Decoupling CC 123

[Fred's 123]

So, I bought this nice old CC 123 from an older guy at work, and it's been worked hard, but well maintained. It came with a 42" plow, a CC-42 snow thrower, and a 48" mower deck, and all work well. The hydro control has some slop in it, and tends to self accellerate / decellerate a bit on hills and when pulling a load, but it's not nearly so bad as some of the stories I've read of other 45 year old hydro's.

The only real frustration is that it leaks on the floor every time I park it. It seems to leak more after a hard workout, but after the first day parked, the leaking seems to stop. The leak comes from somewhere high on the front of the transaxle, and because the 123's do not have a removable trans tunnel (it's welded to the frame rails on these old models), I guess I need to decouple the tractor to get at it and find the leak. Might as well tune up that sloppy hydro cam and trunnion, while I'm at it.

So, I followed all the directions in the shop manual to a "T", disconnecting the clutch and brake linkages, and removing the three bolts from either frame rail, which hold the transaxle to the frame. It seems free to move around a bit, but no amount of jacking, prying, or otherwise pulling will seem to get the transaxle free. In fact, I've had it pulled out 3/4" from its initial location, only to have it pull back in on its own after some vigorous wiggling.

So, what's the secret for getting these little guys apart? I've crawled under and over this thing a few times now, and can't figure out what might be holding it together.

There are a pair of mounting ears on the front of the transmission (703-0168 - Bracket, Transmission Mounting), which drag inside the frame channel, and catch two of the aforementioned bolts I removed. I suppose they could be creating some friction, but they seem to be free to move, and the shop manual makes no mention of removing them. Seems the transmission is suppose to hang from them as you slide it rearward in the chassis.

Related documents:
Frame diagram: http://tinyurl.com/bqvggaz
Transmission: http://tinyurl.com/7ms74m6

Thanks,
Rick

[hotya100]

Welcome to the forum, Rick.

I may have missed it in the write up, but did you detach the drive shaft from the engine to the transmission?

[Fred's 123]

Thank you for the response.

I did not specifically detach the driveshaft, as the manual does not call for it. I took more than one look at it, and it seems that this particular model has a coupling on the rear engine crank output, which is a shaft socket with a slot. The drive shaft that inserts into that socket is solid, approximatley 1/2" diameter, with a roll pin pressed thru it. That roll pin rides in the slot on the crank shaft output socket, and should simply pull out as you withdraw the transaxle from the back of the frame.

That's how I interepret it, and I think that's correct, but I'm clearly missing something!

Thanks,
Rick

[darkminion_17]

Fred.
When pulling back on the tranny to split it be sure the brake linkage does not catch on the rockshaft.Also does this have a 3 point set up on it?,if it does you have to remove the bolt that goes through the lift bar on the rear lift arm.Also it it has a spring assist you may have to remove it.
Let us have some pictures,were dying for pictures!!

[Fred's 123]

Thanks. No 3-point on this one, yet! No creeper either. Not sure what spring assist is.

The brake and clutch linkage seem to be sitting free. The one bit of linkage I don't understand is the interface between the tow lever and the valves on top of the hydro. The manual says to lock the tow lever in the down position, which I did. When that didn't work, I tried with the tow lever in the up position, figuring maybe the valves were hanging up on the lever cam. I can lift the rear wheels off the ground, so it makes no difference if the tow lever is engaged or not, in terms of being able to move the rear.

I can get some pictures tonight. She's all original, and always stored indoors, but she's done some hard work in her day. Good news is the original owner kept her well lubed and in good repair. I'd like to do a full restoration at some point, but first she has some snow plowing to do!

[Matt G.]

Did you disconnect the hydro lever linkage? The hydro linkage, brake linkage, and neutral return from the brake pedal rockshaft all need disconnecting. For further clarification, that's just a brake pedal...there is no clutch on this tractor because it is a hydro. Also, the creeper is for gear drives only. No need on a hydro.