Craftsman tractor doesn't move???
 

I don't know what I did to the old chariot. It was fine when I put it
away. However, I started the engine and put it in gear, but it didn't
more. No gears work. The belt(s) are in position and the drive pulley
on the transaxle rotates when I let the clutch out. The brake rod and
gear selector seem to be working alright. Everything looks fine, but
the wheels don't go around.

Perhaps one of the several Woodruff keys is sheared off. I'm sure I
drove it into the garage parking spot but shearing off a key would seem
to require something dramatic.

I'm not confident in the abilities of the local repair shop so I'm
looking for advice from this group. Are there tests I can do to figure
out what's wrong?

Is it a big job to tear apart the transaxle? Can I pop off the top
cover without removing it from the chassis of the tractor? I have a
small wheel puller for pulling off car steering wheels, etc. That might
help. Please advise.

Craftsman tractor doesn't move???
 

Srgnt Billko wrote:
"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..
I don't know what I did to the old chariot. It was fine when I put it
away. However, I started the engine and put it in gear, but it didn't
more. No gears work. The belt(s) are in position and the drive pulley on
the transaxle rotates when I let the clutch out. The brake rod and gear
selector seem to be working alright. Everything looks fine, but the wheels
don't go around.

Perhaps one of the several Woodruff keys is sheared off. I'm sure I drove
it into the garage parking spot but shearing off a key would seem to
require something dramatic.

I'm not confident in the abilities of the local repair shop so I'm looking
for advice from this group. Are there tests I can do to figure out what's
wrong?

Is it a big job to tear apart the transaxle? Can I pop off the top cover
without removing it from the chassis of the tractor? I have a small wheel
puller for pulling off car steering wheels, etc. That might help. Please
advise.

Does this machine have a high & low range ? If so, make sure that control
isn't in neutral.


The tractor has 6 forward speeds and reverse. It behaves like its stuck
in neutral. I seem to recall times in the past when it would get stuck
this way briefly. Rolling backward or something seemed to free it up.
I'm going to try that later on.

Craftsman tractor doesn't move???
 

Stubby wrote:
Srgnt Billko wrote:
"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..
I don't know what I did to the old chariot. It was fine when I put
it away. However, I started the engine and put it in gear, but it
didn't more. No gears work. The belt(s) are in position and the
drive pulley on the transaxle rotates when I let the clutch out. The
brake rod and gear selector seem to be working alright. Everything
looks fine, but the wheels don't go around.

Perhaps one of the several Woodruff keys is sheared off. I'm sure I
drove it into the garage parking spot but shearing off a key would
seem to require something dramatic.

I'm not confident in the abilities of the local repair shop so I'm
looking for advice from this group. Are there tests I can do to
figure out what's wrong?

Is it a big job to tear apart the transaxle? Can I pop off the top
cover without removing it from the chassis of the tractor? I have a
small wheel puller for pulling off car steering wheels, etc. That
might help. Please advise.

Does this machine have a high & low range ? If so, make sure that
control isn't in neutral.


The tractor has 6 forward speeds and reverse. It behaves like its stuck
in neutral. I seem to recall times in the past when it would get stuck
this way briefly. Rolling backward or something seemed to free it up.
I'm going to try that later on.

My conclusion is that the brake/clutch is not working. The tractor
rolls around with or without the brake being activated. Of course, the
same mechanism controls the clutch. I adjusted the linkage per the
manual, but it still doesn't work.

Can anybody explain to how that brake and the clutch work in the
transaxle? I see the brake disk in the diagram and assume that turning
the shaft closes some parts together to press on the disk. But I don't
see anything remotely like a clutch. The diagram is not clear about
what touches what in the transaxle.

Craftsman tractor doesn't move???
 

"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..
Can anybody explain to how that brake and the clutch work in the
transaxle? I see the brake disk in the diagram and assume that turning
the shaft closes some parts together to press on the disk. But I don't
see anything remotely like a clutch. The diagram is not clear about what
touches what in the transaxle.

Ive got a tractor like yours. The "clutch" is a pulley that tightens the
drive belt. There's no clutch in the trans. I suspect you left the tractor
parked with the foot brake/clutch locked and the clutch linkage has siezed
in that position. It's difficult to see or access that linkage with the
mower deck in place. Removing the mower deck is not hard.

Craftsman tractor doesn't move???
 

Chas Hurst wrote:
"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..
Can anybody explain to how that brake and the clutch work in the
transaxle? I see the brake disk in the diagram and assume that turning
the shaft closes some parts together to press on the disk. But I don't
see anything remotely like a clutch. The diagram is not clear about what
touches what in the transaxle.

Ive got a tractor like yours. The "clutch" is a pulley that tightens the
drive belt. There's no clutch in the trans. I suspect you left the tractor
parked with the foot brake/clutch locked and the clutch linkage has siezed
in that position. It's difficult to see or access that linkage with the
mower deck in place. Removing the mower deck is not hard.


It's hard for me to see in there but I did manage to get the
brake/clutch linkage adjusted to 1.5".

The pulley-clutch is for the mowing deck. I don't see how it would
affect the tractor drive.

But, I believe your advice on checking that the brake/clutch links is
free is good. I do park it with the brake on. I'll drop the mowing
deck for a good view, but that is heavy and hard to do. Thanks.

Craftsman tractor doesn't move???
 

Craftsman tractor doesn't move???
 

"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..
wrote:
if you have the forward /reverse control right in front of the seat,
remove the knob and the panel right in front of the seat. the pully
there moves up and down on a shaft,it may be stuck, youll can tell if
its not grabbing the belt.sometimes you can move it with your hand and
spray some oil on the shaft to free it p.if youve had the tires off for
some reason,a axle key may not be in, if you see the axle turning but
not the wheel then a ket is out. lucas...

In the end, the problem was an axle key. I was *sure* I had reassemble
it after taking one tire to get the valve leak repaired. While crawling
around trying to check the brake/clutch linkage, I spotted the key in the
grass and dirt on the floor. Upon picking it up I realized it was an
axle key! Purely by accident. Thanks to you, Bilko and Hurst.

Well, you're centainly welcome. I missed the part about your removal of the
wheel in your original post.