New Project .......

Lizardskeep

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So much for that idea .......... tractor won't even try to move under power. Guess I will have to pull the VD pulley and see where we go from there.
 

Fish

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Yeah, bored here..... Why would you suspect the variable pulley? Jack the farker up and turn the pulley on the rear end and tell us what happens! Then turn it in the other direction! And then do it with some resistance on turning the pulley. The variable speed pulley is not driven by magic!!!!
 

Lizardskeep

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I know Fish. It's sad but this rookie lawnmower mechanic fell victim to assuming he knew what was wrong, but today I proved once and for all that there's ............... not a dang thing wrong with that variable drive pulley.

Every since I started this project I've tried to make that pulley be broke for some reason and missed a couple of obvious things that would have told me differently. While taking the belts off the VD pulley I discovered that the arm the tension/idler puller is mounted on was frozen and locked in place. This is why the tractor wouldn't move under power .... the belt was loose on the VD pulley. I guess I should have noticed this before, but dumb ***** me was too busy trying to pin the blame on the VD Pulley. Duh.

Anyway, I freed up, cleaned and lubed the pivot point, put the belts back on and drove the tractor around the pasture. Works fine. Lesson learned.

The picture shows the idler pulley and the pivot point.

mtd_pulley.jpg


Now that it will move, I need to do some engine work on it. The engine runs but not real well. I know (here we go again) the carb. is probably the main problem. I will tear it down for cleaning and inspection but I don't know how much farther I should go with the engine. I was thinking about pulling the heads and checking the valves but is that really necessary if the carb. straightens out the engine?

Your opinion would be appreciated.
 
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Fish

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Dang... Engine???? Let me regroup....
 

Lizardskeep

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Yup, engine .......... now that the running gear is working properly it's time to straighten out that terrible sounding engine.

Since it sat in a barn for the last four years or so gathering dust, and black widows, the carburetor is probably gunked up. It does run, but it has to be chocked and the rpm is very low.

I'm getting ready to go pull it now and start dissembling it. Just hoping a good cleaning will take care of the problem.
 
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