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Simplicity 2050 drive problem

2K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  Moostang 
#1 ·
I recently acquired a simplicity 2050 made by Ferris I believe. 2690451 is the number on it. Is there a repair manual for this somewhere? I found the operator manual, but it just says change the filter and DO NOT drain the fluid. The left side drive is jerky and looses power. The fluid is full but looks dark and has a Car Quest filter on it that I don’t know if is the correct one. Should I contact Hydro Gear for trouble shooting? Anyone have experience servicing these drives? Thanks
 
#2 ·
Always amazed with how many people will pay $ 10,000 for mower then decide to cheap out on the filters for the sake of $ 10
If the oil is dirty looking then the filter is not doing its job
Hydro filters are usually in the 10 to 30 micron range
Engine oil filters are usually in the 50 to 200 micron range so mr too cheap for his own good could well have stuffed a $ 1500 hydro in order to save $ 10 on a filter
Go to https://www.simplicitymfg.com/na/en_us/support/manuals.html and download the owners, parts & service manual .
The parts manual should also have the model number of the tranny
If not it should be on a sticker , both sides of the tranny and usually on the top as well.

Whatever the recommended oil viscosity is recommended, go up one grade heavier to compensate for Mr Too Cheaps stupidity
Some times you are lucky and it will run fine for many years , if not all it has cost is a couple of quarts of oil .

Hydros are very simple and very easy to repair but you have to be surgically clean
So when I used to do them it was degrease then soda blast then pressure wash then pull apart
When ever the box was open it got covered by a damp shop towel.
Hydro work was done in the workshop shower after the walls & floor were washed down.
Dust is your enemy which should be obvious if you are using a 10 micron filter.
 
#3 ·
Thank you for your reply. The manual says 20w50 conventional motor oil. I got the correct filter but haven’t changed anything yet. It has the separate pump and motor for each wheel. I checked hydo gears manual which is pretty good, but I don’t have the flow meter/pressure gauge to check the pump condition. When turning the wheels by hand, the problem side feels different than the good side so I was thinking maybe the motor is the problem. Any thoughts on that?
 
#4 ·
You have 2 pumps and 2 motors being driven off the same engine & belt.
They will wear differently so will drive differently after a while.
THe left gets more dirt & dust build so so gets hotter thus the oil gets thinner faster.
Then as most people are right handed the right does more work .
The drive belt pulls against the right so the belt tension is always good but the tension of the left is always bad because it is on the slack side .
It is hard to get to the tension arm grease nipple and most that come in have never been touched .
Ditto for the belt .
It is a short belt that works very very hard but no one even thinks to look at it till it fails .
Most will have worn too thin in 2 to 3 years to work properly .

When ZTR's first came out all of them had very complicated adjustments to the lap bars so you can equalize the drive to compensate for wear.
I gave up trying to do it very quickly because I could adjust the tracking to be perfect today and tomorrow it was just as bad before I started.
Almost all ZTR dropped the adjusters on domestic mowers and now ever a some commercials have next to no adjustment.

If a pump or motor is going bad it will start to scream at you .
A bit hard to hear with the engine right behind you , but easy to pick when standing next to the mower.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the information. You are correct about the belt. The tensioner was frozen and the belt is worn but not terrible. I thought that was the problem, but I freed the tensioner and greased it and adjusted it to what the manual says but it didn’t help. The left side whines and jerks and pulls the motor down more than the right side.
 
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