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Hi all,

So, my 22" Toro Recycler mower, model # 20334, has lost power to one wheel, the left side. This thing is rear wheel drive; if I lift the mower off the rear wheels, and engage the throttle, both wheels still spin. However, as soon as it is on the ground, it makes a terrible grinding noise and only the right wheel drives the machine forward. Any ideas what the problem might be? Thanks in advance!

Tony

Take the wheel off and look at the gear on the wheel. Bet it may be stripped.

Hey, thanks Rivets... I will give it a shot and see how it looks. Thanks for the response!

Tony

That was in fact the problem... the gear on the wheel is stripped to hell. The thing is, I brought it in last summer to have the same problem looked at, and they replaced the wheel... and then it stripped again, in no time. I ordered a new wheel, and a replacement sprocket, hoping that will fix the problem; the sprocket looks unevenly worn compared to the "good" side. Thoughts? Thanks.

Tony

You need to make sure there is no slop on the shaft bearing which will cause the gear not to fully mesh with the wheel gear, that is likely the problem, and one that the first shop should have fixed in the first place, which would be #10 in the pic.

Thanks, Fish, I'll check that out too.

So, I got my new parts in today, which included a new wheel and a new 12 tooth gear. I was able to take it apart and put it back together, and it drives okay. BUT... I noticed when I was trying to pull it backwards that the wheel didn't turn. So I took it apart again, this time assembling without the wheel covers, so I could see what was going on. It appears that the gears don't quite mesh properly, and that every once in a while they line up just wrong and the wheel stops turning--or, in the case of it moving forward, the metal gear just rips the top off the plastic gear. I can't for the life of me figure out why this is happening, and only on the one side; I compared the two sides, and I can't see any difference. I took a video of the gears jamming, but I don't know if it is clear enough. Thanks for the help!

Fish, I wonder if this is related to what you were saying? I don't see anything wrong with that piece, but maybe it is something a visual inspection won't show?

I wonder if something got bent? My neighbor borrowed it last year, and that's when the problems started.

Tony

I am not real familiar with the model you have, but when you have the wheel off, the drive gear should rotate and click in one direction, and lock when trying to turn in the other, from your video, that doesn't look to be the case.

Not being able to pull the mower back is caused by either having the cable too tight or the gear not meshing. As Fish said check to see if you have pay between the wheel and the axle bolt. Bolt may be worn causing the problem.

Rivets said:

Not being able to pull the mower back is caused by either having the cable too tight or the gear not meshing. As Fish said check to see if you have pay between the wheel and the axle bolt. Bolt may be worn causing the problem.

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I did try loosening the cable, but that didn't seem to be the issue. The problem is definitely the gears not meshing properly. When you say "play between the wheel and the axle bolt," in which direction do you mean? It definitely moves horizontally (in the direction of the axle) quite a bit; I will shoot another video later this afternoon in order to show what I mean. Thanks for the help!

Tony

Okay, so I've attached a video showing the play in the axle... In the meantime, I discovered what I believe to be at least part of the problem. In the two pictures I've attached, labeled "good side" and "bad side", you will notice that the bad side isn't quite flush; it seems that something did in fact get bent, probably when my neighbor was rough-housing the mower into the trunk of his car. Something clearly needs to get bent back--but I'm not sure what, and how. Ideas? Thanks again!

Oh, and I've put the bad wheel back on, so as not to ruin the good one. I've gotten along so far with one-wheel drive, I can probably make it through the rest of the summer.

Tony

Nah, I doubt that the up and down movement would damage any gear teeth, I would suggest removing the wheel and the gear, and look for a bent shaft on the trans, or a bent wheel bolt.

Screw the wheel bolt back in and look for a wobble as you turn the bolt in, and also find a way to rotate the trans axle while you look at it and look for any wobble there.

Fish said:

Nah, I doubt that the up and down movement would damage any gear teeth, I would suggest removing the wheel and the gear, and look for a bent shaft on the trans, or a bent wheel bolt.

Screw the wheel bolt back in and look for a wobble as you turn the bolt in, and also find a way to rotate the trans axle while you look at it and look for any wobble there.

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Okay thanks I will try that.

All you have to do is put the wheel bolt through the wheel and spin it. The wheel should spin freely on the bolt, with no wobble. Make sure the bolt is clean. Do this with both the good and bad wheels. Any wobble is going to affect the meshing of the metal drive gear, to the plastic wheel gear. Which one do you thing is going to give out first? If the shoulder bolt (wheel bolt) wobbles in the new wheel, you either have a worn bolt or bad wheel.

ptownnative said:

I did try loosening the cable, but that didn't seem to be the issue. The problem is definitely the gears not meshing properly. When you say "play between the wheel and the axle bolt," in which direction do you mean? It definitely moves horizontally (in the direction of the axle) quite a bit; I will shoot another video later this afternoon in order to show what I mean. Thanks for the help!

Tony

Click to expand...

For the record, often this will happen if the axle is bent - the pinion gear centerline and the axle centerline must be parallel, and the correct distance from each other for the length of the axle. If the axle is bent, neither are met. Simply bend the axle straight - probably needs to be bent toward, or in the direction of, the small pinion gear. This will engage the teeth more tightly and properly transfer load from the driving pinion gear to the wheel gear. Otherwise there is not enough engagement of the teeth, and the softer plastic wheel teeth can easily strip.

You do realize you posted to a thread that is almost THREE YEARS old? I think the OP has probably figured it out by now.
Just an FYI.
Peace Out.

Mark, that may be, but I now have the same problem and appreciate any and all comments here.