Got to the point I can get the belt around the transmission pulleys. The local mechanic told me to just bend the tabs out a little. Worked good enough. But to get to position enough to be able to do that I had to take the body off. He also told me to spray some lubricant on the brakes. Said in his experience they lock up at about 50 hours which is about how many hours I have on this things. Said I'll probably need to do that every 20 hours.

Time to put it all back together and see how many parts I have left over.

Got it all put back together and I think I'm in the same boat, only this time without a nearly split into belt.

The right wheel(if you're sitting on the tractor) spins great, but the left one doesn't. It barely moves. The effect is I can mow nicely in circles. But both wheels spin nicely when in push mode.

I've read that these mowers are famous for locking up but usually lubricating the brakes usually takes care of that. I've lubed them as far as I can tell but doesn't seem to have helped.

Does this sound like a transmission issue or is there something with the brake being stuck afterall?

roostin
 

Mine does this all the time. From the rear of the machine crouch down and look between the transmissions. you will see a lever on either side with a rod that goes towards the front. Make sure both levers are in the same position. On mine the left one is usually in the forward (brake position) it should snap back to the center with a gentle pull. Make sure the steering wheel is centered when you do this as that is what controls the rods that you see going towards the front. Hope this helps. I have found that if I do not dump the clutch after a stop or using the parking break the left side lever gets stuck in the brake postition.