Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - shiftless tractor

I have a 1989 Cub Cadet 1715 lawn tractor that wont shift gears while the engine is running. I have to turn the engine off in order to shift. I recently changed the drive belt and that's when it started to not shift. It would sometimes give me trouble shifting before I changed the belt but now it is worse. Does anyone have any ideas about this?

Thanks
Gerald

Double check to make sure you installed the correct belt, and check to make sure you have it routed correctly. To much tension on the belt and it will not release fully from the transmission making it difficult to shift.

If all checks out on the belt, check the brake on the transmission, sometimes when you hold the clutch pedal down all the way it activates the brakes which on most tractors are applied to the transmission. Sometimes this will hold the shaft tight in the transmission and make it hard to shift also as it does not allow the gears to move enough to line up with the shift key

I agree, sounds like the belt is a bit too tight with the clutch pressed.