[nick4030]

Hey guys, some of you may know I did a major clean up and repair of my 14sb last summer. This included a transmission rebuild and deck swap. Anyhow, she worked flawless through the rest of the season, until the second to last cut of last year. At that time, the drive mechanism stopped working, so I put it away for the year. I got it out this spring to look it over and fix whatever went wrong. I know it isnt internal in the trans, because it will work occasionally. So, I started by doing the checks. Both wheels click when rolling it, but when I pulled the drive handle up and moved it backwards it would NOT lock up. It would every once in a while, but most of the time it did not. I then moved to adjusting the cable per the manual. After getting really frustrated I happened to be standing at just the right angle to notice something (mine has the newer style cable with the spring on the end), the little bolt on the linkage that the drive cable hooks to was hitting the deck enough that most of the time it wouldnt move far enough to engage (which explains my frustrations with adjusting the cable). So I went and looked at a friends 14sb, his bolt was also hitting but not quite as much as mine was. He also has the older solid cable without the spring on the end. So, I filed the edge off the nut (since that is what was rubbing) so it would move past easier and engage. This got it working about 85% of the time. It still isnt perfect. My only thought at this point is that the spring on the end of the cable must be loose enough that rather than pulling the linkages up, its simply stretching the spring where there is still some drag along the shell. I ordered a new cable, which arrived yesterday, hoping this will fix it. Has anyone ran into this issue before?


Here's a pic to helpfully show what I'm trying to say

 

[nick4030]

I installed the new cable.... didn't fix it. Of I lift up the rear of the mower, the wheels will start to turn and then I set it down it will keep moving. It's like the clutch isn't engaging all the way. Any ideas before I disassemble?

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[Brad]

Is the belt engaging? Or, how about the pulley on the crankshaft. Didn't by chance come loose did it?

 

[nick4030]

Is the belt engaging? Or, how about the pulley on the crankshaft. Didn't by chance come loose did it?

Key way is in place, belt turns the transmission, just the transmission only rarely engages. I was really hoping this wasn't internal, but I'm thinking it about has to be.

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[Brad]

Is there any way you can access the top of the pulley on the trans from the top? Wonder if you can turn the pulley with a drill or something and see if you get movement without slippage.

 

[bontai Joe]

You show pretty good detective skills. I have no answer for you, but I'll relate a story about a problem on my old Deere. The deck was suddenly mowing unevenly, the left side was lower than the right. I checked the hangers, the lift, basically everything I could think of. After fiddling with it for a couple of months, I figured it out, The rear sleeve hitch was hanging up when the deck got raised. I kicked the hitch and the deck dropped to level. My point is, keep looking and expand the search to anything that can be causing interference. Getting under with a really bright flashlight has solved a few problems for me. Best of luck to you!

 

[nick4030]

Thanks fellas. Trans is on the table. Something is wrong with the clutch, I've checked every other possible solution.

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[nick4030]

Problem solved! I took it apart and inspected, everything was perfectly fine. Nothing worn or out of place. So I set the cover back on and the clutch worked by hand. So then I put a couple bolts in and used my drill, still worked great. So I pulled the cover, put some sealant on tightened the bolts and the clutch wouldn't move. Pulled the cover back off, everything looked good, so I put it back on but carefully snugged the bolts in and it worked so I installed it. Just mowed with it and it performed perfectly. I must've over tightened the bolts before to where the clutch fork couldn't move freely. At least I'm chalking it up to that.

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