Tell me about hydrostatic transmissions

[Newlands]

Next project might be a small out-front mower. I quite like the idea of hydrostatic transmission but know very little about how good they are - the alternative seems to be a belt drive with a tensioner as the clutch plus a conventional gearbox like a Peerless, which in comparison is a bit primitive.
So, are they worth considering? If so, where to get one from - best make, U.K. supplier etc.

 

[8ob]

Eye wateringly expensive unless you use secondhand components.

Bob

 

[Bravheart]

Hydro drive is great to use once you've used one changing gears will be a thing of the past.

 

[colnerov]

Hi, If the engine goes into 'failure to proceed' mode they can't be pushed or towed without damaging the transmission. Although there is a release facility on the transmission. My experience with them is as an operator not mechanic and as Braveheart says great to use but if it died we were under strict instructions to do nothing except call MT.

Colin

 

[frank horton]

unless u buy new, absolute carp.....thats unless u live in the US.......
very expensive to repair if u can find the parts.....so many diff models.....most parts are made of rubbish, badly machined materials....
I'g go mechanical everytime....
this is after years of repairing mowers full time.....this type of trans mostly is the only thing other than rust that writes them off....
At my place in SW, France had at least 50 mowers for parts...no 2 trans were interchangeable and only the odd mower written off by other faults....
no rust there....

 

[Migmac]

Hi, If the engine goes into 'failure to proceed' mode they can't be pushed or towed without damaging the transmission. Although there is a release facility on the transmission. My experience with them is as an operator not mechanic and as Braveheart says great to use but if it died we were under strict instructions to do nothing except call MT.

Colin

I get ours stuck several times a season, flick of the lever and you can tow it no problem.

 

[pedrobedro]

Good for fork lifts

 

[8ob]

A few toro`s here that can be butchered for drives/pumps etc if you need them, @slim_boy_fat knows his way around some of this kit.

Bob

 

[Turbo]

unless u buy new, absolute carp.....thats unless u live in the US.......
very expensive to repair if u can find the parts.....so many diff models.....most parts are made of rubbish, badly machined materials....
I'g go mechanical everytime....
this is after years of repairing mowers full time.....this type of trans mostly is the only thing other than rust that writes them off....
At my place in SW, France had at least 50 mowers for parts...no 2 trans were interchangeable and only the odd mower written off by other faults....
no rust there....

I worked for a lawn mower service place & my boss there with 20+ years of experience said more or less the same. Doesn't seem to matter what make it is - Honda, JD, castel garden, if the hydrostatic transmission goes wrong the mower is scrap!

 

[pint]

from what I've seen at the scrap end of mowers, stuff with a gearbox still works but the deck is shagged but with hydrostatic it is all mint condition because the drive has gone.

so i'd go gearbox but then i am primitive

 

[8ob]

I picked up three of these Toro`s, all mechanically/hydraulically sound. The only reason they were sold off was because they looked tatty and the decks had lost their newness.

 

[Roger440]

I bought a cheap second hand husky rider 13 5 years ago, With hydrostatic transmission.

Its fantastic. With a lawn with slopes, trees, bushes and a river, so lots of back and forth its just fantastic.

Ive done precisely nothing to it apart from engine oil change and a deck repaint.

Tow stuff with it too. No complaints here. Especially for what i paid for it.

 

[Newlands]

Ok, so I’ve taken on board the comments about hydrostatic transmission being expensive and not easy/ impossible to fix. I was thinking that it might be a way to avoid have a belt tensioner that doubled as a primitive clutch. Are there any gearbox mowers out there with proper clutch mechanisms, maybe built in to the gearbox??
I was thinking of using a mountain bike disc and caliper for the braking. I also want it to be articulated (like a Stiga or Husqvarna), using say a car handbrake cable round a pulley.

 

[dan.taylor.1]

What about using a cvt type trans from a quad?

 

[knighty]

can't you just have a pump ion the engine, motor on each wheel and then valves to control how much flow each wheel gets?

 

[Jan-DIY]

CV Pumps are not very efficient.

I repaired some tuff torq hydrostatic drives. Nothing special there. Most common problem are worn pump groups.
Thumbs up for hydrostatic drives here.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

A few toro`s here that can be butchered for drives/pumps etc if you need them, @slim_boy_fat knows his way around some of this kit.

Bob

But more from an operator's standpoint, rather than a mechanic's one - although I have on occasion swapped out drive motors, replaced steering cables, overhauled brakes etc.

 

[minimutly]

Hydro drives are a convenience. Pigs when they go wrong, time consuming and a whole world of pain. But if you have a lathe and time?
The one on my cub cadet refused to go backwards. Sucked the gunge (oil) out, and replaced with decent stuff, worked since.

 

[Jan-DIY]

Commercial drives and also industrial are not designed to last forever.
Barrel pumps suffer on high temperatures and thus causing wear on barrel and swashplate.
It is possible to grind the barrel and plate for a second life on cheap units.
Reliability is not comparable to mechanical gearboxes but usability stays in front of that.

 

[badabec]

Sucked the gunge (oil) out, and replaced with decent stuff, worked since.

Hello, which oil did you use?