John Deere Z530R Transaxle Hydro Oil Change

Showing what I did to change the transmission fluid in my John Deere Z530R zero turn mower.

This has 2 Tuff Torq TZT7-M hydrostatic transaxles. Same units are used in Z530R, Z535R, Z540R and Z545R.

Although JD says a fluid change is not required for the life of the machine, there are plenty of complaints about these failing prematurely. I'm hoping this helps prolong the life of my machine. You can see the fluid is pretty dirty after 56 hours.

Tuff Torq suggests a 50 hour break-in fluid change and every 250 hours after that, with more frequent changes if operated in severe conditions (hills...).

Regular Hy-Gard fluid is recommended by JD. It takes about 6 quarts. I got 2 gallon jugs. There are 4 drain bolts and 4 sealing washers. I got new washers just in case, but ended up reusing the old ones. Both of the drain bolts on each transaxle need to be removed to drain all the oil (4 total).

All that's required is a 14mm wrench, a drain pan, and a clean funnel.

Hope this helps someone as I didn't find anything else about performing this service on these particular machines.