Problem with Transaxle on Ariens Riding Lawnmower -17.5HP B&S - 42" deck - 6 speed manual transaxle

[kebo]

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can help me here.... I just got a freebie off of the Marketplace and it's an older model Ariens 17.5 HP rider with a 42" deck and a 6 speed manual transaxle. The issue is that you can shift into any gear with the engine off, but once you crank it up, it won't let you shift into any gear with the brake/clutch pedal pushed ALL the way in. The only way I can change to another gear is to shut off the engine, then change it, then crank it back up. I thought these transaxles are supposed to be "shift-on-the-go" anyway, right? The linkage for the gear lever shift looks like it's all ok, and the linkage for the brake/clutch seems to be ok as well. I had my wife sit on the mower and push the brake pedal in and it looks like it's engaging the little brake rotor on the right hand side (as sitting on the mower) of the transaxle. The gear shift lever works freely when the engine is OFF (no binding at all). I will say that when you crank it up and already have it in gear (like 2nd gear for example), with the brake fully depressed, it seems like it wants to try and move forward just a bit (again, with brake fully depressed). It also seems like I'm hearing a bit of squealing noise from the front, and I suspect it may be the main drive belt slipping on the engine pully, but it could be something else. It looks like the main drive belt has been replaced at some point, and as far as I can tell from just lying underneath and looking at it, it seems to be the correct belt (not too much or too little tension). Once you have the mower going though, it seems to run fine in any gear that you started it in, you just can't change to another gear without shutting the engine off!!

So, something seems to bind up with (or inside) the transaxle with the engine running, but I haven't come across this before so I am clueless?? Is the transaxle shot on this mower? Or something simple I'm just missing? Hopefully someone here has had this issue before and figured out what was wrong, but would appreciate any help! Thanks!!

EDIT: I did all that checking above with the mower deck off to give me better access to underneath, and to eliminate any possibility of the deck belt interfering with it.

 

[RandyT]

The problem is the transmission drive belt isn't fully disengaging. The belt is trying to spin the transmission and puts tension on the gears causing the shifter not to work. This is very common with people that try to be cheap and grab an off the shelf belt instead of using the recommend OEM belt which may or may not be a standard width and length belt. Also can occur there is rust on the engine pulley or is damaged causing it to grab the belt and turn it as opposed to slipping when disengaged.

Just ran into this yesterday where the generic crossover says the belt is 1/2 x 95 but in reality the OEM belt is A section x 95.5.

 

[Roadworthy]

If the transaxle is low on lubricant things may not slide freely. A leaking wheel seal can cause this. I hope it's just a belt as the seal is not available though there are workarounds.

 

[kebo]

The problem is the transmission drive belt isn't fully disengaging. The belt is trying to spin the transmission and puts tension on the gears causing the shifter not to work. This is very common with people that try to be cheap and grab an off the shelf belt instead of using the recommend OEM belt which may or may not be a standard width and length belt. Also can occur there is rust on the engine pulley or is damaged causing it to grab the belt and turn it as opposed to slipping when disengaged.

Just ran into this yesterday where the generic crossover says the belt is 1/2 x 95 but in reality the OEM belt is A section x 95.5.

Ahh, that makes sense!!! That would explain why it acts like it still wants to move forward with the brake pedal pushed in all the way, and the belt sounds like it's squealing on the main drive pulley on the crank. I hate to have to take that belt off just to measure it to see if it is the correct length, but I guess I'm gonna have to do it! Like I said, the previous owner has changed the drive belt, cause it looks pretty new. According to Parts Tree, it looks like the correct belt should be 1/2" x 97.40". It says the Ariens part number is 21546332, and it's $43.99. Thank you for the input!

 

[Richard001]

There should be a bracket that comes down on both sides of the engine pully. This bracket keeps the belt from grabbing the pully when you have the clutch pedal depressed. It is item 66 in this parts photo.

If this is not in place, you will experience the problems you are having.

 

[kebo]

There should be a bracket that comes down on both sides of the engine pully. This bracket keeps the belt from grabbing the pully when you have the clutch pedal depressed. It is item 66 in this parts photo.

If this is not in place, you will experience the problems you are having.

I checked and that bracket (It 66) is installed on this mower, so that's not the issue. I suspect that its the belt being too short, as mentioned in an earlier post by another member. I haven't had a chance to remove the belt and measure it because I need to figure out a way to hoist the front end up high enough to where I can access everything better. I may need to go buy a chainfall or electric hoist wench at Harbor Freight. Thank you for your input, though!

 

[tomplum]

One other thing that you want to do here, lock the brake and rock the rider back and forth. You're looking for the transaxle rocking and ensuring that both the rear brackets and front torque brackets for the transaxle are in place / bolts or brackets not broken. Your belt part number under the hood can be converted to the Husqvarna number who built the machine. Unless you actually have an Ariens built unit here.

 

[kebo]

The problem is the transmission drive belt isn't fully disengaging. The belt is trying to spin the transmission and puts tension on the gears causing the shifter not to work. This is very common with people that try to be cheap and grab an off the shelf belt instead of using the recommend OEM belt which may or may not be a standard width and length belt. Also can occur there is rust on the engine pulley or is damaged causing it to grab the belt and turn it as opposed to slipping when disengaged.

Just ran into this yesterday where the generic crossover says the belt is 1/2 x 95 but in reality the OEM belt is A section x 95.5.

Just wanted to respond back to let everyone know what I found wrong with this mower problem. The person I replied to above (RandyT) got it right!!! One of the reasons its taken me so long to reply is because I had to first go buy a 3/4T lever hoist from Harbor Freight and modify my 12x24 mancave to reinforce two of the ceiling joists that supported the overhead loft, so I could attach the lever hoist overhead and lift up a mower/atv/etc. I finally got that fixed up and so now I can easily raise up any mower/atv size piece of equipment. Once I got this Ariens raised up, I pulled off the drive belt and measured it. As best as I could tell, the outside circumference was 96.6" using a cloth tape measure. The spec for the original factory belt says it should be 97.4" long. so, I ordered a drive belt off of Amazon that said it was a replacement for the drive belt that was on this mower. I also ordered the flat idler pulley that helps keep tension on this belt, the lip on the top side was just about gone. I got the parts in last week and put the new pulley and new belt on. I could already tell this belt was "looser" on the mower than the one I took off, so it gave me hope that it would fix the problem. The moment of truth came and I let the mower back down, cranked it up, and tried changing gears and..... it all worked!!!! I could shift gears easily by depressing the clutch, and moving the gear shift lever, whereas before once I cranked it up, I couldn't change gears at all. So, RandyT got it right by saying that the transmission was never fully disengaging from the engine, with that shorter belt on it. Thank you, Mr. RandyT for that bit of help, it was much appreciated!!!!

 

[mikesmithfl]

Just wanted to respond back to let everyone know what I found wrong with this mower problem. <<<trimmed>>> So, RandyT got it right by saying that the transmission was never fully disengaging from the engine, with that shorter belt on it. Thank you, Mr. RandyT for that bit of help, it was much appreciated!!!!

Thank you for posting the follow-up! I may have a similar problem and this will help me troubleshoot things.