Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - MTD lawn tractor slows and stops
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jwnrj
03-26-05, 02:35 PM
OK, 7 year old K-mart/MTD tractor, 12.5hp 38" cut, belt drive manual transmission. Tractor runs well, but occasionally it will slow down and come to a halt...engine still running fine, tranny still in gear..if you move the speed control from low to high and back, or move tranny from forward to reverse and back, it will move again at the desired speed setting for a while..it seems to occur most often after making a turn...still has original belts, etc, no problems other than this, has had regular preventive maintenance over the years...any ideas? save me from spending my tax refund on a new tractor! TIA
cheese
03-27-05, 02:59 AM
Hello!
It sounds to me like the blets are slipping. This mower has 2 motion drive belts. One goes from the engine to the variadrive pulley, and the other goes from the variadrive pulley to the tranny pulley. They should be replaced as a set. Also, the bearings in the variadrive pulley could be going bad. You can access all this by removing the shifter knob, speed selector knob, and the 2 screws that hold the shifter cover plate on. Lift the plate off and there's your variadrive pulley, both belts, and tensioner pulley. You might also check the tensioner pulley to be sure it's not siezing.
It sounds to me like the blets are slipping. This mower has 2 motion drive belts. One goes from the engine to the variadrive pulley, and the other goes from the variadrive pulley to the tranny pulley. They should be replaced as a set. Also, the bearings in the variadrive pulley could be going bad. You can access all this by removing the shifter knob, speed selector knob, and the 2 screws that hold the shifter cover plate on. Lift the plate off and there's your variadrive pulley, both belts, and tensioner pulley. You might also check the tensioner pulley to be sure it's not siezing.