2006 HPX Build/Repair Thread

[Jake B]

I'm sure a lot of you guys feel the same way I do at the end of a project and wished you had taken more pictures to document all the hard work.

So, as God as my witness I'm going to post up all repairs and mods to my 2006 HPX 4x4. I hope this helps somebody in the future as reference.

[Jake B]

SO while I wait for the FSM I ordered, lets get that choke knob fixed.

I checked with Deere and you have to buy the whole choke assembly(AM136094) for $33.92 plus NC tax. Since the cable operates smoothly I began to look for a knob. The thread size is 10-32 on the knob. No such luck at the auto parts store so I went to McMaster-Carr and sure enough they had plenty to choose from.

I ordered part #6044K65. It looks good but I wish it had the choke symbol on it. The price was .$82 and the shipping was $4.83. Maybe if they didn't use that big box it would have been less.

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I got it on. I think it looks good for $6.

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[Jake B]

Last weekend I took my dog for a ride and she slid all over the bed. So I headed on over to the Tractor Supply to pick up some rubber to make floor mats. They have thicknesses of 1/4" and 3/8" by 4 foot wide rolls. The 1/4' was $5.49 and the 3/8" was $7.29 per Lin. foot. I bought 8' of the 1/4" This stuff is not as smooth as say a tire. It has a porous look to it. For the price it's great. I started with the bed.

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I'm going to wait until I have some time to make a good template for the floor mats. The Deere mats are $92.17 plus tax(BM24282). For $48 of rubber I will have enough for the bed and floor mats.

[Jake B]

The tires when I bought the gator were shot. I thought some slime would work but after soaping them down, bubbles were coming from all the cracks. I searched all over for the best price and found these on Amazon with free shipping.

Carlisle AT II 24x9.50-10 $86.95ea

Carlisle AT II 24x10.50-10 $91.89ea

Total $357.68

I ordered them Saturday night and they were at my door Tuesday afternoon. They mounted pretty easy. I bought two tire tools from Harbor Freight for $5 ea. Using a little soapy water as lube really helped. It took me 1.5hrs. start to finish to get them mounted.

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That left over piece of rubber was a perfect work surface also.
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After
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[Jake B]

During my get to know my new Gator weekend I changed the oil, plugs and filters. Instead of buying all the different filters separately, I purchased the Home Maintenance Kit from JD (LG259) for $53.03. It comes with 2 qts. of oil & filter, (NGK)plugs, fuel filter, and air filter. I really prefer Castrol or Valvoline snythetic oils, but since this is an old Gator I didn't see the advantage to running synthetic oil.

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I also changed the front and rear transmission oil.

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Some capacities:
Engine- 1.37 qt.
Front Diff- 1.4 qt.
Rear Trans- 4.0 qt.

Plug gap- 0.80 mm (0.031 in.)

[Jake B]

Nothing ruins a ride in the woods like a wet butt!

Both seats on the Gator had rips so I started looking for new ones. The ones from Jd cost $186.19ea plus tax(OMG!)

So I headed over to Northern Tool and they were having a $10 off sale on Gator high back aftermarket seats. Their price was $69.99ea plus tax. The vinyl looks thinner and not as smooth as the Jd ones. It will be interesting to see how long they hold up. If they don't last a couple years, then I will spring for the JD ones.

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My FSM should be here today so I can get started on the front end troubles .

[jakerator]

Looking good Jake, keep up the great work.
Jake

[Dane]

I've got a set of the Carlisle AT's for my 550 and love them. A smoother ride than the Ancla's that came on the Gator and the rubber compound does not leave tracks when driving on concrete. They aren't the best for sloppy mud but they work great the other 99% of the time.

[Jake B]

The factory service manual showed up in the mail today. I probably paid too much but some of those low cost ($9.95) sites scare me.

Purchased from Schweissguth Bros through eBay $65 plus $8 shipping.

I emailed them my serial # first and got a nice reply.

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Right now I'm searching for a rebuild kit for the brake master cylinder. I emailed Wilwood and they shot me down(respectfully). I'm going to take it off and take to a high performance parts house near by. They sell Wilwood and should be of some help.

[Jake B]

Here is what I have learned about the HPX master cylinder:

1. This is a proprietary part made ONLY for John Deere
2. The seals inside are not standard sizes
3. Only a few rubber compounds will work with brake fluid

I spent too much time trying to find a replacement seal. When I took the MC apart the front seal was cracked, so I looked in Wilwoods tech catalog for a MC that looked close to what I have. This thing is one of a kind. I did end up buying a rebuild kit and use its front seal $21. The new seal is a little too tight on the shaft, but seals. The pedal feels good after I got the air out of the lines. The take away is its not worth the headache, fork over the $230.

The Wilwood rebuild kit with the new seal:
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The cracked cup seal:
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The new seal on the piston:
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