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Greetings all. Got a 2002 (I think based on serial number 022004d002845) LT1000 model 917.273401 with a B&S 18HP ybsxs.5012vp 274826. Got it on craigslist for 100 bucks back in October. Came with the bagger and the guy even delivered. Figured how can I possibly go wrong! He thought it had a head gasket leak so I figured it should be fixable. He only thought that because he smelled burning oil last time he used it. Thing started up for him fine and it drove around fine. We tested before shaking on the deal.

Fast forward to today and I am doing the following: Changing the oil (got almost 2 quarts of black gritty oil out, think there is probably not a leak, just not taken care of) got a new filter coming (man those are pricey) new spark plug, new fuel filter, new prefilter for the airfilter.

I went to push it to the middle of my garage since I already drained the gas and the push pull rod was not disengaging the wheels. Each rear wheel wanted to spin in a opposite direction. Which I think is how it is supposed to go. Once I lifted the back a bit I was able to pull it backwards with the right rear wheel dragging just a bit. So I think the push pull is not properly working.

I pull off the back plate and the first thing I notice is that the push pull rod does not seem to actually do anything. It is attached via spring to a piece of metal and is just sitting there. Is it in the right place?


I also feel the drive belt is very loose. I can cross the two sides over each other easily. Here is a shot looking towards the front:



I will be clearing off all the grass before using it. And I am doing all of this work before trying to get the engine to run! But with everything changed, should be fine.

I do have a downloaded pdf of the correct manual but not seeing what I am needing.

Another thing I saw, I volt metered the battery which is only a few years old and got 12 volts, but when I turned the key to headlights, they did not come on. Do they only come on when the engine is running? I didn't start it since the plug is out, oil drained and such. I probably will not get a chance to finish until this coming weekend. But weather here is in the 40's and had a inch of snow last night.

Thanks in advance for the help.

the bypass lever is hooked up correctly, but sometimes when it isn't used for a period of time it will stick. You may need to manually move the lever a few times to get it freed up. Make sure the belt is on correctly, and I believe on those if you push down the brake pedal it released the belt. So check that out also. Most likely you have the charging system that only powers the headlights with the engine is running.

ILENGINE said:

the bypass lever is hooked up correctly, but sometimes when it isn't used for a period of time it will stick. You may need to manually move the lever a few times to get it freed up. Make sure the belt is on correctly, and I believe on those if you push down the brake pedal it released the belt. So check that out also. Most likely you have the charging system that only powers the headlights with the engine is running.

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So I shouldn't have had the parking brake on? Ok that's done.

For the rod, I am not seeing any lever. Just a metal bracket bolted to the frame.

That double bend flat piece of metal with the end of the spring hooked into the hole at the top should move. That is the bypass for the tranny so you can roll the mower. It is most likely stuck. the other rod coming from the front of the mower and going through the hole in the lever with the spring to the front of the mower, is the parking brake.

Lift the rear of the mower off the gtound and support it on some sort of axel stands.
If you can turn the wheels by hand with the bypass engaged and feel a heavy drag on the wheels when the bypass is dissengaged then the bypass is functioning properly.
If one wheel turns forward and the other turns backwards then the parking brake is engaged.
Remove the right hand wheel.
You will see the brake rod passing through a spring then a lever.
Behind this lever is a small 4" disc brake
This lever is not returning fully and releving the pressure on the disc
Get some one to work the brake pedal while you watch it.
The lever will go down to what looks like a bridge with 3 bolts on it.
The middle is the adjustment and the outer two hold the brake caliper on.
remove the outer 2 bolts and pull it off, be careful as the disc pad will drop out and there is usually a packing piece behind it and 2 pins that actually push the pad onto the brake disc.

Now you need to clean all the crud off and behind the disc.
If you see the whole disc with nothing in front of it then slide it off the splined shaft again being careful not to loose the rear pad which will also drop out and may also have a packing piece behind it.
If the bypass lever is blocking the disc, do not pull it forward as the rear pad will drop off and it is a bitch to get it back in if you can not side the disc off the shaft.

The 2 pins that push the brake pads should slide freely in & out so clean them & lube them very lightly lube the centre pivot also lightly work it back and forth then reassemble and check the brake applies & releases.
You have now saved yourself $ 60 to $ 100 service call.

Try not to undo the center nut because if you do you will need to adjust the brake which is a lot trickier than it appears because the same pedal applies the brake and removes the tension on the drive belt and the brake can not come on till the belt is loose enough to slip otherwise you will start eating belts.

Not to the drive belt.
if you can not turn the belt without the engine turning over when the brake is up and the belt slips over the engine pulley easily when the brake pedal is down then the belt is properly adjusted. If not then adjust the position of the fixed pulley mid way next to the one that moves when you work the brake.
Check these two pulleys for flat spots and bearings for free spinning, if slightly suspect replace then they are not expensive.
While you are down there check the entire length of the belt for splits, cracks and thin spots which will indicate a replacement is required.

Ok. Lifted and rotated the tires. Spun opposite directions. Found where the bracket should spin (I think) and cleaned it out and sprayed with wd40. Removed bolt and put back it to get it good. If this is supposed to turn, still frozen. Wheels spun without resistance.

Took off the right side tire and inspected the brake. Went to remove the bolts and some idiot secured them with red loctite. Pop goes the bolt head. Well what's done is done. Pop the other one. Cleaned that off.

Found that with caliper removed, wheels still spin opposite directions.

It's going to have to wait a week before I get the caliper drilled out.

Here is what I did

Jim1590 said:

Here is what I did

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If the brake rotor doesn't move freely on the splined shaft look forward to possibly making a puller. Oh the joys of owning equipment that wasn't ever lubed.

I was able to take the rotor right off without a problem. Found a new brake housing on Sears part direct for 17 shipped. Should be here next week sometime by their estimate.

Figured adjusting the brake to get it right will be easier than getting the bolts out.

Back to the push rod. Anything I can do to loosen it up? Already sprayed with wd40. Right now I am spinning the wheels freely and the disconnect rod is "in" which should be drive mode I think. Course wheels are spinning opposite but I can probably assume I am not cutting grass with this thing right now.

The bracket I am guessing should rotate on the bolt that was posted above. That rotation should be easy and free?

Thanks everyone for the help.

With the weels off the ground they will spin in opposite directions exactly the same as your car wheels will spin in oppose direction when off the ground.
However it now should roll foreward & back ward when the wheels are on the ground.
or if spin the drive pulley the wheels should now turn together.
While you wait for the bits to turn up drop the mower & see how it works, let us know.
Quite common for the bolt heads to break off .
You have a steel bolt in an aluminium casting that gets a lot of corrosive grass fluids shot all over it.

And although I did not mention it by now you most likely realised the disc needs to be able to move on the spline as it is floating disc type brake.
The splines are another place I like to use Tri-Flow as a lube, just 1 or 2 drops

So here is where I am at.

Removed the brake casing, have new one coming rather than drill and tap the bolts. How do I get the turning mechanism off the top? Is the bolt reverse threaded or do I just turn to the stop then apply torque?
Also, the spline will only spine when tractor is driving, correct? Cause it is jot moving with the wheels.

In air, wheels spun opposite directions, brake off obviously. Put the tractor back on the ground with the brake spline fully exposed, rotor sitting on a table. I can push forward and the tractor will move with some resistance. Will not push in reverse (should it?) Need to lift and pull to bring back to work area.

Bracket for push pull still appears frozen where it would be if the rod was retracted in drive position. I am imagining that the bracket should turn freely maybe 45 degrees or so towards the back which disengages everything. Then will spring back forward to its present position for driving. If some one can please confirm that so I know if I need to keep working on freeing that up.

Still need to finish the engine this coming weekend and the I can just test drive the thing to see if it all works.

Thanks

Got the new brake casing. How do I remove the rotating pin that actuates the brake from the old one?

Also the holes for the bolts are not threaded, I wonder if the loctite was used to "cement" the bolts in place. What should it be?

Jim1590 said:

So here is where I am at.

Removed the brake casing, have new one coming rather than drill and tap the bolts. How do I get the turning mechanism off the top? Is the bolt reverse threaded or do I just turn to the stop then apply torque?
Also, the spline will only spine when tractor is driving, correct? Cause it is jot moving with the wheels.

In air, wheels spun opposite directions, brake off obviously. Put the tractor back on the ground with the brake spline fully exposed, rotor sitting on a table. I can push forward and the tractor will move with some resistance. Will not push in reverse (should it?) Need to lift and pull to bring back to work area.

Bracket for push pull still appears frozen where it would be if the rod was retracted in drive position. I am imagining that the bracket should turn freely maybe 45 degrees or so towards the back which disengages everything. Then will spring back forward to its present position for driving. If some one can please confirm that so I know if I need to keep working on freeing that up.

Still need to finish the engine this coming weekend and the I can just test drive the thing to see if it all works.

Thanks

Click to expand...

The bypass rod only turns a very small about, 30 deg rotation tops.
The brake is conncted to the garbox forward of the diff so it works independently of the rear wheels
For a car ananology you can think of it as a locking mechanism for the tailshaft if that helps you visualise how things work.

The center nut undose and the bolt is either welded to the brake lever or a captive bolt.
So with the nut off the whole thing should push out backwards.
The 2 little steel pins that are pushed in by the brake lever and in turn push the pad onto the disc are nt retained and should push right through.

Got the brake back together, changed oil, filters, plug.

Started it up and ran fine. Put into gear and it moved both directions. But started to belch white smoke. Didn't die (although I shut it off quickly).

Head gasket?

Well done with the brakes & tranny.
Let it run for a little while to see if the smoke clears away if you have been jacking up the mower you might have some oil in the exhaust.
Check the oil level, smell it and feel it between your fingers if it smells a bit like fuel or feels thin change it, a couple of times and use real mower oil.

Some Inteks seem to have a head gasket problem and they need to be changed almost evey second season no matter what I do.
Othere have run 10 years without a problem. I can not make head nor tail of it but I rather think there was a couple of mould patterns that were not quite right.

Well the oil and gas were both drained when I did everything. Doubt I sloshed much around.

I did pull the gasket and there were a few bad spots. Cleaning it all now. Have a new gasket.

Any pointers on the rocker arm reassembly with positioning?

Thanks. Oh and the disconnect still is not working for pushing. Think it is pretty well jammed up. Problem for another time.

Thanks

Back to waiting. Was tightening the head gasket bolts to 20 ft lb as found on several YouTube videos and SNAP!

Will drill it out and get ALL new bolts.

Amazon has them for almost 8 each. Ouch. EBay 5 each. Will see if I can get locally for cheaper on monday.

Good thing the grass ain't growing yet.

Got the new gasket on. Everything is back together.

On the lifters, manual calls for 0.05 to 0.07 on exhaust, 0.03 to 0.05 intake.

Is 6 and 4 ok? Never set lifters before, I have them at right enough for resistance pulling out the blade.

Once I am sure on that, I will rtv the cover and let it sit for a day or two. Should have it running tomorrow night hopefully.

Then need to finish the transmission disconnect. Would like to be able to push it when needed.

Put it all together and started it up. Engine had a lot of stuttering and died.

Pretty sure I have the valve clearances wrong. Probably wrong because it was first time I did them.

Can someone walk me through the best way to set them?

Thanks in advance.