877 case leak

[csvt99 173]

Hello All,

Just to warn everyone I am brand new to these forums. My dad and I recently pulled aquired my uncle's 1967 Wheel Horse 877. It had been stored in a barn for 20+ years. My dad grew up with a 1277 and was able to get it started without too much trouble. We put new tires and fuel lines on it and changed the fluids and filters. I mowed my yard twice with it and it did fine.

Here is the problem....it leaks transmission fluid especially when hot. When I shut it off and put it back in the garage, it would pretty much soak the peice of newspaper I put underneath but would stop leaking after several hours. Hardly enough to drop the level on the dipstick. I took a look at it and I'm guessing the case gasket needs to be replaced.

Is it fairly simple to replace this as a winter project or will I have to pull the whole transmission and innards apart and then put it back together again? My dad's friend has a shop that specializes in wheel horse but I was hoping to save some money and maybe have a little fun.....I do have the manuals for the tractor and also for the transmission. The transmission manual actually has instructions for replacing the seal; it doesn't look too extremely complicated.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[stevasaurus 22,693]

Welcome to Red Square. First, I see an 857 and an 867, but not an 877...check your model number on the dash tower. You are right, it is not a hard job if everything comes off easy. The hubs, brake drum and linkage and the input pulley, and the slot hitch have to come apart. Drop the trans, drain it and set it on its side with the shallow side down. Pull out the shifter and the bolts holding the 2 sides together...split the halves, clean up where the gasket sets, place the new gasket and put it back together. The gasket is available fro Toro for about $6.00. Sounds easy and it is if the hubs and slot hitch come right out....threads on that.

Here is the thing...you got it apart and you see sludge in the trans...you will want to clean it out...so you end up pulling out all the gears and you might as well replace the rest of the seals. If the bearings are good, the seals and gasket will cost you under $20. I guess I am saying do it right the first time. We have plenty of help here, including threads that have pictures and videos of how to do it. Plus you can get questions answered from a bunch of us that help out with the transmissions. All in all, once you do one, you will be surprised how easy it is. I think the hardest part is getting the trans off the horse and onto the bench. Here any time you have a question.

I am assuming that you have a 4 speed manual transmission. :bow-blue:

[AMC RULES 37,125]

:WRS:

[Martin 2,131]

first of all csvt99, welcome to the forum........

steve, from the avatar looks like an 877, has the woodgrain hood decal from what i can see, and there was a 877 model.......

so that would mean hydro, and the leak could be from a number of places. maybe the case gasket, but if it is coming from near the front of the trans where it bolts to the frame i would bet that its the o-rings on the pump behind the cam block (where the direction control connects to the pump) . theres a few threads on the forum about fixing them, i have one myself, i will go a searching and add a link when i find it.

could also be a park brake shaft seal or maybe even an axle seal.

csvt99, you need to work out exactly where its coming from first, then somebody can give you some advise on how to fix it.

heres the cam block o-ring thread of mine.......

Edited December 1, 2012 by Martin

[stevasaurus 22,693]

Thanks Martin...I was thinking it may be a hydro...in which case I know nothing. cvst99, if in fact it is a hydro, forget everything I said above...listen to what Martin said. Sorry, I won't be able to help, but plenty of guys on here are into the hydros and will come along and offer assistance. Figure out where the leak may be and post some pictures (we love pictures). :)

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,029]

If this is the 5999 gasket there is a service bulletin on how to change it without removing the transmission. Search the manuals for 062 to see if it comes up.

Garry

[sorekiwi 761]

Welcome to Red Square!

You really do need to work out where the leak is coming from before you pull it all apart. Take note of where your newspaper gets wet, and determine if its front, back, an axle seal etc. Then do some cleaning and watch for the leak.

If it is the transmission gasket itself, its not a hard job, but quite a lot of stuff needs to come apart. As Martin said, the O rings on the cam plate are a reasonably common place to leak, as are the axle seals.

Once you work out where its coming from, there is a lot of help here to get you through the repair.

[csvt99 173]

Thanks guys; it is an 877 with hydro. The leak definately seems to be coming from the front, and that is where it is dripping from but I couldn't tell if it was seeping out along the case seam and just running down to the front before dripping. I cleaned all the dirt off the case the other week so I could get a better look at it. I'll take some pictures of it tomorrow and post them to see if you can make sense of where it is coming from. Again I really appreciate your help. I'm amazed at how beefy this thing is and how well it runs. I can't imagine you can buy anything built like this new anymore....

Jim

[sorekiwi 761]

It may help to read this thread over at MTF: http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=11660&page=10

A lot of photo's and a description of fixing an O ring leak at the front of an 877 (or possibly an 876, I forget).. The whole thread is an entertaining read if you have some time to kill.

[csvt99 173]

Thanks sorekiwi, I glanced over the thread and it looks very helpful. I'm going to attempt to isolate the leak this afternoon if our company doesn't stay too long. We have a 5 week old son so we've been getting a lot of attention lately!

[can whlvr 993]

clean it good and then dust with flour,then you can see where its leaking from

[sorekiwi 761]

clean it good and then dust with flour,then you can see where its leaking from

Are you talking about the tractor or the 5 week old baby??

[csvt99 173]

Trust me, I know where the baby is leaking.... I've included some photos of the leak. Will I have to take some things apart to truley isolate the leak? I'll clean things up and try the flour and go from there I guess.

[csvt99 173]

Update - Sorry for the delay, had dirt in the fuel line and had trouble getting it started again. For some reason it's not leaking as bad as it had been before. Again it really only seems to leak after i run it. I've attached some pictures showing where I think it's coming from. Check the PDF, it is a parts diagram with an arrow showing where the fluid seemed to be coming from.....I put a mirror under there and it was wet with at least one drip. What do you think?

Here is the spot on a parts diagram.....877 Hydro Transmission Manual 1.pdf

[ol550 830]

Just as well follow Martins lead on this one. 99.9% sure of the O'ring leak.

[sorekiwi 761]

My money is on it being from behind the shift cam mechanism thingy. I think its leaking there and dripping down onto the back of the chassis itself, and also running down the front of the transmission, around the corner and dripping off the front and rear of the case.

Just like Volfandts thread.

[csvt99 173]

Is this the O ring everyone is referring to? o ring.pdf

I will read the Volfandt thread again.

[csvt99 173]

After reading the Volfandt thread again it seems my leak is coming from the exact same spot. For some reason it is hardly leaking now when I run it. I might try to get the O-rings and see if my dad will help me tear it apart. Hopefully things go better than they did for Volfandt!

[Kelly 1,029]

if the tractor has sat for a while the O ring may have dried out and shrunk, as oil was put to the O ring it swelled back up, it is only time for it to start leaking bad again, I'd replace it, and do a oil and filter change.

[Callen 64]

52 and 55 are both o-rings that need replaced while you are in there.

[csvt99 173]

Ok, Thanks. I'll try to find the parts.

[Martin 2,131]

if you go back up in this thread to my first post and click on that thread of my dealings with this situation, the p/n for the large one is there ( still available from toro) and the smaller one i matched up at my local napa. that large one is an odd size and i couldnt find something similar without going the toro route......

heres the cam block o-ring thread of mine.......

i also recommend you replacing the cam plate, if its worn, while you have it apart.......

all the part numbers i used for this repair are in the thread.......

Edited December 25, 2012 by Martin

[csvt99 173]

Martin, Thanks so much for the help. I'm going to get the parts and start on it as soon as I can. My dad grew up with a 1277 and is pretty good with these things so I'm pretty sure he can help me if I run into trouble.

Happy New Year!

[csvt99 173]

Finally getting around to replacing the O-rings today. I'll give an update on how things go.

[csvt99 173]

Off find the small o-ring. Look how the gap is larger on one side of the shaft than the other, is this a problem? There is no play.

 

Thanks!