Export thread

Old GTS5 blade won't engage.

#1

C

crazy charlie

Has been the most reliable mower ever.Always starts 1st pull and always engages blade when lever is pulled back.Worked fine
on last use before winterizing.Started yesterday on 1st pull after being stored since Nov. All seemed normal but blade would not engage.
I did notice that while warming up the motor kinda bogged down a bit when trying to engage the blade.seems like something has decided
to bind up while in storage.Need your experience please.Charlie


#2

C

crazy charlie

Maybe I will post a pic ?? I know someone here is familiar with this issue.Charlie


#3

S

slomo

Great mower. Too bad the clutch sounds like she is soured. Might see if you can take it apart and clean her up. I have no clue if that is possible. Perfectly good mower and some silly clutch fails. I never buy pushers with blade brakes for this reason. Good luck with it.


#4

R

Rivets

When was the last time the belt was changed? I’m guessing that it is time to replace it. Please post the model and serial numbers, I should be able to find you a part number and service manual. Slomo, if you knew a little more about the GTS models, you would know they do not have a clutch.


#5

C

crazy charlie

Thanks guys!! I think I remember the silver id tag coming off last fall while washing it but I will have a look.
The handle operation is one I have never seen before on any mower.Where is easiest access to the belt??
I am leaning towards


#6

D

Douglas Lee

Does it have a control cable, or linkage?
Thanks,
Doug Lee
*


#7

C

crazy charlie

Douglas Lee said:
Does it have a control cable, or linkage?
Thanks,
Doug Lee
*
Click to expand...
Trying to post pics.There are 3 cables at the left side of the handle.One goes as throttle and the other 2 go the mechanism
that engages the blades.There are also what looks to be adjustment nuts in the middle of the 2 cables.

Attachments





#8

C

crazy charlie

Douglas Lee said:
Does it have a control cable, or linkage?
Thanks,
Doug Lee
*
Click to expand...

Attachments





#9

C

crazy charlie

handle

Attachments





#10

C

crazy charlie

Found the tag

Attachments





#11

C

crazy charlie

slomo said:
Great mower. Too bad the clutch sounds like she is soured. Might see if you can take it apart and clean her up. I have no clue if that is possible. Perfectly good mower and some silly clutch fails. I never buy pushers with blade brakes for this reason. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...
I should do that however I am apprehensive to remove the cover with pull cord as I am not the best
at putting things back together they way they originally were.Extra parts etc...lol. I usually hit entire mower with leaf blower when done and sometimes hit everything with garden hose and leave it in the sun to dry out.


#12

S

slomo

Rivets said:
Slomo, if you knew a little more about the GTS models, you would know they do not have a clutch.
Click to expand...
Like this one you mean?
1743619985820.png
Or this one?
1743620012539.png
Maybe this one?
1743620044686.png


#13

S

slomo

Or this one Rivets?
1743620085882.png

Final answer here. Notice BBC stands for blade brake clutch.

1743620128456.png


#14

S

slomo

THAT is one tank of a mower. Wish they would make these again.


#15

R

Rivets

Here is the service manual for those drive systems, but I don’t recommend trying to work on it unless you have a better than average mechanical ability. https://www.toro.com/getpub/22446


#16

C

crazy charlie

slomo said:
THAT is one tank of a mower. Wish they would make these again.
Click to expand...
Yes this badboy was built to last and still going strong.Just have to figure out why the blade engagement went straight from working to not working. I will try to figure it out .Thanks!! Charlie


#17

C

crazy charlie

Rivets said:
Here is the service manual for those drive systems, but I don’t recommend trying to work on it unless you have a better than average mechanical ability. https://www.toro.com/getpub/22446
Click to expand...
Thanks, Im just gonna look at the simple stuff.Maybe take off the back cover to see how the cable works under there.I wouldn't want to make anything worse. I like this old girl ,she is built like my high school girlfriend....Like a brick S**thouse!! Lol


#18

D

Douglas Lee

Some times the cables get sticky/rusty with age, maybe introducing a couple of drops of oil or a spray lube to the exposed cable will let them slide as they should.
Thanks,
Doug Lee
*


#19

kbowley

kbowley

Rivets said:
When was the last time the belt was changed? I’m guessing that it is time to replace it. Please post the model and serial numbers, I should be able to find you a part number and service manual. Slomo, if you knew a little more about the GTS models, you would know they do not have a clutch.
Click to expand...
They most certainly do have a blade clutch/brake.


#20

T

TobyU

crazy charlie said:
Has been the most reliable mower ever.Always starts 1st pull and always engages blade when lever is pulled back.Worked fine
on last use before winterizing.Started yesterday on 1st pull after being stored since Nov. All seemed normal but blade would not engage.
I did notice that while warming up the motor kinda bogged down a bit when trying to engage the blade.seems like something has decided
to bind up while in storage.Need your experience please.Charlie
Click to expand...
Well you've got a cable that when you push your top lever down and then go to pull it up will be under tension so if that still feels normal then it's likely your belt or the pulley in The idler assembly underneath.
Just take the plastic cover off from underneath but try to soak the bolts well before you do it with PB blaster or something maybe overnight and soak them three or four times because they often like to stick in the aluminum deck and they can rest off and break etc and you don't want that.

Once you get the cover off you can clean up everything underneath and inspect the belt which likely needs to be replaced anyways because it is a wear item that will eventually give you reduced blade action even when things are adjusted properly.
There is also a pulley down there on an idler that gets pulled into place to tighten up the belt and the bearing in that can get stiff or damaged.
I don't remember off the top of my head if you can pop out the bearing seals in that one to clean it and we grease it like you can on the plastic pulleys on the Husqvarna all-wheel drive mowers and walk behinds but check that before you go buy a new pulley if yours is tight.

Other than that it's just having a good non-worn out belt and making sure everything is clean it's all about making sure everything moves freely especially the idler pulley arm that pivots at its mounting location and sometimes that needs to be lubricated too.

Then once it's all back together with a new belt you should adjust your cable which is done on the left side of the mower from the one half inch head bolt but again soak that one and be very cautious when you slightly loosen it and then soak it again and tighten it back up like only barely moving it.
Little bit multiple times and work it back and forth multiple times so you're not forcing anything or damaging any threads in the aluminum when you go to loosen it up to adjust the cable.


#21

kbowley

kbowley

crazy charlie said:
Has been the most reliable mower ever.Always starts 1st pull and always engages blade when lever is pulled back.Worked fine
on last use before winterizing.Started yesterday on 1st pull after being stored since Nov. All seemed normal but blade would not engage.
I did notice that while warming up the motor kinda bogged down a bit when trying to engage the blade.seems like something has decided
to bind up while in storage.Need your experience please. Charlie
Click to expand...
Charlie, flip the mower onto its right side and check the clutch visibly, and check for any side slop by grabbing the blade as well as disconnecting the spark plug and rotating the blade. Does it turn by hand? Next, use a bungy cord to hold the blade engagement arm in the engaged position and rotate the blade...the engine should turn with the blade


#22

H

Honest Abe

is the brake releasing properly....?


#23

C

crazy charlie

Thanks guys.Thanks Toby for the step by step instructions.Thats exactly what I need....step by step.I
will pressure wash the underdeck and soak any bolts before any wrenching.Charlie


#24

C

crazy charlie

kbowley said:
Charlie, flip the mower onto its right side and check the clutch visibly, and check for any side slop by grabbing the blade as well as disconnecting the spark plug and rotating the blade. Does it turn by hand? Next, use a bungy cord to hold the blade engagement arm in the engaged position and rotate the blade...the engine should turn with the blade
Click to expand...
Good top Kbowley!!! Thanks.I know for sure that the blade does turn by hand with some friction noise when not engaged.


#25

R

Rivets

You can call it a clutch, but if you look closely you will see that it nothing more than a CV drive where the more tension you put on the handle, the faster the unit will drive and the blade will engage with very little tension on the handle. Take a look at the manual I posted earlier to see how this works. If it seems to be going slower, the most common cause would be a worn belt or bad idler pulley.


#26

C

crazy charlie

Looks like my under deck cover is metal.Couldnt find my PB blaster so I used Seafoam.I will spray it a few times and try to loosen in a few days.Looks relatively clean though.Guess I should have my map torch on hand just in case.Charlie

Attachments





#27

C

crazy charlie

kbowley said:
Charlie, flip the mower onto its right side and check the clutch visibly, and check for any side slop by grabbing the blade as well as disconnecting the spark plug and rotating the blade. Does it turn by hand? Next, use a bungy cord to hold the blade engagement arm in the engaged position and rotate the blade...the engine should turn with the blade
Click to expand...
The blade turned relatively freely both ways.No engine movement with engagement arm pulled to handle.Charlie


#28

kbowley

kbowley

crazy charlie said:
The blade turned relatively freely both ways.No engine movement with engagement arm pulled to handle. Charlie
Click to expand...
Either the clutch is worn, or the cable needs to be adjusted to further engage the clutch. I would try to snug up (shorten) the cable via the adjustment on the cable first. Let me know, okay? You may need some Liquid Wrench to soak the threads/nut on the cable adjustment nut.


Footer Links 1

Top