d13series1
Member
My Bad Boy mower leaks like my old tractors. Increasingly bad drip from the valve cover and a drip from the hydro motor.
My 2011 Bad Boy leaks just like my tractors! Leak from valve cover, increasingly bad, and serious leak in the hydro drive.
Look online, Courage motors are known for valve cover sealing issues, advise is to reseal with RTV like factory. Pull rear guard, shielding, valve cover, can see where it is leaking. It holds oil on the lower part of the cover - poor design. Clean, apply hi temp Permatex, let gell, tighten a little, let sit overnight, re-tighten, no obvious leak.
Hydro, look online, common, replace warping aluminum charge pump cover and O ring with cast iron cover and square cut ring. Order parts, including two new filters. Cover swap was easy... but no room to get at filters for a wrench. Ended up with the screwdriver and hammer method. Put it all together, go to fill... takes about a quart, and I know each side takes 2 quarts. Go on line again, need to open the fill plug at the top to let the air out. Apparently the 3/8" feed hose isn't big enough. OK, can't get at it or see it well enough to figure out wrench size. Go online, 1/4" hex. Pull ou my hex wrenched, have the thing bent 30 degrees and it's not moving. Grr.
Go to Lowe's, pick up 3/8 drive hex socket/key. Apply 3/8 breaker bar, bar bends but no movement. Cannot get rattle wrench in there even with universal. Grab 1/2" Snapon breaker bar and adapter. Apply moderate force, sudden SNAP noise like socket broke. Nope, plug literally broke loose, turned about 5 degrees with socket and then was finger loose. Steel o-ringed plug in aluminum after many heating cycles. Let air out, motor takes 2 quarts, when it starts weeping in goes the plug.
Flush with success I move to the other side. Nope. Not interested and I can't get good leverage. Finally I wedge my shoulder under the frame and give it a good yank. The snap-on is starting to bend then....SNAP. And it's finger free. Get it free, run the purges, everything looks good.
Assault the back yard (put new blades on it while I was at it). Everything seems good... until it starts raining. Pull it into the shed and it starts smoking. Valve cover let loose again, dripping right on exhaust. Didn't QUITE start a fire, but close!
Pulled it and noted that there is one tiny spot where the RTV missed the block... right in the lower corner where the hot oil pools. Looks like a partial void in the casting crease a little to no overlap condition. So this time I pulled out the roll of grey gasket material and made a gasket, installed it with Permatex #2, just like on my old Allis B's PTO unit. We will see tonight if this works.
My 2011 Bad Boy leaks just like my tractors! Leak from valve cover, increasingly bad, and serious leak in the hydro drive.
Look online, Courage motors are known for valve cover sealing issues, advise is to reseal with RTV like factory. Pull rear guard, shielding, valve cover, can see where it is leaking. It holds oil on the lower part of the cover - poor design. Clean, apply hi temp Permatex, let gell, tighten a little, let sit overnight, re-tighten, no obvious leak.
Hydro, look online, common, replace warping aluminum charge pump cover and O ring with cast iron cover and square cut ring. Order parts, including two new filters. Cover swap was easy... but no room to get at filters for a wrench. Ended up with the screwdriver and hammer method. Put it all together, go to fill... takes about a quart, and I know each side takes 2 quarts. Go on line again, need to open the fill plug at the top to let the air out. Apparently the 3/8" feed hose isn't big enough. OK, can't get at it or see it well enough to figure out wrench size. Go online, 1/4" hex. Pull ou my hex wrenched, have the thing bent 30 degrees and it's not moving. Grr.
Go to Lowe's, pick up 3/8 drive hex socket/key. Apply 3/8 breaker bar, bar bends but no movement. Cannot get rattle wrench in there even with universal. Grab 1/2" Snapon breaker bar and adapter. Apply moderate force, sudden SNAP noise like socket broke. Nope, plug literally broke loose, turned about 5 degrees with socket and then was finger loose. Steel o-ringed plug in aluminum after many heating cycles. Let air out, motor takes 2 quarts, when it starts weeping in goes the plug.
Flush with success I move to the other side. Nope. Not interested and I can't get good leverage. Finally I wedge my shoulder under the frame and give it a good yank. The snap-on is starting to bend then....SNAP. And it's finger free. Get it free, run the purges, everything looks good.
Assault the back yard (put new blades on it while I was at it). Everything seems good... until it starts raining. Pull it into the shed and it starts smoking. Valve cover let loose again, dripping right on exhaust. Didn't QUITE start a fire, but close!
Pulled it and noted that there is one tiny spot where the RTV missed the block... right in the lower corner where the hot oil pools. Looks like a partial void in the casting crease a little to no overlap condition. So this time I pulled out the roll of grey gasket material and made a gasket, installed it with Permatex #2, just like on my old Allis B's PTO unit. We will see tonight if this works.
