Couple lube questions

[treesitter]

Just did all of the lubrication as stated in the owners manual and have a couple questions. As an FYI, this is the first I've done a complete lube as specified in the manual since I bought it last year. NOw I want to move on to the 'maintenance' section step by step. When I bought it, I only did the main maintenance items and a few fixes to get it running- which it does well but with a little extra smoke for flavor.

Rear axle housing oil pan- it is leaking, and has been, around one of the pans. Wanted to take it off (both) to completly drain/refill but wanted to make sure there is not a gasket there since, if there is, I don't have one to replace with. I tightened up the bolts on the leaking pan which helped although they were pretty tight.

Front wheel bearings- wanted to make sure the only things to pack grease on were the two sets of bearings and not fill the hub cap thing. Reason for asking is both were totally full of grease when I took them off.

Comment/question- drained the trans. fluid. While I was waiting, forever, for it to drain I decided to stick my finger down the fill hole. If there is about 1" +/- of grease goo stuck to the top of the gear housing each way I turned my finger, it is probably not a good thing?

Did the first mow of the season yesterday and it did well. However, it certianly likes to plow snow more than running the Woods 59 deck.

Thanks, Andy

[Bigdog]

On the rear pans - there is a gasket. They are cheap and still available. You can even make your own if you'd like. Some guys even use silicone gasket rather than replace the originals.

Front wheel bearings - fill the hub with grease, that leaves no place for water to stay.

Tranny case - goo = not good, but not unexpected especially if it has not been serviced in a while (maybe never). You can remove the transmission top cover and clean if you like. It will give you a good chance to check the condition of the gears. Again, easy to do and doesn't take much time. If the transmission is gunked up, flush with some kerosene to get the goo out and re-fill with 90 wt. gear lube.

[Jim Becker]

When you remove the final drive pans, go around the flange and straighten any pulls from the bolts. The normal fill level puts the gaskets under the oil level. You can leave the level just below the gasket. As long as you make sure it is to the gasket, there will be enough to circulate.

[treesitter]

Thank you both very much.

I assume I should be able to get the pan gaskets at my local IH dealer?

Should I also assume there is a gasket under the top cover of the tranny? Can also get at the IH dealer?

Thanks

[Bigdog]

Yes to both.

[treesitter]

Thanks Bigdog.