Well, that’s not entirely true. Since last summer my L-2048 had great difficulty going up hills after it warmed up. In searching about the problem online it was definitely related to the transmission and not something cheap and relatively simple like the drive belt. (More on that in a bit.) So I started pricing a new transmission. They’re about $600, not including the installation. Ouch!

However, I came across these instructions on changing the oil in the transmission. Those that have tried it solved their “can’t climb hills” problem. So I decided to give it a try and it worked.

It took me about two+ hours mostly because I was by myself (it would have been awesome to have someone help me drop down and lift up the transmission into the tractor) and because I didn’t really know what I was doing. Now that I’ve done it once, I’d guess the entire job could be done in about an hour. In fact, I’d guess it would be easier than changing the drive belt. Mostly because to change the drive belt you have to disconnect and remove the steering column.

I’ve included the instructions just in case the link ever disappears.

I have a JD L118. It had a K46 trans that failed at 177 hrs. It was replaced under warranty with a T40 which is apparently the same as the K46 whith a couple of small changes. I don’t know what those are though. Anyway, I now have 295 hrs on it and I decided at 175 hrs to change the trans oil. JD says that it is a sealed unit and can’t be serviced. Tuff Torque says that periodic servicing would extend the life of the unit. The factory recommends 10W30 motor oil. I use mine 8 hrs at a time so it has plenty of opportunity to heat up. With this in mind I used Mobil 1 15W50 synthetic. I realize that this is not what is recommended, but I think it was a good choice for me. As you can see I have 20 hrs on it so far and have had nothing but good results. Here is a step by step of the precess.

1. Raise the rear of the mower.

2. Remove the rear wheels.

3. Disconnect the brake rod on the left side of the trans.

4. Set the parking brake. This takes tension off the belt.

5. Support the trans and remove the six bolts holding it to the frame.

6. As you lower the trans remove the belt from the pulley and unhook the reverse switch, the forward/reverse rod, and guide teh freewheel rod out of the hole in the frame.

7. Now that the trans is on the ground, clean in very well. You don’t want any dirt to get in.

8. On the top of the trans, on the left side, is the Fill/vent cap. Pry this cap out with a screwdriver.

9. Turn the trans upside down to pour out the oil. You may have to tilt it back and forth to get it all. There sould be 2 quarts.

10. Now slowly pour the new oil in. If you pour too fast, an air bubble will form and push the oil back out. You will need to tilt the trans back and forth to get the air out as you fill it. you should be able to get nearly 2 quarts in.

11. Reinstall the trans, but leave the wheels jacked off the ground.

12. Pull out the freewheel rod. Start the engine and release the parking brake. At this point quickly make sure that the belt is tracking properly.

13. Push the forward/reverse pedal back and forth a few times slowly.

14. Push the freewheel rod back in. Push the forward/reverse pedal again and make sure the the rear wheels turn smoothly and the trans is not making any unusual noise.

15. Shut off the engine, lower the rear end, and test drive the tractor.

Some people have suggested adding a drain plug. I don’t feel that this would be a goo idea in this application, as even if you could drain the oil, there is no access to refill it.

L120 L130 L110 L111 L-120 L-130 L-100 L-111 scotts

I saw Transformers on Tuesday with Alex and so far it’s the best action movie of the year.

One of the problems with “action” movies nowadays is the lack of action. Directors either want to make art and receive critical acclaim or hit as many demographics as possible to ensure profitability. Last summer Superman was too busy stalking Lois in to kick any butt. Spider-Man spent way too much time forgiving his enemies as opposed to kicking their butts. The Fantastic Four were so busy squabbling the bad guy had save the day and kick the other bad guy’s butt. And let’s just say that the cast members of 300 spent too much time admiring their butts.

In comparison, one could argue that there was too much action in Transformers. To analogize, I’m imagining the following conversation between two hardcore heavy metal fans coming out of a metal concert:

“Dude, that band rocked too hard. Going to 11 is cool, but 12 is just too high.”

“Yeah dude, they should have rocked a little less hard, taken it down a notch, my ears hurt.”

That’s how I felt after leaving the theater. And I’m not talking about the volume of the movie, although it is quite loud, I’m talking about the action. It was beyond gratuitous. It made my teeth hurt. And my son complained that his feet hurt. While my problem was most likely from clenching my teeth, I have no idea what harm the movie caused my son’s lower appendages. But the harm was palpable.

In those rare breaks in the action it also managed to be quite funny. One of Michael Bay’s problems is that he plays his movies straight, no matter how ridiculous they are. You can’t have a movie about giant intergalactic warrior robots that transform into GM vehicles without some humor. Bay recognizes this and lets us know he considers the source material as funny as we do.

I also wanted to add a bit about how amazing the CGI effects were, but Ben Kuchera over at Ars Technica has already summed it up perfectly:

The bar has been raised for special effects here: the Autobots and Decepticons feel heavy and absolutely real in every frame they’re in. There are long, lingering shots of the models in full light, and I couldn’t find a CGI character that pulled me out of the movie or made me think I was seeing something that wasn’t actually there.

So, if you are into mindless, no… how about mind-numbing action movies, you will not be disappointed with Transformers.

http://www.tentwostudios.com/countdown/

While our Canon camera takes gorgeous pictures, it also takes crappy videos. The size of them were too large to email or put on my website. The quality made them useless for converting to DVD.

I finally found a use for them and I am in the process of putting them all on Google Video. Click here to see them! When I’m done there will be about 5 years worth of family goodness!

Makes me wish I knew how to weld.

First, a practice run with daddy helping…

Second, a small hill, but a great job nonetheless…

Third, a bigger hill…

Fourth, same hill, different angle…

Fifth, yet a bigger hill!

Most movies nowadays, especially kids’ movies, try to cover as many demographic groups as possible. They’ll have parts that pander to boys, to girls, to teens, to young adults, and to parents. They want to make everyone has happy as possible to increase ticket and DVD sales.

Zathura takes the opposite approach. It’s a movie focused solely on boys age 4 through 16, and on men who want to be that age again. There are no pop-culture references to make parents feel hip. There are no strong female characters to make girls feel good. It’s a high quality movie for boys about boys. I don’t think such a movie has been made since Stand By Me back in 1986.

It also takes an opposite approach when it comes to marketing. It’s a movie about a game, but yet the game in the movie is impossible to make, and thus sell, in the real world. While the game in the book Zathura was merely a run of the mill board game involving dice, the movie version was a complex mechanical game that was actually controlled by several people off camera.

I find this amazing because Disney or Pixar would have taken the greedy approach and made the in-movie game as simple as possible to ensure sales of the game to increase profits. Obviously, the director of Zathura cared more about telling a fantastic story versus creating additional profit. (I should point out that unfortunately, some suit at Sony attempted to create a version of the in-movie game to soak up some profits. But it’s a mere shadow of the real game and was an after thought, not something planned during the movie.)

Anyway, if you have a boy age 4 through 16 do him a favor and rent this movie. He’ll love it.