Craftsman tractor doesn't move???

[Stubby]

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.

[Srgnt Billko]

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

[Stubby]

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.

[ds549]

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...

[Stubby]

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.

[Chas Hurst]

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.

[Stubby]

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.

[Stubby]

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.

[Chas Hurst]

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