John Deere D105 and General Transmission

[Mr Mower Man]

A John Deere D105 just came into the shop today with a non-functioning drive system. Unit is only 2 years old with 79 hours on it. It has one of those General Transmissions on it. The gear selector on the right hand side has 3 positions: forward, neutral, and reverse. The single foot pedal on the right hand side moves the tractor both forward and backward, depending on which position the gear selector is in, kinda like some of those double-belt variable speed systems MTD uses.

When the gear selector is put in either forward or reverse, the foot pedal drops down. The gear selector can't be put back into neutral until the pedal is manually pulled back up. It seems like something internal has broken, and doesn't hold the pedal up. I'm not familiar with General Transmissions, so have any of you seen this before? What do you think is causing the problem? I looked up a new transmission on jdparts.com, and it's less than $400, which is pretty cheap as far as transmissions go. What's the warranty on one of these things? I want to be sure it's not still covered under warranty before I start trying to fix it.

Thanks for any advice guys.

[bgsengine]

Funny I thought I seem to remember Central Power Systems (Now known as Power Distributors) the Briggs distributor. used to handle General Transmission but now that Im reminded, I'll have to look and see, but I seem to recall they had service manuals and stuff available on distributor website.. if I cant locate the info I'll check with my inside rep at PD and see if that leads anywhere.. Havent had any transmission work in 2 years since I started referring that kind of work elsewhere, downsizing to just handheld units... or I'd probably have up to date info for you.. but sounds to me like a return spring busted somewhere... I'd probably suggest a look at deere's warranty policy, but for some reason I seem to recall GT being a 3 year warranty... but don't hold me to that..

[KE4AVB]

I believe this is the RS800P and the service manuals are in the Downloads forum under General Transmissions Service Info.

[RJRacing]

John Deere had a recall on a bunch of those trans axles,Google "John Deere D105 Lawn Tractor Transmission Recall Serial Number List", can't remember why exactly, but I think it was on ones that they had replaced also
you might take a look at where the speed control rod attaches on the trans, on the Husqvarna with the Gen Trans it's held on by a push nut that falls off and lets the rod fall off, same symptoms as you described

[KE4AVB]

Thank for the info RJRacing. Here I have only seen one of the RS800 transmissions. Don't seem to be very poplar at all around here of course many operators are opting for ZTRs instead. This may just be the area I am in and the fact I just see the equipment after it been out for years.

The Craftsman I did get in had terribly low max cutting height. When I did get height increased the front wheels want to jam on the deck if you hit anything. Plus the front wheel alignment was way off with no easy adjustment, just the hydraulic press with multiple back and forth trips bending, installing, and checking the new alignment of both sides.

[Mr Mower Man]

John Deere had a recall on a bunch of those trans axles,Google "John Deere D105 Lawn Tractor Transmission Recall Serial Number List", can't remember why exactly, but I think it was on ones that they had replaced also
you might take a look at where the speed control rod attaches on the trans, on the Husqvarna with the Gen Trans it's held on by a push nut that falls off and lets the rod fall off, same symptoms as you described

Good info, thanks. I did find a recall list, but this serial number wasn't included. I came to learn it was bought about 4 years ago, not 2, and it falls outside the recall parameters. The speed control rod appears to be attached to an arm on the transmission, but it's kinda hard to see. I think I'll just remove the fender and gas tank so I can get a good, solid look at it.

[Luffydog]

Those came out with a update kit that all you is change out the part clean underneath it and add what they call the gt cover. Most the time you can take it out and clean under neath the drive pulley and it will shift and not become stuck in gear.

[KE4AVB]

That would the GT-79452 Anti-Debris Cover Kit. Actually there is several parts to change out plus add the cover. A picture of what kit contains is also posted the Download under General Transmissions.

[Mr Mower Man]

I removed the transmission and discovered that one of the two plastic actuators under the variable speed pulley had broken where it holds the metal control rod. Replacement actuator has been superseded to a whole new control kit, which appears to be an updated design from the original. Doesn't look like there's a whole lot to the kit, but it's plenty pricey!