[jlewisa]

All was well until the transmission just stopped working in all gears. Reviewing the service manual leads me to suspect the clutch linkage rather than the tranny itself. The transmission shifts just fine with the engine off and on. Just doesn't do anything. No prior indication of trouble..just suddenly quit. Any tips. I note with the engine running, the secondary belt is not spinning. Is that a clue? Secondary belt looks fine. Any troubleshooting tips would be appreciated. Regards, John for NW Indiana.

 

[woodpecker41]

If the secondary belt is not moving then it is broken or has come off the pulleys or the primary belt has done the same things. Roger.

 

[bobd]

Tension on the secondary belt is maintained by an idler pulley that has a spring attached to it. Could be the idler spring has broken or some other issue with the idler pulley assembly. The idler pulley should also move when operating the clutch pedal.

 

[jlewisa]

Many thanks Roger and Bob.
While looking at the PTO linkage front to back, I noted that the PTO clutch seemed to appear in an odd angle. I see that the fulcrum bracket appears to be kinked.
Looking in the book it apparently should be straight. Do any of you agree? If so, I will remove the part and straighten it and report. Certainly, this could have an effect on the performance of the PTO and the secondary.

Working on these babies sometimes requires the patience of a Saint.

Thanks a lot. John from NW Ind

 

[woodpecker41]

That is certainly a possibility. Roger

 

[bobd]

John, the PTO parts you are talking about controls the activation of the lower half of the PTO only. The lower half PTO sheave drives attachments such as rotary mowers or snow blowers. The upper PTO half is bolted directly to the crank shaft and is what drives the primary belt. The primary belt should be moving any time the engine is rotating. The primary belt has a 90 degree twist as it travels to the counter sheave which is where the secondary belt takes over. The secondary belt runs from the counter sheave back to the transaxle. An idler pulley keeps tension on the secondary belt unless the clutch pedal is depressed. The primary belt also has an idler but it is not coupled to the clutch pedal. Each idler has a spring attached to it in order to maintain proper belt tension.

 

[jlewisa]

Pulled the part today and it has failed/cracked. Somewhere in the history of the machine, a welding repair was attempted. Guess I should try to find a good part. I will post on the classified section with a part number. Will attempt to attach a photo herewith. If I was a welder, I would attempt repair. Thanks to all who have posted. I'll report back but it will likely be a while. Regards. John in NW Indiana