Craftsman front wheel drive mower won't drive.

[tomkanpa]

It has a gearbox that is powered by a belt from the engine. It doesn't appear that the belt is slipping. And the arm that engages the gears moves. Yet there's no power to the wheels. Well, I take that back. On a level driveway, it will pull itself along at a slow pace. At the gear box which is part of the axle "jumps up and down." And with the engine off and the gearbox engaged, the front wheels are locked as if everything is engaged. Any ideas on what the problem is?

[Oren]

Missing bolt holding the gear box down?

-- Oren

"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

[trainfan1]

The worm wheel on the driven axle has worn out. The lever slides the clutch dog(keyed/splined to the axle) into the worm wheel, which is in constant mesh with the worm gear.

It's not too bad to repair. All the parts are available at

Pack the gearcase well with Lucas Red 'N Tacky #2 grease when reassembling.

Rob

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[M.Paul]

My craftsman has the same setup and had the same symptoms. Turned out that the shaft (axle) that the gearbox drives had snapped in half. They must be fairly weak because I was just mowing the lawn when it broke - mower never abused. New axle shaft was about $30. PITA to replace, but it's been working great ever since.