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I have a 17.5 HP, 42" 6 Speed Murray Select. I was working on a no crank/ no spark issue when I discovered that it is now stuck in gear. The gear was really hard to shift now it moves with total free play, no resistance. I don't know what happened as my son mows the lawn. I'm thinking the trans axle may be shot. How do I check? Could this be related to my no spark issue? I'm thinking maybe because it is stuck in gear. How do I get this thing to move again? Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Stringbender said:

I have a 17.5 HP, 42" 6 Speed Murray Select. I was working on a no crank/ no spark issue when I discovered that it is now stuck in gear. The gear was really hard to shift now it moves with total free play, no resistance. I don't know what happened as my son mows the lawn. I'm thinking the trans axle may be shot. How do I check? Could this be related to my no spark issue? I'm thinking maybe because it is stuck in gear. How do I get this thing to move again? Thanks in advance for your assistance!

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That linkage takes several 90 degree turns from the shifter handle.

Check all of these joints. One probably broke.

@shiftsuper

Thanks for the reply. I don't see any breaks in the linkage and the shaft to the trans axle moves accordingly as I move the shifter so I assume the linkage is fine. I did notice another safety switch that was not being depressed as I was looking at the linkage. So I put things back together in great anticipation that I had discovered the issue and held the shifter in place as I tried to start it. Unfortunately that does not appear to be the issue as I am still not seeing any spark and the engine will not start. I need a diagram to see how things are supposed to work.

The first thing to do is isolate the engine. there should be a wire (probably yellow) coming out from the engine that goes to either the G or I terminal on the ignition switch. disconnect that wire. now check for spark. if you have spark, it is a wiring issue on the mower. if still no spark, probably a coil.

transaxle - most of the time the hard shifting is due to the belt not disengaging for shipping. if there is still tension on the belt, it puts pressure on the gears and is hard or cannot shift. if it is forced, the shift fork probably will or has broken.

Mike_Goad said:

The first thing to do is isolate the engine. there should be a wire (probably yellow) coming out from the engine that goes to either the G or I terminal on the ignition switch. disconnect that wire. now check for spark. if you have spark, it is a wiring issue on the mower. if still no spark, probably a coil.

transaxle - most of the time the hard shifting is due to the belt not disengaging for shipping. if there is still tension on the belt, it puts pressure on the gears and is hard or cannot shift. if it is forced, the shift fork probably will or has broken.

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I tried to isolate as you suggested. I removed the switch and the only wires going to the G terminal were black. I removed those from the connector and put the switch back into place. Did not see any spark. Put the spark plug back in and it still won't start. I'm assuming it's a coil issue now.

As far as the trans axle goes I can not see where any of the linkage is broken and I don't know what you mean by "not disengaging for shipping".