Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Toro self propelled-not self propelling!

Hi all;
Well it's that time of year again. Just fixed my snowblower and figured better get on the mowers. Found that my 1983 Toro 21" rear-bagger self-propelled will not self propel.:wall:

It is a model 20672, serial # 30058--, (back to the full # on the internet problem again:) )

It started to work in third gear then stopped, tried second and it haltingly moved a few feet then stopped. Tried Third and the same thing. The engine runs great and it still has great cutting and pickup power.

All engines are drained, cleaned, plugs and oil changed at the end of year usage and stored in a shed. The gear linkage looks intact and right but this seems to be a transfer problem and where I do not want to tread without a roadmap.

I looked through the Toro site,and the exploded diagrams, but would like some guidance as to what I should look for in the gear assembly box as a possible source of the problem.

Any ideas before I start a complete stripdown and really bolix this up? Beer 4U2

The first thing I would look at are the gears at the drive wheels. Yours is 16 years old. I had 3 in the shop last summer that were 2000 and newer and they all had broken drive gear teethe or broken driven gear teeth (made on the back of the wheel). This is cause by pulling the mower back without the drive being fully dis-engaged. Toro says to release the drive and push it forward 1 revolution of the wheel before pulling it back. Sometimes you just cant do that especially if you drive it head-on to a fence or wall.

Thanks for the feedback. I am GUILTY as CHARGED on that one. As you said hard when you come to a retaining wall. Always released before draggiing back but ignorance of the forward first.:wall:
Stupid question here though. The gear you mentioned, is it in the box or on the wheel\axle transition in the wheel? Just trying to be clear.

BTW; THANKS for your help on the blower! Saved mucho dinero!

Bob, you are NOT the first nor will you be the last. My opinion is that Toro should make the drive release fully when the bar is pulled back. Here is picture of your set-up. The gear I am refering to is #1 and the other gear is made on the wheel.
http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo138/indypower/toro-drive.gif

Thanks;
will check there and advise, and thanks for "you are not the first nor the last!" Beer 4U2.

Hi folks;
well finally got some time to get to this one again. Pulled the wheels like you said Indy and the teeth look okay. No missing teeth, etc. All seem to mesh together well.
Replaced the belts and it seems that the belt wheel on the drive gear box won't turn. It is EXTREMELY stiff to turn, even with a crescent wrench. It will turn once or twice then freeze again. Is there a way to relube this or does it require a strip down of the box? Machine will run great in all gears but no drive!
Would like to have the self propelled be a self propelled!