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My MTD mower stopped going into higher speeds. It used to go to all 7.
Recently I tightened the brake adjuster nut. Could over tightening it be the problem or should I look elsewhere
Jim

Ok lets ave a think
MTD made over 90 different mowers
These mowers used 7 different transmissions
Do you have 12 hours to read the 952 pages that will be needed to cover all of them before I take 3 days to dictate into the computer ?

OR you could simply post the numbers off the the ID tag under the seat so we all know what you are talking about

bertsmobile1 said:

Ok lets ave a think
MTD made over 90 different mowers
These mowers used 7 different transmissions
Do you have 12 hours to read the 952 pages that will be needed to cover all of them before I take 3 days to dictate into the computer ?

OR you could simply post the numbers off the the ID tag under the seat so we all know what you are talking about

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There is no tag under the seat. I got this second hand or maybe even third .

No unit numbers, but what about engine numbers? At least with those we might be able to determine year of manufacture. How able some pictures so it looks like we are standing next to you, instead of a thousand miles away where COVID has ruined our psychic abilities. How long has this been going on and what have you tried to do to resolve the problem? When was the last time you did a complete service on the unit? Total engine tuneup, drive tuneup, deck tuneup, etc. You need to help us help you.

Rivets said:

No unit numbers, but what about engine numbers? At least with those we might be able to determine year of manufacture. How able some pictures so it looks like we are standing next to you, instead of a thousand miles away where COVID has ruined our psychic abilities. How long has this been going on and what have you tried to do to resolve the problem? When was the last time you did a complete service on the unit? Total engine tuneup, drive tuneup, deck tuneup, etc. You need to help us help you.

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I have not tried anything. Im just asking for ideas on what causes these things.
Here is a picture of the label
On the engine.
It just started doing it. I tightened up the brake adjustment.

Seeing you are only willing to provide us with as little info as possible, can’t even type in engine numbers, I’ll provide an answer to your questions and then you are on your own.
What are the causes for a MTD tractor to only go at slow speeds?
1. Bad belt. 2. Bad drive pulley. 3. Bad tranny pulley. 4. Sheared tranny pulley key. 5. Bad shift keys. 6. Bad speed gears. 7. Worn transmission bushings. 8. Transmission loose. 9. Bad shifter yoke. 10. Bad tensioner pulleys. 11. Improper or loose shifter arm. 12. Loose tensioner arm. 13. Bad tensioner pulleys. 14. Improperly adjusted brake pedal. 15. Improperly adjusted brake. 16. Broken or worn brake pads. 17. Wrong drive belt. 18. Improperly assembled transmission components. 19. Wrong transmission lube. 20. Hard transmission lube. 21. Engine not running properly. 22. Bad headlight fluid 23. Operator Error.
To the other professionals on this forum, these are all the causes I can come up with. Hopefully you have obvious ones I have missed, because I’m going for an aspirin and third cup of brandy to reprogram my brain. May not be back for a long time.

Rivets said:

Seeing you are only willing to provide us with as little info as possible, can’t even type in engine numbers, I’ll provide an answer to your questions and then you are on your own.
What are the causes for a MTD tractor to only go at slow speeds?
1. Bad belt. 2. Bad drive pulley. 3. Bad tranny pulley. 4. Sheared tranny pulley key. 5. Bad shift keys. 6. Bad speed gears. 7. Worn transmission bushings. 8. Transmission loose. 9. Bad shifter yoke. 10. Bad tensioner pulleys. 11. Improper or loose shifter arm. 12. Loose tensioner arm. 13. Bad tensioner pulleys. 14. Improperly adjusted brake pedal. 15. Improperly adjusted brake. 16. Broken or worn brake pads. 17. Wrong drive belt. 18. Improperly assembled transmission components. 19. Wrong transmission lube. 20. Hard transmission lube. 21. Engine not running properly. 22. Bad headlight fluid 23. Operator Error.
To the other professionals on this forum, these are all the causes I can come up with. Hopefully you have obvious ones I have missed, because I’m going for an aspirin and third cup of brandy to reprogram my brain. May not be back for a long time.

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Well I can only hope

jpokerwinski said:

Well I can only hope

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Rivets said:

Seeing you are only willing to provide us with as little info as possible, can’t even type in engine numbers, I’ll provide an answer to your questions and then you are on your own.
What are the causes for a MTD tractor to only go at slow speeds?
1. Bad belt. 2. Bad drive pulley. 3. Bad tranny pulley. 4. Sheared tranny pulley key. 5. Bad shift keys. 6. Bad speed gears. 7. Worn transmission bushings. 8. Transmission loose. 9. Bad shifter yoke. 10. Bad tensioner pulleys. 11. Improper or loose shifter arm. 12. Loose tensioner arm. 13. Bad tensioner pulleys. 14. Improperly adjusted brake pedal. 15. Improperly adjusted brake. 16. Broken or worn brake pads. 17. Wrong drive belt. 18. Improperly assembled transmission components. 19. Wrong transmission lube. 20. Hard transmission lube. 21. Engine not running properly. 22. Bad headlight fluid 23. Operator Error.
To the other professionals on this forum, these are all the causes I can come up with. Hopefully you have obvious ones I have missed, because I’m going for an aspirin and third cup of brandy to reprogram my brain. May not be back for a long time.

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I would bet you have a Harley ?

No Indian Chief, but I do have a brain That was in working order until about a half hour ago.

Rivets said:

No Indian Chief, but I do have a brain That was in working order until about a half hour ago.

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Ahhh I thought you were a biker. Apparently your one of those rude MF’ers I see in the forums. I asked a simple question but you didn’t have to exercise your skill at talking down to someone. And your right, I bet your brain IS exhausted. Move on… nothing to see here

Thank you for leaving, sorry your bad mouth won’t be missed. Also, never owned a motorcycle, but I thought you would also realize that after you checked the muffler pulley for the cause of your problem.

OK Joe,
No one was throwing insults
As I tried to tell you we have no idea what type of transmission you have .
All we know is it has 7 speeds
It is equivalent in saying "My Ford wont go what is wrong with it "
I tried to be both a little humorous and give you an idea of how many options there were
The way this forum works is
1) we are all civil & do not call each other names
2) we ask you questions that we need answered in order to help us HELP YOU
3) the Techs work together so you do not get confusing replies or the same reply 44 times
If you can not be bothered to help us then we can not help you it is as simple as that
I ask people to provide information or to do simple tests
If they don't then I bow out of the thread and I tell them I am leaving & why
This is more for others than the original poster
Some people get a thrill about taking up lost causes but may have not contributed because they had seen I ( or another tech ) was on the thread & we had not made a misdiagnosis .
SO it is now good by from me as well as there are people here willing to help me help them so they ar far more deserving of my time & knowledge
Good luck

The old MTDs had a variable pulley system, and from time to time the center sheave will stick.
While running, and the f/r lever in F, move the speed selector from P to 1, then 2, then 3, until the tractor starts moving. Use the footpedal to ease the tension on the shifter a tad. As you are moving forward, depress the pedal slightly as you move the selector down to lower numbers, see if that does anything.

Fish said:

The old MTDs had a variable pulley system, and from time to time the center sheave will stick.
While running, and the f/r lever in F, move the speed selector from P to 1, then 2, then 3, until the tractor starts moving. Use the footpedal to ease the tension on the shifter a tad. As you are moving forward, depress the pedal slightly as you move the selector down to lower numbers, see if that does anything.

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Thanks for this. A much nicer reply than I got earlier

Fish said:

The old MTDs had a variable pulley system, and from time to time the center sheave will stick.
While running, and the f/r lever in F, move the speed selector from P to 1, then 2, then 3, until the tractor starts moving. Use the footpedal to ease the tension on the shifter a tad. As you are moving forward, depress the pedal slightly as you move the selector down to lower numbers, see if that does anything.

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Exactly what is the center sheave?

Congrats Fish, I think you nailed it, even though you were given so little to go on. I forgot about the older “Transmatic Transaxle”. I knew there were more things I should have listed as probably causes.

Yea notice how civil he was?

Fish said:

The old MTDs had a variable pulley system, and from time to time the center sheave will stick.
While running, and the f/r lever in F, move the speed selector from P to 1, then 2, then 3, until the tractor starts moving. Use the footpedal to ease the tension on the shifter a tad. As you are moving forward, depress the pedal slightly as you move the selector down to lower numbers, see if that does anything.

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Is there an area I should try to lubricant?

jpokerwinski said:

Is there an area I should try to lubricant?

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The oil sump is a good place to start.

Yes, I noticed! That’s why I posted that I knew I missed something’s and asked other techs to chime in. I also notice he had a better brain and cleaner mouth than the OP, which caused him problems.

The center sheave moves up and down, giving the rear end a variety of speeds like a 10 speed bicycle. I have been known to give a light squirt of wd-40 there, but since the belt runs on both sides, just a quick little squirt.

Fish said:

The center sheave moves up and down, giving the rear end a variety of speeds like a 10 speed bicycle. I have been known to give a light squirt of wd-40 there, but since the belt runs on both sides, just a quick little squirt.
View attachment 66120

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Thanks!

likely your variable speed pulley is jammed and not sliding

tackleberry said:

likely your variable speed pulley is jammed and not sliding

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I hope to get up on my lift today to look at it. A couple people have suggested that. Thanks for your input

learned something new from FISH! Thanks!

Sometimes if belt starts to fray pieces of belt can get stuck stopping movement. If taking apart there is a fiber/plastic washer on top. NLA but ebay had some in the past. Or match up at hardware store. Had one where roller bearing started to seize. Ebay has pulley assembly if needed, factory NLA.

Considering it ran before the brake adjustment, loosen it and see if you get back to where you started. Then look at the drive belts for cracking of burned areas. With the brake on, you should be able to turn the idler pulleys (depends on model).

STEVES said:

Sometimes if belt starts to fray pieces of belt can get stuck stopping movement. If taking apart there is a fiber/plastic washer on top. NLA but ebay had some in the past. Or match up at hardware store. Had one where roller bearing started to seize. Ebay has pulley assembly if needed, factory NLA.

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I assume the only way to this is through where the battery sits? Do you have a link for the eBay part?

jpokerwinski said:

I assume the only way to this is through where the battery sits? Do you have a link for the eBay part?

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Variable Speed Pulley Fits MTD White 717-0800 717-0800A /​

Flip Manufacturing​

Through plate in front of seat. Good idea to change both belts.

Try resetting the pedal if it is a varidrive setup. Start the tractor. Put shifter in neutral and speed selector in highest gear then release the brake while still in neutral until the brake pedal comes all the way back. then put in forward and try it. Sometimes this needs to be done if the machine stalled or ran out of gas

jpokerwinski said:

My MTD mower stopped going into higher speeds. It used to go to all 7.
Recently I tightened the brake adjuster nut. Could over tightening it be the problem or should I look elsewhere
Jim

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If the brake adjuster nut was adjusted and this problem started, I would go back and loosen the brake adjuster to see if it's the problem. Most brake adjusters do not require much to make a difference. Usually one quarter or one half turn is a lot. Good luck!

Just the facts Ma'an...make,model,serial number and we are off!

mmoffitt said:

Just the facts Ma'an...make,model,serial number and we are off!

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If I had it I would have posted it. It’s an old one that has been “painted over” I have the engine tag number but not sure if you can cross reference that to a model/year?

mmoffitt said:

Just the facts Ma'an...make,model,serial number and we are off!

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This is all I have. See attached

mmoffitt said:

Just the facts Ma'an...make,model,serial number and we are off!

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This is all I have. See attached

95 = year/ 06 = month / 02 = day / 5B plant & assembly line

STEVES said:

95 = year/ 06 = month / 02 = day / 5B plant & assembly line

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But it doesn’t give me model number?

At least it hopefully narrows the playing field! ? Picture of unit would maybe, perhaps help.

STEVES said:

At least it hopefully narrows the playing field! ? Picture of unit would maybe, perhaps help.

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I’ll get a pic in a bit. Thanks

jpokerwinski said:

Ahhh I thought you were a biker. Apparently your one of those rude MF’ers I see in the forums. I asked a simple question but you didn’t have to exercise your skill at talking down to someone. And your right, I bet your brain IS exhausted. Move on… nothing to see here

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Okay…..
Ive used this forum plenty of times for help and these are some great guys that take time from their lives to help others!
Imagine the number of questions they get from people that don’t give them any information about what they’re working on. You can’t blame then for having a little fun. You have to help them help you. Clean off any numbers you can find and take a picture or list them along with the location of said numbers.
They are not mind readers , physic and have no way of knowing how to answer questions without information.
Its the same as actually taking your mower to a mechanic that is blind folded and not telling them what they’re working on.
When they say they’re 900 plus answers it’s the truth if they you don have any information, pictures etc of the machine. Even the part you laid hands on before asking for help which shouldn’t have been done because you obviously didn’t know what adjusting it would do exactly or you wouldn’t be here now.
Like I said this is a great place for help because of these guys. I read post when I don’t have questions because I learn but when I saw the name calling I had to chime in.
They don’t work for you so appreciate attention you get.

Douglasdzaster said:

Okay…..
Ive used this forum plenty of times for help and these are some great guys that take time from their lives to help others!
Imagine the number of questions they get from people that don’t give them any information about what they’re working on. You can’t blame then for having a little fun. You have to help them help you. Clean off any numbers you can find and take a picture or list them along with the location of said numbers.
They are not mind readers , physic and have no way of knowing how to answer questions without information.
Its the same as actually taking your mower to a mechanic that is blind folded and not telling them what they’re working on.
When they say they’re 900 plus answers it’s the truth if they you don have any information, pictures etc of the machine. Even the part you laid hands on before asking for help which shouldn’t have been done because you obviously didn’t know what adjusting it would do exactly or you wouldn’t be here now.
Like I said this is a great place for help because of these guys. I read post when I don’t have questions because I learn but when I saw the name calling I had to chime in.
They don’t work for you so appreciate attention you get.

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I understand but this ass was rude. If you don’t know what to ask you don’t ask. I am not a lawn mower professional. I don’t l ow what to ask or what to provide. Some people gave me good information knowing that. Others wanted make themselves feel superior by putting me down. What can I say

How about I’m sorry?

I am quite a jolly fellow and love a good joke, even at my expense but I gave up trying to add humour a long while ago because if I forget to drop a funny emojie in 3/4 of Americans think I am insulting them because my funny is your slur .
OTOH if I need help then getting in a huff & stamping my feet helps no one so that has to be water off a ducks back

this thread has really turned into a train wreck. I get this feeling that some people here have gotten a little callous and bitter. Not judging anyone, okay...just an observation.

Cajun power said:

this thread has really turned into a train wreck. I get this feeling that some people here have gotten a little callous and bitter. Not judging anyone, okay...just an observation.

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Is there a way to delete a thread that you start ?

Many models the pulley can be easily accessed by removing the plate over the f/w shifter between the legs. You are right on top of it. Other models you had to come upon from underneath. Put up a picture of the whole mower from a distance.

jpokerwinski said:

Is there a way to delete a thread that you start ?

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i believe only moderators have that option. But I am kind of new to lawmowerforum and only starting using the forum several months ago and never bothered to look at administrative stuff. for what it's worth my experience has been super...everyone has always been helpful and patient..rivets and bertmobile are particularly very good at how they help with problems and have very good and effective advice. I just think this is one of those misplaced expectation and assumptions...but it doesn't matter....I just hope this place doesn't turn into reddit.

Fish said:

Many models the pulley can be easily accessed by removing the plate over the f/w shifter between the legs. You are right on top of it. Other models you had to come upon from underneath. Put up a picture of the whole mower from a distance.

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Here is the mower Fish

Fish said:

Many models the pulley can be easily accessed by removing the plate over the f/w shifter between the legs. You are right on top of it. Other models you had to come upon from underneath. Put up a picture of the whole mower from a distance.

Click to expand...

Fish said:

Many models the pulley can be easily accessed by removing the plate over the f/w shifter between the legs. You are right on top of it. Other models you had to come upon from underneath. Put up a picture of the whole mower from a distance.

Click to expand...

Fish said:

Many models the pulley can be easily accessed by removing the plate over the f/w shifter between the legs. You are right on top of it. Other models you had to come upon from underneath. Put up a picture of the whole mower from a distance.

Click to expand...

Here ya go

Fish said:

Many models the pulley can be easily accessed by removing the plate over the f/w shifter between the legs. You are right on top of it. Other models you had to come upon from underneath. Put up a picture of the whole mower from a distance.

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here ya go

Pull the plate & take pictures, we can all be on the same page, Thanks.

Th

STEVES said:

Pull the plate & take pictures, we can all be on the same page, Thanks.

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ete is no plate. That’s part of the problem

Pull the rear fender assembly off, a little work but will save time & have good access. Or drain gas & flip up on back end.

Pull the rear fender assembly off, a little work but will save time & have good access. Or drain gas & flip up on back end.

135C452E000 (1995)​

Looked up as guess by year, looks like no plate.

I cannot tell much from the pic, but the panel I have circled should be held on with 2 screws, if so, remove them. The forward/reverse lever should be in the center. If not, see if you can take a better pic of that area.

picture under seat & front head on.

jpokerwinski said:

My MTD mower stopped going into higher speeds. It used to go to all 7.
Recently I tightened the brake adjuster nut. Could over tightening it be the problem or should I look elsewhere
Jim

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J I ask this queston a week ago and no response To answer your question yes if you adjust the brake it will change the speed setting.Check the brake pad my need changing

Does that tractor have a F N R shifter on the floor board in front of the seat and a 1 through 7 speed shifter on the right hand rear fender??? (YES or NO)
If you will post up couple pictures and the 7 speed shifter area for forward and reverse I probably can steer you to a owners manual that tell how to do adjustments. I have several manuals on file but need little bit of info to find you a adjustments manual.


Adjust the brake on that rig with a 1/2 inch wrench and just a 1/4 turn off will be the difference in Ok and too tight. Leave both hind wheel on the ground when adjusting the brake and when it's too tight the tractor will be hard to pus, then back of 1/2 turn and push test. The adjustment is critical for brake-no brake

Back the adjuster nut off 1 turn and see if it gets up to full speed.
It's quite common on that type that when the variiator belts get worn they won't act right.
Sometimes you can take your heel and pull back on the clutch brake lever and get it to go faster when the belts need replaced. They have to be replaced as a pair.
You should always kill the engine with the shifter in N and the clutch released so as the variator will get all speeds.
One guy posted the reset procedure, like start the engine place the shifter in Neutral and then slowly release the clutch.
Do not pay any attention if both 5,6, and 7 are about same spped of travcel.
Main thing is that 1-3 pull good with no belt slip up a slight grade.