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Product No. 960450052. Serial No. 042116A021156.

This is an approx 5 year old mower, I parked it in my shed last fall with no issues. I started it this week and it refuses to move forward or back. First off, it's not the key missing from a wheel issue. The control for allowing freewheeling seems to be stuck, will not pull out as far as usual. Cannot get it to enable freewheeling. I have jacked it up and the lever which the control attaches to moves freely, but I don't know if it is moving through it's full range. The wheels move freely when you rotate one, the other turns in the opposite direction. The wheels will not move when you try to turn both in the same direction. Can anyone suggest what I should check next?

Thanks, Dave.

Is parking brake off? Try spraying some Liquid Wrench on rod connections at backside of tractor to transaxle joints let it soak 10 minutes then see if you can pull rod out completely.
Need Model & Serial #'s from under seat, a picture will do. Remove deck to gain access to drive belt, idler pulleys for drive belt, & transaxle.

mechanic mark said:

Is parking brake off? Try spraying some Liquid Wrench on rod connections at backside of tractor to transaxle joints let it soak 10 minutes then see if you can pull rod out completely.

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Yes, parking brake is off. I never use it, but I did check. The freewheel connection at the transaxle end rotates freely, but only for about 20 degrees and then it hits a hard stop. I remembered today that when I replaced the battery a few weeks back, I had to move it to freewheel to get clearance to open the hood. It worked then, but I don't know if I pushed it back in. I have on other occasions left the control out and it has pulled in itself when starting to drive. Maybe I've caused something to jam this time.

I wanted to check the transaxle oil level, but can't find a dipstick or a filler. I also noticed today that the drive belt has many splits in it, so needs replacing.
I'm thinking to lower the transaxle down to get some better access. I've found 3 bolts each side which seem to be holding it in place. I've arrowed them in the attached picture

The parking brake is rusted on
The brake locks the layshaft which locks the diff so the wheels can only turn in the opposite directions

The RS800 doesn't use oil. It has grease in it. To check if low on grease, you operate the unit for 30 minutes and check the bottom of the transaxle o se if it is getting extra hot. If so then grease can be added. Normally you don't need to add grease even an axle grease is replaced.

Braking is done internally.

Now if the inversion linkage is out of adjustment the unit will not go into free wheel. Note if the plastic parts in the control set are worn it will cause problems Also there are small ball bearings that can rust up causing problems.

bertsmobile1 said:

The parking brake is rusted on
The brake locks the layshaft which locks the diff so the wheels can only turn in the opposite directions

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How can it rust on if it wasn't applied? How can I check this?

StarTech said:

The RS800 doesn't use oil. It has grease in it. To check if low on grease, you operate the unit for 30 minutes and check the bottom of the transaxle o se if it is getting extra hot. If so then grease can be added. Normally you don't need to add grease even an axle grease is replaced.

Braking is done internally.

Now if the inversion linkage is out of adjustment the unit will not go into free wheel. Note if the plastic parts in the control set are worn it will cause problems Also there are small ball bearings that can rust up causing problems.

Click to expand...

Is the inversion linkage something I can check and make the adjustment?

Fixed.

Drive belt had slipped from the engine pulley. Tractor now moves fwd and back, freewheel can be engaged once more.
In my research, I did find that General Transmissions, the maker of this transaxle, does have a repair manual with an excellent troubleshooting guide downloadable from their website.