318 freewheeling lever

dkarst · Jul 4, 2011

I've had my 318 for ~ 17 years and it is an outstanding machine. I've only had to "roll" it for 4 inches or so when I mount the snowblower so never had to use the freewheeling lever. I decided to give it a try today just for fun and as I expected, I think the valve/buttons are stuck. Before I pull the seat pan to investigate further, would someone tell me how much "roatation" the lever normally has. I can move the end of the lever maybe 1.5" from its engaged position (it starts out pointing about 2 o'clock) but when I give the tractor a shove, it behaves just like normal. How much travel is needed at the end of the handle to move it into "freewheeling" mode?

If the valve/buttons are stuck, I assume pull the seat pan and try to work loose with some PB blaster or equivalent? Thanks

C-175 Nut · Jul 4, 2011

11/2 to 2 inches travel is all mine has and it freewheels just fine,
chances are you will have to unstick the plungers on the valve but
that should be fairly easy to do just pull the seat pan.
C-175

PA318Guy · Jul 4, 2011

Just tried to freewheel the 322 this weekend and it wouldn't either! Guess I'm going to have to pull the seat pan for that too! Good luck on yours!

biker3777 · Jul 4, 2011

There is a hole in the frame that the handle should rest in while it is in freewheel.

C-175 Nut · Jul 4, 2011

Biker,
Mine works just the opposite, When its in the hole it is locked
in gear and will not freewheel, when I pull the lever out of the hole
and move it then the tractor freewheels.
C-175

biker3777 · Jul 5, 2011

Woops,got too hot here in Texas.

TomH · Jul 5, 2011

My lever doesn't fit in any hole in either posisition, and it goes over the gas tank? Geez anothing thing to fix... Is the lever supposed to be on the driver or passenger side.

fredrader · Jul 5, 2011

Mine is inside the right fender and the bottom end drops into a hole for the run position and I pull it out and twist it counter clockwise and it drops below a round head bolt and stays there for free wheel position..
Here it is in the run position and you can see the scratch where I pull it out and slide it down past the bolt..

biker3777 · Jul 5, 2011

I think you could make it go over the gas tank,but that is the wrong direction.

saleen49 · Jul 5, 2011

Forcing them down at this point only causes them to become stuck. Your best bet is to pull the fender pan to expose the pins. Next step is to get in there and clean them with a small strip of emery cloth. Then soak the pins with some WD40. once clean and lubed, work them in and out. They are spring loaded and will return once cleaned up. Worse case senerio you will need to remove them from the pump in order to work them. I used a vise, opened wide enough for the pins, and slammed them down until the pins came out. I repeated this while spraying them with WD40. Before long they became free again.

318 freewheeling lever

dkarst

C-175 Nut

PA318Guy

biker3777

C-175 Nut

biker3777

TomH

fredrader

biker3777

saleen49

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