Kitchen Garden Forum

hi everyone newbie here , bought a 10/26 lawnflite rideon mower, fitted new belts and blade.worked for 15 mins ..no problems..then it stopped pulling.. not got a manual..and really havent got a clue ..help..please

Do you mean the gearbox is stuck in neutral so there is no drive or the engine power has dropped?

thanks for answering . am able to change out of neutral..and into reverse..and forward gears wont pull mower along at any speed..was working great..just slowed ..to almost stop.. thankyou.

So you think the engine is running fast enough but losing it in the transmission somehow?

hi engines running fine.just mower moves slow,only about 1 mph in first gear and reverse ..hope im describing it right..thanks

I used to have a LawnFlite 604 but I can't remember how the drive system worked or find the manual. I seem to remember two belts, one for drive and one for cutter. You say you changed all the belts and it worked fine for a while, that makes me wonder if the drive belt is slipping after its initial stretching. Is there a mechanism to tension it or could it be an insufficient specification so it has stretched too much. I can't see anything online about this model and none of the real machinery gurus have responded to your post unfortunately.

Hello,
I'm afraid that I know nothing about the working of things MTD Lawnflite...

As Geoff mentions, is the belt to the original specification.?...and is it routed around any jockey pulley and guides all ok.? It can sometimes be quite fraught making sense of the routing of belts ...and if routed incorrectly a belt may be destroyed in an instant on running.
Some machines have an adjustable idler pulley as well as a pedal operated jockey pulley....the ider pulley requiring adjustment to a set specification.... I have no idea if this applies to Lawnflite...??

Clive.

hi all.thanks for reply..managed to download a full manual..checked belts and positions all ok..tightenend chain to spec...ran mower on blocks..gearbox all working .different speeds..all working..problem is when on ground ..slow ..but moves ..so me is wondering .if back axle /differental thingy is slipping inside.. would this produce slow speed.. if so is it easy to fix//or do u just buy a complete diff thingy ..all help and suggestions welcome and apreciated ..thanks ..

Just a thought, when you ran the mower on blocks, you could have tried, VERY CAREFULLY to put a little resistance on the wheels to see where the drive was being lost.

But do make sure the blocks are long enough so the mower doesn't jump off.

Not sure what Clive will think of my disregard for health and safety.

hiya..when on blocks .did gently press wheels..and they stopped turning,hardly any pressure..any suggestions..and health n safety was observed at all time .. thanks ..

Was the belt slipping on the pulley or pulley going round but not transmitting to wheels? If second something in axle as you suggest.

pulley was going and just wheels stopped when i put pressure on them ..has a cog stripped . or something like that ..can it be fixed ..or does it have to go to menders ...thanks for any help or suggests ..

if a gear is stripped its more likely to stop alltogether rather than driveing offload... it is more likely that a gear or pulley is keyed or pinned onto a shaft and the pin or key has broken so the friction between the bore of the gear and the shaft allows it to drive with no load but it slips allowing the gear to rotate on the shaft when loaded.
it may be something simple like the input pulley to the gearbox spinning on its shaft or the output cog doing the same.

hi, thanks to all that responded,I have put 62 inch belt instead of a 63 inch ..and worked a treat..until...blade got clogged in long grass..and black wire shorted out..replaced that..now blade engage lever ..wont move..everything else running ok.. if safety switch for blade/clutch.. has failed.?.will blade engage lever lock and not move.. any suggestions.. thanks