John deere 175 lawn mower brake pedal doesn't release

des53952 · May 21, 2013

Just purchased a used J/D 175 Hydro lawn mower. The brake pedal won't release after start up so I can't get full response from hydro drive forward or reverse. Any suggestions on cause and cure. This is my first rider mower, first J/D, first hydro so not familiar how whole system works.

cgutenschwager · May 21, 2013

:welcome: I would look for a return spring, mine broke a while back. Did the mower ever move? It could be rusted stuck if it's been sitting outside all winter... those are my thoughts without any further information.

sox3 · May 21, 2013

cgutenschwager said:
:welcome: I would look for a return spring, mine broke a while back. Did the mower ever move? It could be rusted stuck if it's been sitting outside all winter... those are my thoughts without any further information.

I agree

des53952 · May 22, 2013

Thanks for the info guys. I will start by looking at the spring. The tractor does move, but slowly without putting extra constant pressure on the forward/reverse hydro lever. I did get it to release a few times and everything worked great just as it should. I had to step down really hard on the pedal to get it loose. After turning the engine off, you have to push the pedal down to to restart and the pedal sticks down again. Other than the one problem stated, the tractor starts, runs and mows great. Not bad for 20+ years old.