Hydro-Gear ZT-2200 EZT- Center Section Repair Pt 2

[@philliphall5198]

Well explained for sure 👍 Thanks for the information and advice 😊

[@philliphall5198]

I really like the idea of the drain hole, if you want to be in a hurry suck it out and then let it drain off the rest slowly 😊❤

[@philliphall5198]

How did it turn out after several months of use ??😮

[@stephensmith7122]

Thanks for this video.

[@ifixitall-24-7]

more to come, now that i have mine working,, i am about to gain back that still missing 10%

[@Henrygames889]

I will most likely be adding a drain port in the bottom of my ext transmissions based off your video. My mower is only a couple of years old but I want to do more frequent oil changes as my son has about 5 acre size yards to mow in the neighborhood. For some reason the plastic fan blades have disintegrated so I need to replace them. They is nothing wrong with my transmission but I would like to do this mod soon than later. I understand your version without cracking the case but I will most like do the version that requires you to.

[@ifixitall-24-7]

many are adding drain ports from responses i have gotten. the case is very thin so prepare for that as you think out your plan to pop the case

[@Henrygames889]

@@ifixitall-24-7 I think I'm going to try to add what you have in the video. Drilling through the inner part of the case and removing the screw to drain the oil. How has yours done?

[@ifixitall-24-7]

its done fine and drains really easy. i still need to do a final vid / update on the loss of power of this trans unit. coming soon

[@ifixitall-24-7]

more to come, now that i have mine working,, i am about to gain back that still missing 10%

[@nhojcam]

thanks for the video. yes, i will be adding oil drain ports on my 2200 hydros on the first oil change, which is coming up (100 hours). i will actually locate mine on the bottom of the case. i will drill and tap for 1/8" NPT. after complete drain, i will blue loc-tite the 1/8" brass plugs in to prevent any type of seepage / leakage. it's almost criminal not to include a drain plug for anything manufactured that has fluid. what a crock of sh_t!

[@ifixitall-24-7]

the tech support at hydrogear is great but................ yes i agree, what a crock. why do a fill port and no drain. this must have been the dumbest engineering meeting ever. on a side note, support says this trans unit was designed around the idea the unit will b operated on level ground less than half acre !!!

[@nhojcam]

@@ifixitall-24-7 hah! marketing / website says "up to 15˚" and less than 1/2 acre does not appear in their literature. so, there's that... it's all bullshit and deniability provisions. they know the 2200 hydro's are undermanufactured for what they are putting them in, but since all the brands are using them in their "residential" grade (WTF does that even mean anyway?! grass is grass no matter if its on a postage stamp lot or out in the middle of a 3 acre field!), no single mfg wants to tell hydo-gear to shove the 2200's up their butts. minimum spec should be the 2800's and then at least offer a $500 upgrade to go with the 3100's. they do the upgrade thing on other aspects of the mower, so why not the hydros?

[@nhojcam]

@@ifixitall-24-7, cub's site says the ZT1 mowers are for up to 5 acres and 15˚ slope. it's right on their site! so, they have some internal communication problems. left hand right hand syndrome. i mean, who would pay $5k for a zero turn mower with a 50"+ deck to mow less than a half acre. that's just moronic.

[@ifixitall-24-7]

call hydro gear and ask for tech support. its gonna remind you of the better days from 2 decades ago. you call one phone number and ask for support,,, then the knowlegeable staff is in your ear within 1 minute. I thought about this trans unit ZT-2200 long and hard and for the most part, thier product seems to have a perfect balance between securing thier tech patents and helping owners of the product. An example would be you vist any shop across the country and you will find these "broke" units in a bin somewhere on site just waiting for the next dump run. I saw this for the first time a few years ago and concluded that if this actual shop doesnt want to open them up,, id better not consider it either. I was under the impression that they were just too complicated. Here are the facts............ to open, troubleshoot, order parts and repair,, most shops would agree they would have about 8 man hours minimum in labor only. the internal parrts for a standard repair would be a seal kit, motor block, oil block, center section and maybe one other item. all these parts alone come to about 1/3 to half the cost of a new trans unit. now add parts and labor and you see why nobody is fixing them. as for no drain port,,, its stupid. when you speak with support, ask them about the intended application of the zt-2200 because i was told what i was told. it would be interesting to see what someone else comes up with. They are good people though i have to say it. this support center is top shelf.

[@nhojcam]

@@ifixitall-24-7, so i have rethought the bolt and thin case thickness actually being able to hold a bolt. do you know how thick the bottom of the case is? my guess is that it is not thick enough to hold threads too well, so i now plan to either tig or JB Weld an extra 5/16" or 3/8" thickness aluminum coupon to the bottom of each case, drilling hole, tapping, and then using a proper drain bolt. this extra thickness should hold threads no problem. your thoughts as well as case thickness?