MTBF and other measures of product reliability are closely guarded by the respective manufacturers... no surprise there.

what exactly are you phishing for with this question:
"...The TT K46 seems to be considered "iffy", longevity wise by many here...."

I think the concern over the TT K46 is getting taken out of context. It's perfectly capable of handling the tasks it was designed for, mowing and hauling the occasional dump cart or tow spreader over the typical suburban lawn. I've followed along here for quite some time and there seems to be very few failures of the K46, I see little reason to doubt that you could get 10+ years out of one when not abused. Keep in mind that lots of respected manufacturers use them in their *LAWN* tractors, including Deere's X300.

Now, the K46 probably does have "longevity issues" when used in situations it wasn't intended for (e.g. anything ground engaging, lots of heaving towing, mowing up slopes you'd have trouble walking up), but it's not intended to be used as a *GARDEN* tractor hydro.

If you're just mowing an acre or two and occasionally hauling a cart of mulch it's doubtful you'll run into problems unless you had a defective unit from the get-go.

Thanks for the replies.
Not "fishing" for anything other than information, wally2q.
Just curious if chronic failures happen with these units.

Maybe I'm incorrect, but invariably when reading posts pertaining to hydros it seems the 'lower torque-spec' models are generally put down as not up to the task...regardless of what that might be. Your reply aside needstractor.

One can almost expect to see mounds of dead K46's and similar transmissions piled up behind the dealer's buildings.

Thanks again
Mike

Looks more like a subtle slam then an inquiry. CanÂt say I have experience with one but I would agree with Needstractor, that if used as a light duty unit (cutting grass/pulling a cart under 500 lbs from time to time) you should be fine.

I agree with needstractor as well. If anything the K46 has shown to be quite durable (as it is on millions of tractors and I have heard of very few that have failed). The only issue I have with it is that it is not designed to be serviced, which makes oil changes rather difficult (sorry, I will change the oil whether it the manual suggests it or not). If they would change that I would have no issues having one on a tractor I own.

I've certainly noticed the K46 being put down as less than capable lately. I just think that assertion is unfair, there's no available evidence that K46's fail at a higher rate when used as intended and properly maintained. Neither is there any evidence that the K46 is unable to perform the tasks which it was designed for.

I can't say I'm unhappy with the unit in my tractor, it made it through its first season without a hitch and I've got no reason to believe it won't last for many more. Sure I can't plow my lawn, or tow a boat with it, but I don't need it to do those things either. The people who recommend against a K46 for mowing the average acre of grass are generally the same who would recommend using a 20# sledge hammer to drive a nail. Sure the sledge can drive the nail, but it's more than the job requires when a regular claw hammer will handle the task just as well.

Well put needstractor.
And I completely agree with you.

Mike

Keep in mind that the only time anyone writes a message on a forum like this one, is when they have a bone to pick... "ooh, my cheap tractor broke down... boo-hoo..."

JD is not dumb. If the K46 was such crap, and failing left right and centre... then why would they continuously proliferate the use of that tranny on more and more models?... Oh I know... because JD is trying to save money, and they don't really care about their reputation any more.... yea - that's it!

bottom line is: the K46 is a very good tranny. There are 10's of thousands of them out there... so statistically speaking, many of them break down... but if you look at the numbers, they are actually very reliable.... and will last a long-enough time when used for the intended purpose.

Never mind all those who complain and b!itch about how crappy their tractor was because it had a K46.... if you add up all the complainers on this forum, you'll find may be 5-10 of them. 5-10 crappy K46's... Oh no!... the end of the world!

I agree with what you've stated also wally2q.

However in the time spent reading this forum, I can't recall a single post regarding a K46 failure. Granted there must be some I've missed. The TT K46 in my JD has been doing it's job for more than a year now with zero problems and I'm hopefull it will continue.

Think your last paragraph describes human nature, especially on internet forums. -Grin-

Best regards,
Mike

A friend has an older JD tractor,at least ten years old, with the hydro tranny. His yard is hilly, all over. He was complaining several years ago, that the machine was groaning when he went up the slopes. After some weeks of trying everything, he finally had the tranny replaced. (I told him right away, thats what it needed, but he tried the adjustment route first-which lasted about a month! This by the dealer!)

A number of people on this forum and other forums, have been noting how their K46's were getting weak after 1 year of use... others have talked about how they would not work - straight out of the box, even on flat ground... and how they had to get the tractor replaced, to find that the same thing happened again... people have complained.... but those complaints are merely a few amongst very many satisfied customers....

I thought that JD was famous for over-engineering. They used to make it hard to break anything. When a Craftsman has a tranny that is twice as strong and cost 2/3 as much, something does not seem right.JD needs a strong stipped down GT for those who value performance and value.

"....When a Craftsman has a tranny that is twice as strong and cost 2/3 as much, something does not seem right...."

Acutally, everything is OK.... use this analogy to figure out why:

Say, the car compay "Yugo" decided to make a full-size, 1/2-ton pick-up truck. And so they do, and they put a "Yugovsky" 300hp engine in it.... and they use a "Yugoverska" transmission and diffferential assy... and they sell this truck on the north american market for $10,000.

What sort of opinions do you thing this truck would have, when compared to a chevy or ford 1/4-ton, that costs 2-times as much?

Refinement, reliability, and brand-recognition... are just as important as brute strength - when new.... but more importantly after the warranty period runs out.

So, Wally - If anyone asks a question about a transmission while trying to decide what to buy, we should all jump down his throat because we THINK he MIGHT BE trying to pick a fight?

Sorry, but that's not my idea of 'Welcome to the Forum'

I'm sure Mikes question was innocuous enough - Even if it turns out later not to be, we should all give him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. I too have detected some bias against K-46's since I've been around here . . . . and if I was considering buying one, such a question would quite naturally be on the tip of my tongue as well

Welcome Mike - Get yourself a John Deere with a K-46 because obviously Wally thinks they are the greatest ;-)

Don

And just what is the problem of a K46 transaxle for a lawn mower?

Hey Don,

I guess you are referring to my first post, where I was suspicious of the OP statement: "...k46 is considered iffy by many here...". The reason I was suspicious is because the statement is not entirely true... "many" people in my books means "lots and lots"... which I don't think is the case. Perhaps we should do a vote. Statements like that one, can be interpreted as provocative, and have been posted on this forum before - by various tractor haters.

However, you will also notice that after the OP explained his position and intent some more, I posted several more responses that did not question the original message any longer... instead, the follow-on messages state my opinion though (which is what this forum is for)... and that opinion is backed up by either examples, or parallel stories....

I guess you could criticize the threshold of what I consider phishing - fair enough.... but by stating that I was picking fights.... you just misinterpreted my intent. Hmmmm sounds like you and I made the same mistake.

As for K-46 being the best - Please help me out by pointing to where I insinuated any such thing?.... The K-46 is obviously not "the best"... but at the same time, it is obviously not "the worst".

"And just what is the problem of a K46 transaxle for a lawn mower?"

The main issue I have is that it is not designed to be serviceable, i.e. no way to change the tranny fluid without removing the entire unit and turning it upside down. It can still be done (per others on this site) but it is very inconvenient compared to other trannys that are serviceable.