toro self propelled lawnmower--pushes to one side

[Phil]

I have a toro 21" recycler--self propelled rear wheel drive.

the right side wheel is turning faster than the left side wheel--resulting in the mower pushing to the left.

I looked at my parts list for this mower. it's obviously a drivetrain problem.

could it be a bad gear or clutch?

[jim]

i have one, it could be a wheel bearing thing or it could be the teeth in the wheel or the gear that catches the wheel not engaging correctly.. or it could be the grease fitting on one of the back wheels needing some grease... did you ever put grease in the grease fitting??? i have had toro's for the past 30 yrs. the first one i did not even know they had grease fittings. the second one the bearing in the wheel were all worn out as i did not put grease in them.. well i have a small metal cutting lathe and just rigged it up with some home made parts as the cost was like $40 at the time and the mowere was getting pretty old and worn out.. i still have it as a backup, but the new recycler gets grease in the rear wheel grease fitting each spring... hope this helps.

[Kahlua53]

This will only happen if it has a differential. Most self propelled mowers are a one piece shaft. I would check to see if the wheel is slipping on the shaft. If not, then it sounds like you would have to have the drivetrain worked on. Remove NoSpam to reply, Thanks

[Bob Urz]

I had to repair my older toro GTS last year. MY trannie had worn the sintered bearing that holds the drive shaft eccentric causing intermittent engagement and noise. To my surprise, i could buy the sleeve trannie bearings at a toro dealer fixed it.

There are also a latch clutch type thing in each wheel. If the wheels a little loose, it may not engage. I would pull each wheel with its little drive box off. Clean it out and put fresh lube in it. Check all parts for anything that looks broke or worn. If one side is not engaging, it will cause the mower to tend to pull to one side.

Bob