Well, I pulled the rt rear weel and disasembled the brake caliper to find that one brake pad was missing entirely and the other one was worn down. Also, the pushrods that actuate the clamping action,were frozen in the the caliper body. With the help of PB Blaster, the best penatrant I have ever used, and a pin punch, I was able to free them up,and clean and grease them. I called parts direct to order new pads and the rep had a hard time finding them. Finally, she said she had them and I placed an order. It came to $15.50 with shipping and was supposed to arrive in 4 days.
They eventually arrived 7 days later and my lawn was 5" tall in spots. I opened the package to find that instead of pads, I had 2 thin sheet metal backer plates for the active pad.(Only 1 required). I called parts direct and got a better rep who found the correct parts, discounted them,expidited shipping, refunded the first charge, and told me to keep the backer plates. Cost,$7.95. Meanwhile the lawm is growing. I went to the NAPA store and asked for brake pad material.No luck.Next, I went to an indy garage and was given a take off pad with plenty of meat left on it. I went home and chisled off the shoe material and traced out the sears pad. Luckily, This stuff hacksaws, grinds, and files easily. I glued the backerplate on the back of the active pad and reassembled. It felt like I had a good amountof pedal, so I put the wheel back on and took it for a spin. It stopped beter than it ever had before! I really don't know how the clutch/brake mechanism works but the clutch function seemed improved also. I topped off the tank,checked the oil,and mowed my 2 1/2 acres of "hay". I'll keep the sears pads for
spares.
Chris