-
- Transmission fluid is good before every ride. I've even tried SAE 40 instead of 30, just in case a thicker oil would hold better.
- Transmission fan is running just fine, blowing lots of air
- Getting off of it and giving it a push along is enough to get it going usually.
- I am able to push the tractor when it is in neutral. When it cools down, I am unable to do this. I always remember being unable to do this as well, which is why I am mentioning being able to push it when the transmission gives out.
- The manual push lever is not engaged.