Did I fry my gearbox?

[Jaybird]

So I bought a 4 year old 72" finish mower from a friend. It had sat at least the last 2 years outdoors unused. Brought it home and couldn't get the bolt out to add/check the gearbox fluid. Was putting oil on it everyday to help loosen it up. Tried a short mow, 5 minutes or so, and everything looked good. Mowed the next day for about an hour and when done could smell a burning smell around the gearbox. Was finally able to get the bolt out and could see no sign of oil. Took a back plate off the box and there wasn't a bit of fluid in it. As you could guess when I tried to add gear oil it all just ran out the bottom.

Guessing seals dry rotted from sitting. Taking it to the shop for repairs. Think the gears are now damaged? Its a Taylor Way brand otherwise in excellent shape.

Thanks,

Jay

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I would say you didn't do it any favors running it dry.
The gears are pretty tough you might get lucky.
I would be more worried about the bearings than the gears.

 

[LDowney]

Read my thread on John Deere Corn Head Grease. Man, I love this stuff for gear boxes now. What happened to you would not be possible using this corn head grease. Watch the you tube video as well if you get a minute. This stuff works.

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24374

 

[Ramos]

If everything still feels tight, I would replace the seals and see what you get. If the bearings have slop, they will take your new seals out quickly. The corn head grease is good stuff. However, it does go into liquid form at normal operating temperatures. So, if your seals are bad, it too will leak past the seals when running.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

I bet the previous owner ran it empty for awhile...

 

[Jaybird]

Thanks guys. Having it fixed now (at least when they can get to it). I'll say a prayer and hope. They are going to install new seals and check the bearings. I'll let you know the damage when I get it back.

 

[Jaybird]

Well, this saga finally ended yesterday. It took a while but I told you I would let you know the results. When the gearbox was taken off many of the teeth had been chewed down to about half size and the bearings were in bad shape too.We then began a quest for replacement parts which was difficult.
We were told that Taylor Way was no longer in business but they are still being sold by Rural King in some states which makes no sense to me.
At any rate the gearbox was made by Omni Gears in Houston, Texas. I contacted them and was given the name of a distributor/seller who is on Ebay that sells new ones/ I contacted that seller -- RanchRite, also in Texas. They had my exact model, new for $178.00 with free shipping.
Ordered it and received it within a week. Installed it yesterday and we are back in business.
Many thanks to Omni Gears and RanchRite. If you need a gearbox I would definitely recommend them.

 

[Diydave]

Well, this saga finally ended yesterday. It took a while but I told you I would let you know the results. When the gearbox was taken off many of the teeth had been chewed down to about half size and the bearings were in bad shape too.We then began a quest for replacement parts which was difficult.
We were told that Taylor Way was no longer in business but they are still being sold by Rural King in some states which makes no sense to me.
At any rate the gearbox was made by Omni Gears in Houston, Texas. I contacted them and was given the name of a distributor/seller who is on Ebay that sells new ones/ I contacted that seller -- RanchRite, also in Texas. They had my exact model, new for $178.00 with free shipping.
Ordered it and received it within a week. Installed it yesterday and we are back in business.
Many thanks to Omni Gears and RanchRite. If you need a gearbox I would definitely recommend them.

That is a good deal, many of the small Italian gearboxes i see on newer equipment are about $160.00 a pop, don't ask me how I know...