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Hi all,
I've acquired a Craftsman ride on mower model 917. 273900 when I purcahsed some acreage here in arizona. The mower is very new and not used much but it recently stopped working. My worker was using it and all was good and he parked it. When he went back to use it the next day it won't go forward or in reverse. I looked it over and the engine starts and all the belts are in good condition. There doesn't seem to be any missing linkages or connections that I can see.
Please help me determine what is wrong by advising me how to diagnose problems like this on these mowers. Im fairly well mechanically inclined so hopefully we can nail this down quickly.
Thanks in advance for your comments.

The very first step is to examine the axle/transmission seals behind each wheel. Often times leaks are active while the mower is in use but not when parked. Most every Craftsman mower is actually an MTD which often times have a fully restored transmission when the oil in the axle is brought up to proper levels and the axle seal is corrected. UC-9iOjFuLSRw26Vh-GP7Nwg I have a Craftsman on my page.

I would start by pulling the bypass rod on the back and see if i could roll the mower back and forth to confirm the parking brake isn't stuck.

I can't tell what tranny you have but the picture resembles tuff torq. And Murraymower the 917 means it was made by Husqvarna not MTD.

ILENGINE said:

I would start by pulling the bypass rod on the back and see if i could roll the mower back and forth to confirm the parking brake isn't stuck.

I can't tell what tranny you have but the picture resembles tuff torq. And Murraymower the 917 means it was made by Husqvarna not MTD.

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Yes it rolls back and forth, the parking brake is not stuck on. Actually, it rolls back and forth with bypass rod in or out.
I also believe it is made by Husqvarna

If you can push & pull the mower easily with the mower in mow made then the tranny is shot.
My test for a bad tranny is to put it in gear on my tipping trailer.
If it rolls off easily and the belt is not slipping then the tranny is shot.

bertsmobile1 said:

If you can push & pull the mower easily with the mower in mow made then the tranny is shot.
My test for a bad tranny is to put it in gear on my tipping trailer.
If it rolls off easily and the belt is not slipping then the tranny is shot.

Click to expand...

Dang. Do you think it just went kaput or did we do something to it?
Also, is there a place I can buy and install a new one myself? it doens't look like it would be too incredibly difficult.

Looks like it.
Get under the machine and make sure that the control rod which is connected to the F-R pedal is in fact still connected to the tranny and that it is moving the control arm on the trans.
Look at the arm very closely to ensure it is moving the rod that goes into the trans case.
Pull the battery out and look at the top of the tranny
check that the input pulley on the top has not stripped out the very fine spline on the input shaft..

bertsmobile1 said:

Looks like it.
Get under the machine and make sure that the control rod which is connected to the F-R pedal is in fact still connected to the tranny and that it is moving the control arm on the trans.
Look at the arm very closely to ensure it is moving the rod that goes into the trans case.
Pull the battery out and look at the top of the tranny
check that the input pulley on the top has not stripped out the very fine spline on the input shaft..

Click to expand...

Shoot ok. So my mower has a F-N-R lever on the right side and it attaches to the side of the trans. Where it attaches is simply a groove on the lever and it doesn't seem to move the control arm on the trans. Do you know if it is supposed to move the control arm in and out or front to back?