Very interesting video. I am doing the maintenance on mine and I am about to change the oil in the gear oil.....Now I was going to use some gear oil bought at the local car store....but after seeing your video, I will go get OEM oil at the John Deere dealer.
There is so much load and side pressure on that pulley, combined with the heat and just a few ounces of lube oil.....I'll just change it out every year. Work safe! Thanks for watching!
I have a 54" HC deck, i think my gear box is going also, nice video! Will take apart now that you showed the best way to check this. May have to throw a few hundred dollars at this new part,they are not cheap.
Hi Keith, from my limited research the prices on gear boxes are a strange thing, on some John Deere mower decks the little gear boxes are running 11 to 1200 dollars. The gearbox on the 60D is one of the lowest-cost gearboxes you can possibly buy. I see some on Amazon now for as low as 299 plus shipping and they are getting good reviews too.
@@keithpeterson9179 if you are talking about 50 dollars difference in gear boxes from Amazon and Bombergers John Deere, I would go with BJD, make sure you get the part numbers correct as there has been numbers switched and superseded to where dealers have the old part number at 700 dollars and the newer number is 350 dollars. But on your question of trusting a non OEM box, if the reviews are heavily weighted toward positive and the money difference is substantial, I might take the risk.
@@keithpeterson9179 on a side-note the box I bought from Bomberger's John Deere has got several hours of mowing on it already and the magnet has very little metal on it. The oil looks brand new so I think it's going to be a good gear box. My dad just had to replace one on a Kubota zero turn with a PTO drive on his deck and it was $1,100, dayum!
At 9:55, when you take the top off by removing 4 bolts, what is that lone 5th bolt that stayed? On my deck, that bolt has some strange metal cap on it. I can't figure what that bolt does, and what is so special about it. Looking to find info is how I found this video, as well as your replacement gearbox install video. You have a lot of knowledge and present it clearly. Great video skills too.
Hi Jeff, that "bolt" you see is the breather vent for the gearbox. On some vents, you can rotate them to keep them clean and on some you can't so just wipe those clean. Thank you for watching and commenting, I appreciate it!
Laurie, thanks for watching and commenting! I hope you have good luck with your gearbox. My dad just had a PTO shaft driven gearbox fail on his Kubota zero-turn at 650 hours, so at this point I'm not really sure what to expect on the longevity. Take care!
Say thanks for the tip. I'll talk to my local amsoil dealer and put some in there right away after break in. I'm getting a brand new 1025r with the 60" deck
trainmaster, you might want to move up to the next viscosity level of 75W-110, depending on your temperatures. You might also talk to your dealer to get his thoughts. That little gearbox does so much work and when it's in the 90s that thing gets hot. There is lots of pressure on those gears too especially in tall grass. I may go to the 75W-110. Still undecided. Thank you for watching and commenting! Stay safe!
Say one more thing I was thinking of that I wanted to mention is i've run different kinds of machinery all my life. I think running the mower at 1600 PTO shaft speed it much much better for it rather then at full throttle. But in my case here in MN my grass isn't that thick.
There was a recall on the console panel and the computer is there. The PTO was engaging way too fast. Mine broke twice. John Deere finally put out a recall and replaced it at no charge. This was in 2021.
That's something to look out for. Got about 200 hours on my deck. I'm also an amsoil user, have been for 20 years+ must have been limping before that service. What did the oil look like that came out of it at service time.
Hi John and thank you for watching and commenting! That's the thing that really surprised me, I evac the gear box out every year and there has been no metal in the oil. It went out within about 30 hours running this year. I'm not critical of Russian bearings, I just have had bad luck with Russian bearings. This ball bearing runs continuously bathed in good gear oil and still failed. My fifth wheel RV had two badly pitted tapered wheel bearings found during a routine bearing pack, both those bearings had bad pits in both the rollers and inner race. Both were made in Russia and both were covered in high quality grease. It's my opinion the failed bearings were not properly heat treated.
Just wondering what would happen if you overfilled the gearbox?It has a breather port to relieve the excess pressure. Makes you wonder why they would make a gear box that holds such a small oil capacity with no alternate means of cooling the oil.Bad bad design.
I agree, the capacity is way too small and the load on the box must be pretty heavy because mine gets very hot. I'm going to change the oil in it at least every year. Thanks for watching and commenting!
If you have the breather threaded in on top and it's a straight shot to the bottom or at least the proper oil level height, just add to the fill level and stick it with a thin rod etc. Thanks for watching!
A suggestion when taking things like that apart if you could maybe read off the parts number on the seal or bearing so that we could also see if we can get that seal if that was all that is bad. My son didn't want to destroy the one that is in there if he can't find a seal to replace the leaking one.
realistically where the freeze plug style plug is, looks like there is enough meat to thread the gear box and make a solid plate to bolt over that hole just like the plate you take off of the top with either a machined o-ring or some good ole black ultra silicone. I would use aluminum and make some fins to help with cooling that box.
Nice video! What a shame an American company like John Deere imports their dam parts! Makes you wonder how American a John Deere is anymore? Metric bolts, Russian shafts. UGGGH, being a machinist it kinda frustrates me.
Hi Bobby F, I hear you loud and clear on JD and their outsourced components! Our only hope is that John Deere runs a tight quality control specification on all products leaving the assembly plants. Thank you for taking your time to watch and comment on this video! Have a good one!!
i don't know if your aware but ford, Harley Davidson, coca cola and Levi,s are sold all over the world, i don't know why you want protectionism, trade is a two way street
I think I’m having the same problem. The pto seems fine and the blades will turn by hand using the pto but when I hook it up to the tractor the blades wont spin. I assume this means it’s the gear box? Any Ideas?
No, that would not be it. The deck is off the tractor and you can turn the PTO shaft (on the deck) by hand and verify the blades are moving. After driving over and hooking up, assuming everything is correct, don't forget to check the PTO position lever. I have hooked up many times only to pull the PTO switch and nada. I had the PTO select lever in the back position. I hope this helps. Thanks and good luck! Work safe!!
@@nakedflockapplewoodtrainin2419 Good deal! For a woodruff key to shear, it takes a lot of force. Check your key slots just to see if they are still fairly snug fitting. Work safe!
My gear box failed on my 62C at 170 hours. My dad’s 1980 JD 400 with 800 hours still going on the original one. Deere does not make quality any work. You are just buying a paint job.
You are exactly right. JD is a global company that uses China, Turkey, Italy, and on and on. We checked out a half million dollar combine and its components came from all those countries. I'll never forget the main drive hubs, huge cast hubs had made in China right on them.
I will never have these issues because I sold my mower deck. It was a poorly designed piece of garbage. I have saved so much time and money buy just buying a riding lawnmower and a Bush hog. The right tool for the job. Stay away from the drive on deck, it will ruin your day more than make it.
I cant tell you how often I've thought about doing the exact same thing.Nothing about this tractor has caused me more aggravation than this thing called the mower deck.
JD decks are garbage! Kubota, same. Pretty much modern decks are junk! My 54D is nothing but a headache from day one! Between the RIO system, the belts jumping off no matter what I do. Gear box running very hot no matter what, deck bends if you fart on it, crap plastic gauge wheels, man I can go on and on... Will not buy another 30k John Deere tractor, that is for sure! Pcs of crap for what I paid! 6 years of use and I think the whole machine is leaking from almost every seal. The engine is the only good thing about the tractor. Maybe, the tranaxle. Front axle leaks fluid. Many hydro fittings leak. Hoses wearing already in many cases. Not sure what everyone loves JD for! Overpriced, under made!
Hah, here I am a year later commenting again. JD doesn't list a replacement gasket for the gear box. Doesn't list the bearing washers or the tiny spring. I suspect the point is, they want you to buy a new tractor instead of fixing the old one. I love my Deere tractors, but this machine breaks almost every time I mow! Oh, Front axle seal blown as well! Didn't even get to that part. For the age of this machine, I am less than impressed! I say, stay away from the JD smaller tractors. 3 series or larger for sure.
Well, 3 series is nice but you don't get a genuine John Deere engine till you get into the 4 series. I have had very good luck with my 1025R in 7 years and 650 hours. You are right on the gearbox, I'm thinking about buying a spare just for reserve. This supply chain bottleneck bothers me a little. This 2nd gearbox on mine is doing great though. The oil stays super clean and it came with a magnetic fill plug. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Thanks for putting this video together, and keep up the good work. Quick, to the point, and you know what you are doing. Thats what we need!
I appreciate that!
Very interesting video. I am doing the maintenance on mine and I am about to change the oil in the gear oil.....Now I was going to use some gear oil bought at the local car store....but after seeing your video, I will go get OEM oil at the John Deere dealer.
There is so much load and side pressure on that pulley, combined with the heat and just a few ounces of lube oil.....I'll just change it out every year.
Work safe!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video, working on a deck from 95 so this helps a lot!
Glad it helped!
Good video straight to the point and good mechanical advice. You’ve got a new subscriber.
Thank you harleyheil!
I really appreciate your time watching and commenting on this video.
Have a good one!!
I have a 54" HC deck, i think my gear box is going also, nice video! Will take apart now that you showed the best way to check this. May have to throw a few hundred dollars at this new part,they are not cheap.
Hi Keith, from my limited research the prices on gear boxes are a strange thing, on some John Deere mower decks the little gear boxes are running 11 to 1200 dollars.
The gearbox on the 60D is one of the lowest-cost gearboxes you can possibly buy.
I see some on Amazon now for as low as 299 plus shipping and they are getting good reviews too.
@@pmtips4482 I have the 54hc. Do you think off market brands are as good on amazon?
@@keithpeterson9179 if you are talking about 50 dollars difference in gear boxes from Amazon and Bombergers John Deere, I would go with BJD, make sure you get the part numbers correct as there has been numbers switched and superseded to where dealers have the old part number at 700 dollars and the newer number is 350 dollars.
But on your question of trusting a non OEM box, if the reviews are heavily weighted toward positive and the money difference is substantial, I might take the risk.
@@keithpeterson9179 on a side-note the box I bought from Bomberger's John Deere has got several hours of mowing on it already and the magnet has very little metal on it. The oil looks brand new so I think it's going to be a good gear box.
My dad just had to replace one on a Kubota zero turn with a PTO drive on his deck and it was $1,100, dayum!
@@pmtips4482 Thanks for all the help!
At 9:55, when you take the top off by removing 4 bolts, what is that lone 5th bolt that stayed? On my deck, that bolt has some strange metal cap on it. I can't figure what that bolt does, and what is so special about it. Looking to find info is how I found this video, as well as your replacement gearbox install video. You have a lot of knowledge and present it clearly. Great video skills too.
Hi Jeff, that "bolt" you see is the breather vent for the gearbox. On some vents, you can rotate them to keep them clean and on some you can't so just wipe those clean.
Thank you for watching and commenting, I appreciate it!
Very informative. Thanks for the video. I have the 54” though. Good so far.
Laurie, thanks for watching and commenting!
I hope you have good luck with your gearbox.
My dad just had a PTO shaft driven gearbox fail on his Kubota zero-turn at 650 hours, so at this point I'm not really sure what to expect on the longevity.
Take care!
Say thanks for the tip.
I'll talk to my local amsoil dealer and put some in there right away after break in. I'm getting a brand new 1025r with the 60" deck
trainmaster, you might want to move up to the next viscosity level of 75W-110, depending on your temperatures. You might also talk to your dealer to get his thoughts. That little gearbox does so much work and when it's in the 90s that thing gets hot. There is lots of pressure on those gears too especially in tall grass.
I may go to the 75W-110. Still undecided.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Stay safe!
Say one more thing I was thinking of that I wanted to mention is i've run different kinds of machinery all my life. I think running the mower at 1600 PTO shaft speed it much much better for it rather then at full throttle. But in my case here in MN my grass isn't that thick.
I have the 72D and performing the gear box service for the first time. I am shocked at how HOT these things get after an hour of operation.
I know what you mean on the high temps.
Seems way too hot to me.
Thanks for watching!
Please ask questions here in the comment section and I'll do my best to answer them.
Thanks!
There was a recall on the console panel and the computer is there. The PTO was engaging way too fast. Mine broke twice. John Deere finally put out a recall and replaced it at no charge. This was in 2021.
I’m not a big fan of synthetic oil on diffs and gear drive boxes. typically leaking is the biggest issue.
That's something to look out for. Got about 200 hours on my deck. I'm also an amsoil user, have been for 20 years+ must have been limping before that service. What did the oil look like that came out of it at service time.
Hi John and thank you for watching and commenting!
That's the thing that really surprised me, I evac the gear box out every year and there has been no metal in the oil.
It went out within about 30 hours running this year.
I'm not critical of Russian bearings, I just have had bad luck with Russian bearings.
This ball bearing runs continuously bathed in good gear oil and still failed. My fifth wheel RV had two badly pitted tapered wheel bearings found during a routine bearing pack, both those bearings had bad pits in both the rollers and inner race. Both were made in Russia and both were covered in high quality grease.
It's my opinion the failed bearings were not properly heat treated.
Just wondering what would happen if you overfilled the gearbox?It has a breather port to relieve the excess pressure. Makes you wonder why they would make a gear box that holds such a small oil capacity with no alternate means of cooling the oil.Bad bad design.
I agree, the capacity is way too small and the load on the box must be pretty heavy because mine gets very hot. I'm going to change the oil in it at least every year.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
What do you do if nut like your won't come out check oil level!!!
If you have the breather threaded in on top and it's a straight shot to the bottom or at least the proper oil level height, just add to the fill level and stick it with a thin rod etc.
Thanks for watching!
I'm just went out how much did you pay for a new gear box?
Eric, at that time it was around the 300 dollar mark.
Thanks and good luck on yours!
A suggestion when taking things like that apart if you could maybe read off the parts number on the seal or bearing so that we could also see if we can get that seal if that was all that is bad. My son didn't want to destroy the one that is in there if he can't find a seal to replace the leaking one.
Thanks for watching!
Was this a shaft driven deck
Yes, a short shaft from the auto-connect coupler.
Thanks for watching!
realistically where the freeze plug style plug is, looks like there is enough meat to thread the gear box and make a solid plate to bolt over that hole just like the plate you take off of the top with either a machined o-ring or some good ole black ultra silicone. I would use aluminum and make some fins to help with cooling that box.
Thanks for watching!
The gearbox can be removed fairly quickly.
The replacement box is running great and the oil stays super clean.
thanks for the clip,i want to build a turbo diesel motorcycle,i need to turn the drive 90 degrees, just the job
Thanks for watching!
Good luck on your project!
Nice video! What a shame an American company like John Deere imports their dam parts! Makes you wonder how American a John Deere is anymore? Metric bolts, Russian shafts. UGGGH, being a machinist it kinda frustrates me.
Hi Bobby F, I hear you loud and clear on JD and their outsourced components!
Our only hope is that John Deere runs a tight quality control specification on all products leaving the assembly plants.
Thank you for taking your time to watch and comment on this video! Have a good one!!
i don't know if your aware but ford, Harley Davidson, coca cola and Levi,s are sold all over the world, i don't know why you want protectionism, trade is a two way street
I think I’m having the same problem. The pto seems fine and the blades will turn by hand using the pto but when I hook it up to the tractor the blades wont spin. I assume this means it’s the gear box? Any Ideas?
No, that would not be it. The deck is off the tractor and you can turn the PTO shaft (on the deck) by hand and verify the blades are moving.
After driving over and hooking up, assuming everything is correct, don't forget to check the PTO position lever. I have hooked up many times only to pull the PTO switch and nada.
I had the PTO select lever in the back position.
I hope this helps.
Thanks and good luck!
Work safe!!
@@pmtips4482 it turned out to just be the half moon key that holds the PTO connection on the gearbox shaft. Easy repair thankfully.
@@nakedflockapplewoodtrainin2419 Good deal! For a woodruff key to shear, it takes a lot of force.
Check your key slots just to see if they are still fairly snug fitting.
Work safe!
My gear box failed on my 62C at 170 hours. My dad’s 1980 JD 400 with 800 hours still going on the original one. Deere does not make quality any work. You are just buying a paint job.
You are exactly right. JD is a global company that uses China, Turkey, Italy, and on and on. We checked out a half million dollar combine and its components came from all those countries.
I'll never forget the main drive hubs, huge cast hubs had made in China right on them.
I will never have these issues because I sold my mower deck. It was a poorly designed piece of garbage. I have saved so much time and money buy just buying a riding lawnmower and a Bush hog. The right tool for the job. Stay away from the drive on deck, it will ruin your day more than make it.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I cant tell you how often I've thought about doing the exact same thing.Nothing about this tractor has caused me more aggravation than this thing called the mower deck.
Mine just went 300 hrs
Good deal scott!
That little gear box does a tremendous amount of work, especially in tall grass.
Thanks for the comment!
@@pmtips4482 I got 1 for 299 flip manufacturing it's out of Texas seems to be working fine and put it back on weekend
JD decks are garbage! Kubota, same. Pretty much modern decks are junk! My 54D is nothing but a headache from day one! Between the RIO system, the belts jumping off no matter what I do. Gear box running very hot no matter what, deck bends if you fart on it, crap plastic gauge wheels, man I can go on and on... Will not buy another 30k John Deere tractor, that is for sure! Pcs of crap for what I paid! 6 years of use and I think the whole machine is leaking from almost every seal. The engine is the only good thing about the tractor. Maybe, the tranaxle. Front axle leaks fluid. Many hydro fittings leak. Hoses wearing already in many cases. Not sure what everyone loves JD for! Overpriced, under made!
Hah, here I am a year later commenting again. JD doesn't list a replacement gasket for the gear box. Doesn't list the bearing washers or the tiny spring. I suspect the point is, they want you to buy a new tractor instead of fixing the old one. I love my Deere tractors, but this machine breaks almost every time I mow! Oh, Front axle seal blown as well! Didn't even get to that part. For the age of this machine, I am less than impressed! I say, stay away from the JD smaller tractors. 3 series or larger for sure.
Well, 3 series is nice but you don't get a genuine John Deere engine till you get into the 4 series.
I have had very good luck with my 1025R in 7 years and 650 hours.
You are right on the gearbox, I'm thinking about buying a spare just for reserve. This supply chain bottleneck bothers me a little.
This 2nd gearbox on mine is doing great though. The oil stays super clean and it came with a magnetic fill plug.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
John Deere 5050 E Zincir
ua-cam.com/video/-H0h1n1KA3c/v-deo.html
china made bearings! lol
Did not watch long enough to hear Russia!
Thanks for watching!