Murray 42571x8d no longer goes in drive

[PJWhiskey]

I was mowing the yard, came to the bottom of a hill, pressed on the pedal and nothing happened. It wouldn’t go forward or reverse any longer. After some review, the tires move freely now, regardless if the parking break is on And regardless of the position of the automatic drive disconnect. I tried adjusting the clutch and the brake to no avail. the mower still pushes freely forward and back. I am Thinking I might want to replace the drive belt As it is cracked but apparently the belt is no longer available and I can’t find the belt length to see if there is a suitable replacement. Does the break have any impact on movement?

 

[Rivets]

Belt number should BS-37X106MA. BS means Briggs and Stratton, as Briggs now owns Murray. This part number should be available. If you can’t find it try Oregon part number 75-441.

 

[PJWhiskey]

Great. The Murray site sent me to Husqvarna. I will check it out.

 

[PJWhiskey]

So I installed the new belt (thanks for the new part number) but it is incredibly lose. It appeared to be about the same size as the one I removed, but it dangles and is so lose the stack pulley spins and the belt just sits there. I estimate the belt to have about 4” of slack. The same issue as the old belt I replaced. It was incredibly lose as well. I thought maybe as the pedal went down that the idler or v-idler pulley’s would take up the slack, but they don’t move. There doesn’t appear to be any tensioner or adjustments I can make to tighten the belt. It also doesn’t look like the drive pulley is supposed to move Backwards either To take up the slack. Based on the diagram, I don’t see anything I could have missed. Does it sound like the clutch needs adjusting? it doesn’t appear the break lever does anything either. the clutch rod simply slides through the clutch link hole. I think I adjusted that as well based on the manuals specs, but seems like something isnt right.

 

[Rivets]

Are you saying that the idler arm, which holds the idler V and flat pulleys, does not move? If that is the case then this is where you have to start. The part of the drive system should be taking up the belt slack and if I remember correctly, should have a spring attached to keep tension on the belt.

 

[PJWhiskey]

Are you saying that the idler arm, which holds the idler V and flat pulleys, does not move? If that is the case then this is where you have to start. The part of the drive system should be taking up the belt slack and if I remember correctly, should have a spring attached to keep tension on the belt.

I went back and reinstalled the whole clutch assembly and Moved the clutch spring down to lowest hole on the frame. the clutch plate started moving and the Belt started turning. So success there. When I Push down on the power pedal though, the Engine RPM’s went down and I heard an unpleasant sound I think in the gear box (not sure what it is called). I would equate the sound to plastic grinding gears. the drive pulley was spinning. I will add, it hasn’t liked going backwards for years. It would do it, but it was slow and when I’d first start the mower, reverse barely worked at all. Does this sound like a transmission replacement? low on fluid? I have watched videos that it is a sealed unit, but people have fixed issues, with a Pearson refill kit.

 

[Rivets]

Now I’m really confused? To my knowledge there is no drive clutch on that model? Can someone enlighten me?

 

[PJWhiskey]

Sorry, my lingo may not be exact. i have gone to the parts list to make sure I make more sense. I reset the idler assembly bracket and the clutch spring so the pulley now moves when you push the brake. This tightened up the motion drive belt so the drive pulley spins like it should. That all works now. When Pushing down on the throttle though in the area where the transaxle casing is, there is grinding of some sort And the lawnmower does not move. The lawnmower has the hydrostatic drive in it.

 

[Rivets]

Are you sure you have the bypass lever pushed in? If it came into the shop with these symptoms I would jack it up and put the rear end onjackstands . Then I would start it up and push the petal into forward and reverse several times. You said it has been sitting for some time, so I would test it with no pressure on the tranny.