I have a had this tractor for a couple years (second owner, ~200 hours on it) and recently this summer the shifting has occasionally been hard to move between gears (usually from fwd gears to N or R) but now is very hard to move between any gears. I had to replace brake pucks recently so had the wheel off, and could inspect parts closer. Everything looked to be in working order with the shifter/linkage and when the clutch was depressed the drive belt did not appear to be applying any pressure to the drive pulley. I removed the shift lever assembly from the shaft that enters the transmission case (shifter moved with no issue, so all linkage between is good/mobile) and it was similarly difficult to work the gears by working the bracket attached to the shaft. It seems like it is an issue inside of the case. I applied some WD40 to the shaft and it did seem to loosen up a bit, but still difficult to move through the gear sequence. Is it time to split the case and inspect closer or does anyone have other recommendations to try?
Sounds like it.
Not at all difficult to work on.
Box is held in by 6 bolts.
Try to get the make & model number off the tag on the box then give it a really good scrub.
The usual suspect is the shift keys they take a pounding.
Make sure you list the make & model number of the box if you come back for help as usually there will be more than one box used in any production year.
