Best way to flush a 1054 tranny / rear end?

[Skwerl58 704]

I have the 1054 fuel system cleaned and the engine is running great so I moved to the tranny. I drained the grease/ water mix from the transmission  and have added some diesel to it. I need to get the hubs pulled out before I drive it to circulate because the left rear tire is nearly hitting the fender. What is the best way to flush the tranny? I do have 40w oil to add back after the flush.

[oliver2-44 9,743]

Having it soaking with diesel is a good start.  Drive it around or put it up on jack stands and run it through all gears several times.  Drain it and if it looks really bad do a 2nd diesel flush. 

Note: In my opinion, flushing is good when you have milk shake oil and maybe a tiny amount of free water.  If it was sitting a long time and had a lot of free water in it, it needs to be opened up and cleaned properly.

The spec's for these transmission call for 80/90 wt gear oil.  50 wt motor oil is about as thick as 90 wt gear oil, but doesn't have the additives that gear oil has.  

 

I've learned a clue to look for that indicates a transmission has/had a lot of water in it.  As water enters the transmission through the shifter opening, it floats the gear oil out the shifter opening.  So if the top of a transmission in the shifter area is covered in oil and it might even be running down the sides, there's a good chance it is or was full of water.    

[stevasaurus 22,724]

Rather then drive it around, just jack the rear tires off the ground and run (in gears) in place.  Do a good 20 - 30 minutes and then drain.  Sometimes, those seals will leak when you run diesel.  That will leave tracks in your lawn.  

Edited August 8, 2023 by stevasaurus

[ebinmaine 67,455]

2 hours ago, Skwerl58 said:

need to get the hubs pulled out

Be sure to use the right puller. 

A 3 jaw puller is a great way to break the hub. 

 

 

1 hour ago, oliver2-44 said:

Note: In my opinion, flushing is good when you have milk shake oil and maybe a tiny amount of free water.  If it was sitting a long time and had a lot of free water in it, it needs to be opened up and cleaned properly.

 

I'll second that.  

 

 

1 hour ago, stevasaurus said:

That will leave tracks in your lawn.

 

This is easily remedied by doing the driving on the neighbor's lawn.  

[ri702bill 8,316]

To completely drain a Unidrive, you need to raise the front of the tractor at least a foot before pulling the drain plug. There is a hump in the bottom of the transmission casting - particularly if you are not going to open it up. DO lift it by the frame, let the axle hang. Grab the greasegun and lube the spindle & pivot zerks. BUT opening it up is the best long term approach - watch what comes out the drain - broken gear teeth or loose needle bearings in the mix mean it's time to pull it apart.....

[Pullstart 62,840]

Maybe not applicable in our small transmissions, but a guy I recently met has done this procedure many times in big tractor transmissions.  He and a buddy have a 15 or 20 gallon barrel that sits below the drain plug of the transmission.  They have a submersible pump and a special nozzle on the end of the hose that fits inside a fill port of the trans and shoots the fuel like a shower head.  They fill the transmission, fill the bucket mostly, then crack the drain plug to leak out as fast as the pump can shoot.  I thought it was too dandy an idea not to share!

[Handy Don 12,216]

15 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

A 3 jaw puller is a great way to break the hub. 

As in ruin it, not break it free!

 

15 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

This is easily remedied by doing the driving on the neighbor's lawn

 

2 hours ago, Pullstart said:

a 15 or 20 gallon barrel that sits below the drain plug of the transmission.  They have a submersible pump and a special nozzle on the end of the hose that fits inside a fill port of the trans and shoots the fuel like a shower head.

Extra points for letting the crud settle out of the results while sitting in the barrel then decant and re-use most of the diesel!

[Pullstart 62,840]

3 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

As in ruin it, not break it free!

 

 

Extra points for letting the crud settle out of the results while sitting in the barrel then decant and re-use most of the diesel!

I have a pallet sized emergency shower basin that I’ve often thought of “what to do with it?”  It could easily become a pump station for clean outs!    Basically a large parts washer.