Lowe's (MTD) Tractor stuck in gear

warpwar

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May 6, 2022
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It's a 1994 Lowes (MTD) Garden Tractor 144q848h062

It has a high/low speed transmission with the variable pulley belt drive system.

I replaced both drive belts with oem (it was having issues with the speed adjustment), but in the process of doing that it became stuck in gear.
Yesterday I was able to somehow get it out of high, but then into reverse, which it is now stuck in.

The only thing I did differently from normal shifting through this was doing it without the shift plate cover on the tractor (the metal plate that has the shift pattern cut-out).

I had the tractor jacked up w/back wheels off of the ground & took the belt off of the large transmission pulley, I tried moving the wheels and pulley to try to find a "sweet spot" to get it out of gear but it didn't work.

The shifter doesn't feel broken, it has the usual amount of play, it just doesn't want to go out of gear, and I'm afraid of breaking it if I put any more force on it.

Did I do something wrong, or is there something I'm missing?
What should I try next?

Thank You.
 

Rivets

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Mar 11, 2012
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First thing to do is check to see if the belts are routed correctly. Second is to check to see if the bake is actually allowing the drive belt to loosen to allow shifting.
 
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