Older ACE/MTD rider

[wheelie]

ACE/MTD 14.5 hp IC 7speed Deluxe
model..13AM673G033
Serial... 1D290B80145

I have no idea of the year.
I just acquired this mower and after mowing my approx 1 acre twice, One week apart I have only one problem.. Other than that it works perfect..

The Problem is: First gear does not work at all... 2nd gear will move the machine but with no power.. there is no noises made like squealing or grinding or knocking... third gear which is what I mow in, works fine as does 4th and 5th.. I have not tried 6th or 7th as the ground does not warrant it..
At this time I have no manual but I did read a bit of one on the MTD site, but found no answers..

Thanks For Any Help..

 

[ILENGINE]

ACE/MTD 14.5 hp IC 7speed Deluxe
model..13AM673G033
Serial... 1D290B80145

I have no idea of the year.
I just acquired this mower and after mowing my approx 1 acre twice, One week apart I have only one problem.. Other than that it works perfect..

The Problem is: First gear does not work at all... 2nd gear will move the machine but with no power.. there is no noises made like squealing or grinding or knocking... third gear which is what I mow in, works fine as does 4th and 5th.. I have not tried 6th or 7th as the ground does not warrant it..
At this time I have no manual but I did read a bit of one on the MTD site, but found no answers..

Thanks For Any Help..

Your mower was made on April 29, 2000. I would check the drive belts, they may be worn.

 

[wheelie]

Thanks for the information.. Sorry for time to reply... I will look for more info on those belts..

Not bad shape mower for a13 year old..

 

[wheelie]

Is there a such thing as a service manual for these mowers

 

[Carscw]

When the low speed and high speed stops working as they should then you need to replace both drive belts. When I get home I will give you the part numbers for the belts.

I have a ace/ MTD mower I still use mine is a 1990 Just blew my 3rd engine on it. Picked up a 24 hp for it

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))

 

[Carscw]

One thing to try is with the mower running put it in neutral and move the speed control lever from 1 to 7 one notch at a time then back down to 1

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))

 

[wheelie]

Ok I will give that a try... I have not tried high yet.. only been to 5th .. 3rd ,4th,and 5th all work fine... No 1st gear movement at all.. 2nd will move the tractor but you can stop it just by putting your foot on the ground and not really any force needed to do that.. I mow in third and it has plenty of power.. up slight hill, heavy grass (first cutting with this mower) and no offer to stall.. 2nd would have been nice to have had just for a better cut..

Sorry for the long winded reply but I try to give all info I can when asking for help..

One other thing.. I would like to try to find the mulch plug for this mower ..It came to me with out any bagger paraphernalia or the mulch plug and I don't like the discharge being wide open.. I don't really want or need a bagger either.. I would appreciate any tips or tricks on this..

 

[wheelie]

Ok to revive this... all higher gears work fine.. only problem is 1st and 2nd... I am getting a bit of mixed info from what I read here and a quick chat with my local lawnmower repair shop.. here it seems to be a belt and/or pulley problem.. shop says probable gear box problem... I am more inclined toward this site being on the right track.... I have been able to download the parts manual from MTD and that is some help in understanding what is involved..

.. Can somebody give me a bit of a walk though on how to access the belt and pulleys... and tell me what to look for..
I am pretty good mechanically as I do my own auto work.. fix my own push mowers and trimmers.. 28 year timber faller and always did my own chainsaw repairs. I just have never been into anything like this and would like to get it repaired before problems breed more problems starts kicking in..

ALSO... any ideas on a couple good outlets for parts for these older machines..

thank you now and again later..

specs again.

ACE/MTD 14.5 IC 42 inch cut
7 Speed Deluxe
Model 13AM673G033
Serial 1D290B80145

Problem... 1st and 2nd gear do not work... all other speeds do work fine and with plenty of speed or power depending.. no noticed slipping ..noises. etc in any selected speed setting.... ALL other mower functions work fine

 

[wheelie]

funny thing happened... I was mowing between back of my RV and the fence.. It is tight but have mowed several times without issue... well I was not paying enough attention and the RV has the spare tire mounted to the back bumper and as I passed through I was watching my distance to the fence and clutch pedal caught on the spare tire and pulled it way back for just a second.. The mower lurched forward in a much faster speed and the pedal came loose of the tire and I was going somewhat faster than my normal 3rd gear that I mow in.. I stopped and looked things over and saw no harm or differences except the pedal was back maybe a inch.. I got back on and started again in 3rd and it was back to normal and I keep mowing... I took a phone call break and went back to my mowing and I was going much slower than normal.. I looked at my gear lever and I had dropped it into 1st gear by mistake.. so hmm.. I tried 2nd and a slight speed up.. to third.. more speed up to what I have been used to.. Tried 4th and 5th and it gets up and goes... So now for whatever reason.. I have all my speeds and they have good power.. no slippy or anything..

Thanks for those that offered help and for the site.. I am sure I will be back..