Murray 30" rider tranny overhaul

Murray 309304x8A
Tranny - Peerless 915 032

Okay, fired up the mower this PM for one last time around the yard for the year. Discovered I only had reverse and the gear selector was essential froze up. Backed it around to the front of the garage and proceeded to tinker. Finally came to the conclusion that I was either going to have remove the tranny and crack open the case or scrap the mower [it's nowhere near new, but runs and cuts good, plus I managed to find a good used deck this spring to replace my rusted-out one]. Having never taken a mower trans apart before, I figured, well worst case scenario I open the case and something's seriously busted and I have to scrap the mower - nothing lost but a little time. So I opened it up and discovered some rusting of the gear selector mechanism and the little strips of metal that slide in grooves on the main shaft to engage the proper gear were essentially stuck in their grooves. Soooo, proceeded to carefully disassemble and clean everything, paying close attention to what goes where. When I quit for the night got to the point of having all the guts out, cleaned, and partially reassembled [but not back in the case]. Going to take the case halves to tow buddy's shop in a.m. to use parts cleaner on. Overall nothing seems broken or worn out, just the problem of some rust getting started in some critical moving-parts areas.

Anyway, now trying to figure out two things [or maybe three]:

The owner's manual for the mower says zip about the tranny; it's sealed unit with no user servicing possible. No clue what lubricant to put back in and in what quantity.

After some surfing I have found the unit apparently calls for a lubricant called Bentonite and roughly requires 12 oz.

Questions:

Bentonite is the right lube? 12oz?

Is there a suitable substitute?

And finally, if I walk into one of the local small engine places and ask for Bentonite am I going to get a blank stare, or "sure, how much you need?"?

Thanks, guys.

 

Hehe, you'll probably get the blank stare. I use "00" grease (ask for double ought grease) in these. It works well. It is available at snapper dealerships and many small engine shops. A note that might be helpful: Take the shifter out of the tranny housing so that you can lube the needle bearings where it passes through the case. This is a place that often requires lube and is probably where the water entered the case to cause the rust in the first place. Same with where the input shaft goes through. Also, look at the bronze bushings on the end of the shafts. They will have a flat, and/or a notch that fits in a machined out spot in the housing. If these are not in place, you will have problems. I have cracked the housing before because one of these got out of alignment.

 

Thanks, cheese. I saw the 00 grease mentioned somewhere in my online research looking, but there wasn't a definitive answer. I saw everything from 10w-30 to 90w gear oil, but as near as I could tell, the goop I took out started life as something other than regular lube oil. The 00 something like petroleum jelly in consistency I assume?

I was looking at entry points and those are the two I came up with also. Now if it only just works when I get it all back together......

 

Yeah, it's thinner than petroleum jelly, thicker than gear oil. Similar to grape jelly in a squeeze bottle from the store.

 

Sounds like STP consistency. Will go grease hunting this morning. Looked up Snapper repair places and nearest is down the road a ways. Might try closer places to see what might be available.

 

When I had my peerless apart it called for 80w-90 which I got from my local small engine place, it had a Tecumseh label on the bottle. Have a good one. Geo

 

Got it finished and running. Shifts like brand new; also the axles no longer squeak.

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