I feel I was attending transmission school. A most professional video. Now I will tear my riding mower apart and hopefully find that this video points out why mine won't go either direction. Thanks for your patient teaching video. And, you're not stupid! You gave us some things to watch for!!
Thanks for your time I have a Dana Spicer transaxle on a Murray basically the same setup they use thick grease instead of oil. You've done an excellent job on explaining everything.
Yes this is a very good repair video,simple straightforward not a lot of technocrat stuff just plain old good common sense, thank you for that I appreciate that easy to watch easy to listen to and very informative thank you sir
I didn't have this problem, but I so enjoyed watching and listening to a " pro" that not only knows his shit, but explains procedure with so much insight and attention to detail! You, sir , are a master! Thank you for the time and selfless effort you put forth in making this astounding video. Kudos to you!
Holy crap - this has to be the most informative video I have seen covering the service of the single speed transmissions ! I truely appreciate the indepth explanation, tips and advice for modifications. I have yet to see anyone on the internet mention the most important regards to positioning of the bushings and I would have never thought about the use of securing the main drive belt with the plastic ties !! I could have certainly used an instructor like yourself when I was in tech training. Keep up the great work.
Straightforward with details and tips not in other videos...no lawn mowers or music in the background, you can actually hear the instructions...best video on transaxle I've seen.
An Excellent Tutorial Sir. I have a 2009 YardWorks, 20 HP, 46" cut. A very similar MTD machine. Low Lawns! Perhaps the same transaxle except it is a 6 Speed. I note there was an electrical connection that wasn't beside the shift rod. 46:28. Safety Switch? Plastic bushings in the front end Steering Assy, as yours is. King Pins and wheels too. No zerk fittings. That Brake Adjustment was very helpfull to me. Mine does not have Variable speed Pulleys but internal gears with a sliding shaft within a shaft that locks various gears for the speed. You have to dig out all that grease to see them.
I've been trying to figure out a no move issue on my mower and this is the best video I have come across so far. Will be watching again tonight once I'm by the tractor. Thank you!
I have a 1993 MTD mower and know nothing about it. This was very helpful. As a DIY person who wrenches on cars, the two things that are really helpful from this video are: not dropping/losing fasteners, and the part about threading bolts back into aluminum housing correctly. Either will quickly ruin a day LOL
One of the most informative videos I've seen on youtube so far! I would like to say there is nothing more beautiful than an artisan at work, thank you for sharing your knowledge!
I'm helping my brother in law sort out his transaxle... I sure appreciate the help even though parts may not be so easy now that MTD is out of business. THANKS
While I was in Thailand this winter I was in a home improvement store and they are selling these brand new. Only issue is they are installing a little dinky 8 horse engine. Has to do with tax based on engine displacement. Those transaxles are used in many "store brand" tractors so parts should be available somewhere.
Thanks so much for a great video! Had to remove the transaxle to replace a lost nut on the drive pulley. Very precise instructions. You remind me of my tune up instructor back when I went to AAI mechanic's school, you only had to take his lessons once and you never forgot what he said.
This is a really good video with sharp camera clarity. I don't want to lose it in case I have to do what's detailed in future, so I'm downloading it to always have on local hard drive and flash. Hoping it's the same unit that I have on my Toro LX420 which is the Variable drive system.
That was Awesome video, I have the same year, model and color mower as you, and thanks to you Sir, I now know how to repair the trans axle if it becomes an issue. I didn't know about the brake adjustment and the play on the dog ear going from forward, neutral and reverse, I have no issues with mine except for minor wear and tear stuff, belts, blades, spindles ect still going strong. That was a well put together video...Hats off to you.
Thanks for the video! Well done and thanks for covering the complete process from transaxle removal to re-installation! My mower is a circa 2006 White Outdoor LT542G (MTD) which is exactly identical to your YardMan in the video minus the decals / paint scheme. I have the identical transaxle and had the same symptoms. With your video I had the confidence to remove and open up the transaxle myself, diagnose, order the parts (1 bevel gear and "clutch"), and repair it (in the near future once parts arrive). Thanks!
I have this same machine, my shift won't select drive first time so i have to go back and forth a few times before it engages, thanks to your video i am confident enough to throw some spanners at it and have a look inside and make external adjustments if needed.
Great video very helpful and a very informative video for young people to see you can learn a lot from older people and that they didn't get old by being a fool. Thanks again for the video god bless you and your family and stay safe and remember everyone SAFETY STARTS WITH YOU !
Thanks for the video, i rebuilt mine and still had the same problem. After watching your video today i added some steel to the forward slot and readjusted the travel. Works great now. PS the gears i took out were worn out on the forward side.
coyodal bolts, This is the first time as a 50 year Aircraft Mechanic and 40 year Professor to hear of this system for threading. I have seen the bolt shaping, but not understanding it. Aircraft threads have to be rolled in and the taps use rounded tap threads at the ID thread apex to minimize stress concentration areas and make very strong threads. Thanks for the info on the coyodal bolts.
Very informative! Addressed all my questions as well as provided info I didn't realize I should know before tearing into the job. Thank you so very much for taking the time to put this all together in one very educational video. Now to go tackle mine...
Many thanks! My local mower shop told me my MTD could not be repaired and tried to sell me a new mower. You excellent presentation confirmed that was false information and I have ordered the parts to fix myself with the help of your well presented video.
G,day Mate, When I saw your video our MTD tractors (We call em "Ride on Mowers") they looked identical but on dismantling there were some differences. Mine does not have a dog clutch, it has a gear clutch so clutch and gears are different but identical transmission set up. Also mine has a bolt with hex fitting over the spring and ball bearing so you only have to release pressure on spring and ball stays in place so a lot easier when reassembling. Can send photos. Thanks again.
After watching several videos on removing and reassembling the transaxle gearbox, I am now confident that I will be able to do this by myself as a blonde... Thank you so much for this very informative video with tips and truuks. I will surely post an update after I have fixed my Mtd yard mower. Regards, Retha T. South Africa
Great video. I have a Troy Bilt Bronco 2010 with the same transaxle. One thing I noticed is that the point where the linkage enters the housing can easily get gummed with dirt and lawn clippings. This actually prevents full articulation of the forward gear, causing the gear to "bounce", and shredding the teeth. I love your idea however of flipping the forward and reverse, and am going to do that to hopefully get another year or two out of my tractor. I use it year round, and attach a snow plow to it in the winter. I believe the heavier duty service of snow removal is what has caused my tractor to basically fall apart in every way possible.
Thanks for watching. Found out how much I REALLY used reverse when I didn't have it. :-) Was real happy when the parts arrived and I could put it all back together...
Excellent guidance, I also have this same model YM. Bread ties and downhill brake test excellent notes! Now, going outside to begin. Have a great day. *bp* in Tennessee
Thank you sir! My tractor very similar to yours started jumping out of gear and luckily I found this video, and was able to discern the problem as poor adjustment of the links that move the fork back and forth, so readjusted the mechanism and rigged the gate as you called it to force the lever to hold the shift fork in max forward position and seems to have solved the problem.....If I should need to replace the gears and clutch hub in the future, I'll have your instructions to help.
I stumbled on this accidently as I am working on a different trans. I will say, nice job filming and the explanation was superb. Now if it was only on a peerless 2300.. Thanks!
suggestion is that, MTD is similar to Crafstman [LT1000 e.g.] &tc &tc and ours (Crafstman) isn't slipping but rather "must turn onn/off machine" in order to do the [manual] switch between the 6 gears [or into the 1 reverse]. So it's not got as bad as the one here in Vern's fantastic video. I haven't had much good suggestions Google-wise, but I'm still VERY glad I watched this video ... the "CVT style" of shifting is helpful to know about generally, but I'm suspecting there's no need to break down our transmission, and my problem *"must turn onn/off machine" in order to do the [manual] switch between the 6 gears [or into the 1 reverse]* could be related to safety switches, or linkages somehow/somewhere? That's much more question (obviously) than relevant comment but at risk of derail and/or getting out in the weeds in the outside chance anybody (including kind Vern lol) happens across this, is there a starting-point in my own personal (specific) problem w/r/t diagnosis and/or repair? It's been TOUGH to find anything on the Web (so far). Just about ANY suggestin(s) probably couldn't hurt?
Wonderful video presentation! Not the problem I'm having but due to your video know how to remove. The axle is leaking on the one I'm thinking about repairing.Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge! Wonderful
Thanks a lot! great video, great job narrating it too. I have pretty much the same mower and what's funny is I use a bungy cord on my mower deck chute too!! lol!! I thought I was the only one to always mow the grass high! What a coincidence.
I have my friends mower here in my driveway with the same issue. Got the rearend out and cleaned up (yuk) when I get home from work tommarow will open it up and see what exactly what is going on, This hasbeen very helpful as to what I can expect to find, thanks.
Thank you this was a very helpful video. This is the exact tractor I have with thee same problem with no forward gear. Wish I would of found this video before I took out my axle, it would of made it easier. Thank you again.
Looking to see if there are any tips I could use.Had to do this myself and will more than likely have do it again on other units that I work on at some time. Good tip on reinstalling the belt using the ties. Good video right to the end.
This is the best MTD transaxle video I have seen. I particularly appreciate your cameramanship and your calm demeanor and clear diction. What do you get out of producing a long video like this? Anyway, thank you. Please do a video on transaxle differential soon. Why do people weld their spider gears? Rgds from Australia 12FEB2018
Hello Down Under. Australia is on my bucket list. Closest I have been is many years in Thailand. I only get the satisfaction of helping someone save some cash. Thanks for watching.
Great job talking us through the process. I question the shift lever pivot on the frame being able to move the detent shaft past the ball to get more engagement of the clutch dogs.. Maybe a stiffer ball spring and or re cut the shaft ball detents. Frame flex under load may remove the tension you are looking for.
Great video!! I watch some of these Tractor videos just for fun mostly. Some of them are more like short comedies. I pickup older tractors that are on their way to the recycling pile and play with them. I have to start Selling them off because I only have so much Room. I have 2 that are just parts that I am going to break down to get out of the Yard. One I'm playing with has the multiple speed pulley system and I have changed the final drive pulley, but I have decided to add a 5 or 6 speed rear Axle. This is the Best Video on these Single Speeds I have seen.
HI Glovers. Glad I could help. It's like this, Humans Built it, you can fix it. If it's already broken you can't do much harm trying to fix it. Thanks for watching. Vern
You would have been a great surgeon if you are not! Great video! I have a Bolens riding lawn mower and I started to hear grinding noises moving forward, but not backwards. I was afraid it was the transaxle and would cost a good $400 to have it fixed. Your video is quite thorough and will allow me to fix it. Thank you very much for the video!
I have a Husky-Model R608P. It uses the same transaxle. Your video took a lot of thinking out of my 69 year old mind and I was able to take it out, repair it with a new gear, and replace it with no problem. Total time was about 2 hours. I did have a time getting the rear wheels off. The bolts came right out that hold the wheels on. I also have an electric and air impact wrench. But, boy did I have a time getting the wheels off the axles, even using a hammer slide. I didn't lift my mower like you did. I had the jack they make that goes under the front wheels and then you can just use the electric impact wrench to crank it up. For the rear, I used a floor jack on the rear and put a jack stand on the frame on each side. Since it is cold hear in Ohio in March, I'm lucky to have a heated shop, which is a two car garage that I use as a shop to work on street rods for me and my friends. I do have one of those lifts outside that you get from Harbor Freight where I could have used if it was warm out to lift mine like you did, bet a creeper worked fine except the next day every muscle in my body ached. LOLOne thing as a note for future advice. When you put the rear brake disk and pad back together, my Owners Manual says when you are tightening the bolt on the brake rod put a feeler gauge, set at .011, and then tighten the bolt. That will put the right amount of gap between the pad and the disk. Thanks for taking the time to make this video and also the funny remarks in it that made it worth watching. I really appreciate people that do things like this for other people. It is the things you do to help someone else that makes your life worth while.Once again, Thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Robert, Thanks for the nice comments. I am 66 so we are not far apart. I figure if humans built it, I can fix it. Have been doing my own work on cars, motorcycles, Radios and damn near everything since I could lift a wrench or soldering iron. Figure I can save someone some heartache and money if I pass on the info. Thanks for watching.
If not for this specific video I would not have even attempted a transaxle repair. Now, I'm off to my Daughters house to re-install the brakes (axle is installed) and see if I'm successful! Keep your fingers crossed!
could voice an concern? That grease in the transaxle, due to all the gear/dog wear, is contaminated with metal chips and shavings. So I would suggest a through cleaning and re-greasing before re-assembly
The grease that's used by MTD costs a fortune, there's another video on here that tells you the price of the grease, but you can get another brand at Tractor supply much cheaper Its an OO grade..
I found this video to be very informative and I thank you for posting it. My issue with My 2002 Murray Yardmachine is...it wont stop! There are no brakes, and letting off the variable speed pedal won't even let this machine coast to a stop. The only way I have found to get around this problem is to throttle down the engine and turn it off. LOL I am trying to get this piece of equipment back up and running because my 25 year old Daughter just bought a house last summer and I want to give it to her. I have changed many parts on this mower and my frustration level is almost peaked out. Belts, fuel filter, spindles on the deck, carburetor (the old one was corroded, my mistake) and 2 new tires. Brake pucks will be later this week. I probably should replace the ball joints as well but that will have to wait until a later time (probably after you get a ball joint replacement on an MTD video out). Again, the videos you have posted have been most informative and I appreciate you taking the time to post them.
I'm starting to work on my yard machine right now. I notice on your reassembling the top cover or a case, that you didn't add a bunch more grease on top of that new gear. I thought that might be a mistake. Anyway, great video- that helped a lot, so thanks. You may not see this comment, but that's OK.
I have been trying to find a parking brake rod and spring to the rear end like yours but I can't seem to find one and I liked your video I did mine by myself a couple years back I taught myself same thing you did
I have an MTD 2007 just like yours same color even, except my is a hand controlled CVT instead of a 7 speed. But the transaxle is the same as what you have. I have the 46" cut so I have spacer blocks where it bolts to the frame. It's been good to me only spindle bearings and a few idler pulleys I had to replace. This will sound odd but, it was given to me but, I drove it since it was new. The guy I mow for bought a new tractor and gave me the MTD. I have a nontalking video showing it.
Can't say for sure, but I would bet It is a snap ring up against a bearing or a bushing that's up against a notch or step on the axle. Going to be taking my MTD axle apart soon 5/28/24.@lloydfelter9507
I bought a new 2006 HORSE 50" Troy-Bilt riding mower that had the exact same problems after about 5 years of use. It looked liked to me that the three grooves in the fork were not in the correct position to fully engage in the other gears. I wound up welding up the two outer notches in the shift fork and re-grooving them so the fork makes the dog gear engage a little bit farther in the other gears. That way, you don't have to modify the shifter gate since the fork doesn't want to ride up on the ball when you want it to engage further. So far, I haven't had another problem with the rear end. I still have this mower and just last year I replaced the original drive belt! It has about 375 hours on it. I've mowed my 1.25 acre lot with it since new.
I hauled a lot of mowers from the same manufacturing plant. Funny how the same place makes about 8 different brands. Each using most of the same parts, some have different colors, different plastics, different motors, etc etc but produced under the same roof. More and more products are like that as bigger company gobble up competition.
4 i had similar problem . I replaced gears and also cut the end of the spring for the pulley off, about an inch.I used a piece of chain on the end of spring to reattach. Puts more tesion on the pulley. About 5 years ago , works great. You put the chain link over the cut end.
Thanks ran across this as I was looking for positive proof i had the large spring in the right place hooked to the back of the frame , mine is a 08 and have had run away prolbems for a couple of yrs and had no idea why. will order parts and do your mods , thanks for the great video
A very well done video. Interesting how the butterfly effect of a poorly designed shift linkage will cause a stripped dog gear. I had a brand new Craftsman 1500 (made by MTD) that after 4 years is almost ready for the scrap pile. I went back to my 1995 Craftsman II, and after replacing the motor, and the deck spindles it hasn't given me any problems. No more MTD mowers for me.
Hi Stephen, the butterfly effect certainly bit me in the butt. All fixed now though and working well. MTD isn't top of the line for sure, but mostly needed/wanted something to drag a small yard work trailer. Does the job.
Tony did you get an answer to this as in another video I noted more like a liquid grease (not oil) from a bottle. My manual also gives different specs.
I have one exactly like that ,however,it refuses to shift in reverse and in gear,the wheels move freely as if the clutch no longer even engages anymore. I havent taken the axle apart yet but plan to. I had one years ago that I sold to my neighbor,he used a bungee cord to keep it in gear. Eventually it wouldnt stay in gear any more. Great video! I havent worked on one in a long while but great video.
The Radio Mechanic I ended up stripping that mower out to rebuild another mower with a blown engine. It was not fun because his was hydrostatic and mine was not. I had to swap a bunch of things to get it to work. It would have been easier to just swap rear ends. Also I gave him an electric blade clutch in exchange for the cable operated set up in his. He was really happy to be able to just pull a knob instead of pulling on a long handle. I also invested in an Ultra sonic cleaner for carb work. What a great thing! Saves me so much in carb cleaner now.
Bought Yard machine 7 speed shift on go. It wouldn't go in forward. Took apart and saw that the fork where it engages the clutch dog was worn thin like somebody had been riding the clutch when shifting. That kept the fork from engaging the gear (only took about 1/8" wear) I replaced the fork cleaned old grease out put new in and added can of STP engine treatment to keep slimed up/ slick. I put bead of silicone to seal up but now got it open again several years later and going to use anaerobic gasket seal this time (after cleaning surface with acetone or other cleaner). Recently had trouble with not pulling in drive without going up to higher speeds. I replaced the obviously worn drive belt and the two bearings in the variable speed pulley (one was bad) and changed the transmission idler pulley, and it still did same thing and now won't pull at all. I saw transaxle pulley turning when put in gear so figured something may be worn and not engaging axles. So I pulled axle and don't see anything wrong inside. Only other thing is I think even though I replace the transm. belt a couple years ago and it didn't look too strechted it may be bad. I compared it to another belt that is 5/8 X35 3/4". The old belt looks a little over 1/2 inch thick. So thinking that the belt may have worn down from the bad bearing and is not catching enough to spin pinion gear fast enough to pull the axles. So I am going to interchange the forward and rear gear as it has jumped a few times out of gear(only seldomly). I saw that the shift lever that I had replaced years before had absolutely no wear. It is a bitch to keep messing with this garbage. It is not too hard though as I have an A frame and chain style come along that lifts it great. If this crap still don't work will have to pull tranny and see if I can figure anything else or look for another tractor for $100 to put the motor on. I also had a bit of trouble of the shift rod not fully engaging I reamed out slot for forward and it did better. I tried to adjust the adjustment but just so much to play with. Think I need to do like this guy and maybe ream out the rod adjustment slot on the frame. Then the rod can push a little further into the tranny to engage better. Thanks Sir for the thought as I had something like that in mind.
The top/transaxle belt was worn down from 5/8" to 1/2" thick. Replaced it and still not going forward. But it and the stretched drive belt was part of the problem with the tractor not pulling at low belt tension before it lost gear contact. Like you say the shift lever has hardly no adjustment. I took trans apart and turned round gears and still not engaging. Seems like I had changed them around previously. Ordered clutch and gear. In meantime got it running again by taking off the shift rod and measuring it 7 1/2" long. I took about and inch long I guess you call it a collar nut and bought two bolts about an inch and half long that have Allen wrench slots in the heads for tightening. I cut one bolt leaving about 6 threads and threaded it just long enough into the collar nut to keep it stable. Then I welded it at the threads to the nut. I took the other bolt and threaded a backup nut on it. I threaded that bolt all the way down in the collar nut until it bottomed on the welded bolts threads. Then I measured that made up rig and subtracted the length from 7 1/2". I cut the shift rod so when I welded it to the made up rig with the adjust bolt all the way in it was about 7 7/16" as I have plenty of adjustment outward up to about 3/4". The Allen slot centered in the two bolts is an eighth of an inch or so deep and I allowed that to the total length. I took a grinder, and the size bolts that I used, I only needed to grind the edges down on the cut shift rod ends just a little so they tightly fit straight into the Allen slot/holes. Then I welded the two inserted rod ends to the bolt heads. Then I was able to adjust the shift rod out way more than needed to get the gears to engage. I adjusted the rod and checked it a couple of times until I got it just right, and then tightened the back up nut. Of course I have to take rod pin out to turn the rod in and out. It is a bit hard to get the pin in as it doesn't want to go in when it is in forward unless you get it pulled/pushed just right. It is easier to pull the shaft out into neutral and put the pin in. So I am cutting grass with no problem while waiting on parts. " I see on this Bronco Troy built they have threads on the shift rod so it can be adjusted. They have the same transaxle, but the shift lever/rod is set up different. On my previous comment I said I put a can of STP in gearbox. It was only enough to fill the center gear groove about half way up. I don't think it will hurt and it is really slick against friction. Didn't use sealant this time as by the time this thick stuff runs out I will be dead and gone. By the way I thought from a glimpse that I saw some shiny wear down of the metal on the shift fork on your video. It don't take more than about a 1/16" or less of wear to keep it from pushing the throw out collar enough forward to make enough contact to operate. That can make it jump out of gear or not go in gear. Maybe I was dreaming though. It is about 2 am. and I didn't feel like watching the video again to find out for sure. There was a lot of grease on it so hard to tell also.
Great video.Can you do an 80s JD hydro rear? All lawn tractors are designed to break leaving you no choice but to buy another. I buy used as I am not taking the $1K hit for the first 100 hours. There are lots around here and Craftsman are the most prevalent. Depending on the year, they are basically the same as Husqvarna or Poulan (AYP) so parts are easy. It helps to have a fully equipped shop.
You've given me the confidence to tackle this this weekend. Thank you so much for all of the details; truly a service for us folks that need to save some bucks, do it ourselves, add knowledge to the skill box, and hopefully help others in our communities. Might seem like an obvious answer, but have to ask the stupid question: I was going to remove the fuel tank because it's super easy to do; should I drain the oil and any other fluids (are there any others?)?
If you're just going to work on the transmission then there is no need to remove the fuel tank or engine oil. The only connection between them is the belt. Or if you plan to lay it on its side, then yes, remove the tank and engine oil . The oil/grease in the transmission is very thick/viscous and will stay inside . Take your time and you should be fine.
Well, I got it done. The dog was a little different, as were the insides of the gears as they were all toothed (2011 upgrade, perhaps?), but I think what my problem was was a stuck bearing. Gave it all a good clean, flipped the gears just for laughs, replaced the transmission belts, and put it back together (had to play with the shift adjustment a bit). All of your video got me there, and all those helpful tips made this such a straightforward project - it runs far better than it did before! Thanks so much.
