Monday, December 3, 2018

TX Turf Gator Gasket leak repair

This season I had 2 of these engines start leaking crankcase gaskets . I've had similar issues with Vanguards in the past and really didn't have much luck finding a permanent fix. Not going to get into much detail about removal etc. Just about what I'm doing to resolve the problem .The cause I believe is from vibration from clutch when the machines working hard on take off . 

Model # etc . for ordering gaskets . You should also replace the crankshaft seal to while it's apart.


Easy to take out . Less than a half hour with a lift.


Clean the engine bay out before replacing engine .



Here is the leak . Yes those bolts have just back off from vibration 


I'm using a shaft of a grade 8 bolt with a fine thread 9/16" bolt to pop drive clutch off . After the second machine started to leak I ordered the proper puller from JD . If you can get one from somewhere else I would suggest doing so . JD doesn't really want to sell you the tool but would rather have you bring machine in for them to repair I was told??? Ah That's what I'm hired to do here at my course !! I like their gear but they needlessly make it hard for me to do my job .  Took quit a while to get one . But I wasn't in a hurry either.


Also one bolt vibrated in two. Busted section just threaded out so it wasn't cross threaded.



There was a discussion once about possibly the bolts were slightly longer than the bore .So I remembered and decided to look into this theory . 


In this case the bore was plenty deep . An after thought for me was maybe air gets trapped in the non through bores causing a false torques.


One of the techs was replacing the bolts with new zinc coated ones with excellent success. I took it one step further and trying these low torque double locking washers . Not cheap but If I'm not redoing this machine again will be well worth it . 


 Torqued them to JD spec and they where good all summer . I did notice one had a leak under it and thought for a minute …. here we go again . On closer inspection noticed the oil filter had loosened off . 

Next crankcase seal job I'll come back and redo this post with more details . 



Still vibrating loose !!!!

I'm going to try this suggestion next . 

By removing a half inch off this shield with a box knife and snap it off you can actually replace gasket in frame of TX . 


Area circled 


bottom 2 bolts and top 3 I'm replacing with studs and using lock washer and lock nut . 
report later if its a forever fix .


Held for a while but still no luck .Bolts are backing out from vibration .


After 6 months back to the drawing board .



purchased some wire tie pliers and products.


Last attempt. Hopefully this will work . Came with this little clamp for drill but found it hard on drill bits . 


Free hand on the vise work just fine .


Wired them in pairs . The idea is when one tries  to vibrate out it greats tension on wire tightening the other paired bolt . So technically they can not back out . I will report back at some point if this is in deed a fix . 

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for this writeup, Did the studs with lock washers and locknuts help any?

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  2. Yes so far the ones I did this too made it past one service oil change and were still tight .

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  3. Cool, I'll try that next if I have to - one of our TXs has been doing the same thing, I was about ready to loctite it and just accept hitting it with the torch for a second next time I had to remove.

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    Replies
    1. I would snug the nuts or bolts a little tighter too . I’m still getting the occasional ones backing out . Check them during oil changes

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