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I have an old Ariens riding mower (model 96046? or 936037? too many numbers on the sticker) with a Peerless manual-shift 206 565 transaxle. Got it out a few weeks back to begin harvesting the lawn and it would not move. Here is the extent of my trouble-shooting expertise:
-- Put it in any fwd gear (6 to choose from) and I get no drive motion. Put it in reverse and ditto.
-- Clutch pedal/linkage moves freely and seems to be working properly. Drive belt has good tension and firmly rotates the big drive pulley on top of the transaxle.
-- Gearshift handle/linkage moves freely and seems to be working properly. Linkage and levers on the side of the transaxle move along with the chassis gearshift linkage from up front.
-- Rear wheels/tires spin freely in both fwd and rvrse with gear selector set in any fwd drive position. Normal rear drive operation would be for opposite wheel to spin in fwd direction if you spin the first side in reverse (some sort of Pos-i-traction or the like) but that doesn't happen, they both just free-wheel randomly.
-- Ariens is a big help: they want me to take it to a dealer. (I don't have any way to haul that monster down the highway.)
So my questions: did I miss a belt tension or something? did I miss some other lever or switch or control in the mechanicals? Is my ancient (20+ years old) transmission gummed up inside? What do I check to find out if the problem is on the chassis side or inside the transaxle?
Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
-Dave

Not likely
A few options com to mind
1) key in both axels broken or missing, very unlikely unless you removed both wheels receintly
2) SHift keys in the box broken, Highly likely particularly if some one has changed gears while moving.
3) Input shaft key / spline stripped , also very likely.

Remove the clutch belt and turn the input pulley by hand feel under it to check the shaft is turning . Do the same by turning both wheels and check the shaft.
The manual for it is on line everywhere listed as Tecumseh transmission manual .
Covers all of them.
parts are a bit erratic some time they are everywhere and some time nothing.
Shift keys are available NOS & Aftermarket because shifting while moving & breaking the keys is a very common mistake.
Probably due for a grease change as well.
I use 000 lithium grease from a tractor shop which is $ 40 for a 10 gallon bucket or you can pay $ 5 for a 2 oz tube because the same stuff goes in line trimmer heads .
Some new grease seals are probably a good idea too .

Dead simple box

bertsmobile1 said:

A few options com to mind
1) key in both axels broken or missing, very unlikely unless you removed both wheels receintly
.....

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I don't know much, but I know the keys HAVE TO BE inserted to get any drive torque to the rear wheels. And they were/are.

I appreciate the reply very much. You have given me something to work on tomorrow (it's gonna be pouring rain here anyway). Sounds like maybe you have done this stuff yourself once or twice.

The instructions for this Ariens say that I should switch gears while moving (they called it "Pop and Go"). I have usually tried to do this only jumping one or two speeds at a time. I also try to start out in 3rd or 4th in the first place, but kinda dislike doing wheelies if I start in 6th.

My cheap streak is showing here. I really don't want to pay a bunch of $$$$ for someone else to do a repair that I might be able to do myself, especially on an aged piece of equipment that could easily turn into a money pit. My "hire it done" cost would also include paying for someone to come out here in the country and load up this mower, and then deliver it again later; I estimate that part alone would add $100+ to the bill. And my cost cutoff point is when the repairs approach any significant portion of the cost of a new mower (a third? half?). If I can fix it myself for a couple hundred bux and a few hours of time (and LEARN something in the process) then I count myself waaaay ahead in the game.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll report back with what I find.

-Dave

Once you get the box open it will be obvious.
To prevent popping wheelies you back off the brake a little so it disconnect just before the tranny takes up.
The brake works on the layshaft which locks the diff if it has one or locks the box.
Usually the tranny takes up before the brake releases so it is the same s dropping your clutch with the other foot on the brake.
I have been able to smooth thigs out a little for some of my elderly customers but it was generally a case of backing off the clutch more than the brake

bertsmobile1 said:

........
3) Input shaft key / spline stripped , also very likely.

Remove the clutch belt and turn the input pulley by hand feel under it to check the shaft is turning . Do the same by turning both wheels and check the shaft.
.........

Click to expand...

I could not turn-the-pulley-and-check-the-input-shaft when the pulley was still in place because the pulley hub extends all the way down to the gearbox casing, leaving no part of the input shaft exposed but the end. But after pulling off the pulley, the key that locks the pulley to this shaft is clean and undamaged, and both slots (in the pulley and in the input shaft) are clean and undamaged. Turning the input shaft continues to seem disconnected from the wheel axles (gearbox output) and spins independently.

I have the gearbox/transaxle removed from the mower chassis, and have all 19 bolts removed. The two halves of the transaxle body seem like they were welded together. Haven't seen any sign of the two halves coming apart despite all kinds of poking and prying. Beginning to wonder if dynamite might be called for. Got any tips here?

Bertsmobile1 also said:
"Once you get the box open......"

I like how you phrased that. Subtle. Sneaky.

peerless also likes to hide a couple of bolts in the center of the transmission that you could of missed.And the RTV sealant can be a pain to separate sometimes.

ILENGINE said:

peerless also likes to hide a couple of bolts in the center of the transmission that you could of missed.

Click to expand...

Yeah, got 'em right off the bat. After digging/hosing all the dirt off the exterior, they were pretty noticeable. But thanks anyway

If you can hold on I’ll see if I can find the service manual for your unit. I’ll try tonight or it will have to wait until Wednesday.

I am trying to find my transaxle model in the Tecumseh manual, but having trouble matching up my mess with what I see in the manual. I think I may have what Tecumseh calls the MST 200 series. The ident label on the outside of the case says (Peerless) model H MST - 206 - 565, which doesn't seem to closely match up with anything else in the Tecumseh manual. My ident label also has a "D.O.M." (date of manufacture?) code that is 8311B - 0136; I am guessing this means my transmission was built in November of '83.

I scrubbed on the edges of the transaxle housing where the two halves meet and found a 1/2" long slot into that joint. I used an old screwdriver (which will never be the same) to pry the two halves apart and finally got the case opened. Now I am really lost---everything looks good to me, but I don't know what I am looking at. The oil (grease?) is dark brown and opaque. I plan to try to clean off gears and inside surfaces with some gasoline and look for damage, but some of these parts are supposed to slide along the internal shafts to change gears, I do not know what is supposed to move where or when or how, and at this point I'm a complete amateur.

I am off to look one more time for any sort of ident labels that might help me find the applicable pages in the manual.

You use the MST200 series service info

Pages 66-70 of this manual should help you. https://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Peerless-Tecumseh-Transmissions-Transaxles-Differentials-Gear-Boxs/

Rivets said:

Pages 66-70 of this manual should help you. https://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Peerless-Tecumseh-Transmissions-Transaxles-Differentials-Gear-Boxs/

Click to expand...

I am looking at pages 57 to 62 (for "MST 200") and the illustrations look like my hardware.

I probably listed the wrong pages.

Ah I see the problem. There is a at least two different manuals that cover the MST200. The K&T version has few pages. It only has 105 PDF pages (691218 no revision date) where the one Rivets is referring to has more PDF pages and the one I have the same section starts of 66 and goes to 71 [PDF pages 69-74] (691218 R 3/02). So Rivets is probably referring to the 3/02 revision manual plus he appears to overlooking the oil checking page, easy to do.

dufferDave said:

I am looking at pages 57 to 62 (for "MST 200") and the illustrations look like my hardware.

Click to expand...

If that is the trans you have the biggest weak part is the shift lever. There is a collar that moves to change gears. The shift fork engages it. Check to see if when you turn the shift input shaft it moves the shift collar.
Last one i changed was a few years ago. Had a hard time finding the part. There are 2 different levers. Old and new style. New style is stronger.

Monday afternoon status

Thanks to everybody for the instructions, hints, tips, and suggestions. I am reading them all.

Got the gearbox apart and tore down the shift shaft, all the way down to pieces. The shift keys looked just fine, barely any wear marks, no sign of cracks or other damage, still plenty springy, absolutely no broken pieces. That was a lot of work just to confirm that, but at least I can check off that box. Gearbox looks like it needed new oil anyway.

Before I put this back together, what parts should I get to replace the old stuff? I plan to get (at least) the oil seals, for both axles and the end of the brake shaft that penetrates the transaxle body. The brass bushings all seem in great condition, all are still smooth inside, fit tightly on the axles, and show very little wobble/freeplay when re-installed. Any other parts I should think about as long as I have it all torn open?

And I still don't know why the mower wasn't going into gear.

A bit late now but how do the rest of the shift linkages look
'If you got the stick on the box it is a moot point but if you have a shift lever on the guard or dash they can wear oval so don't actually move the shift lever at the box far enough to shift gears.
What is critical wear wise is the end float on the layshaft .
Select each gear by manually moving the shift collar and check that moving one shaft moves the other .
The long keys under the free rotating gears are the ones that break off so you end up with no drive

bertsmobile1 said:

'If you got the stick on the box it is a moot point but if you have a shift lever on the guard or dash they can wear oval so don't actually move the shift lever at the box far enough to shift gears.
........

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My gearshift control is a big lever sticking up thru the deck next to my right hip. It is firmly linked (no slop, I already checked that) to a torsion bar that traverses under the deck to more linkage (also tight) on the left. That is what attaches to the lever on the top of the transaxle. All that stuff works pretty solidly, and the last time I had the transaxle installed the lever and linkage outside the gearbox worked fine, but that's where everything seemed to quit.

This evening I laid all the axles back inside the top of the transaxle housing and got all the gear teeth meshed nice and pretty. Just for grins, I tried turning the input shaft. With the neutral collar still in the neutral position on the shift shaft, there was no rotation in either wheel output axle (and wasn't supposed to be). Just for grins, I slid the neutral collar up to engage one of the forward gears and turned the input shaft some more and lo and behold, the wheel axles were turning. I slid the neutral collar to a few more positions and everything kept on working.

I have absolutely no idea how or what I fixed. All I did was take some stuff apart and put it back together. Anything else that somehow got fixed was purely by accident and I never noticed it happening. Go figure. All I know is I'm gonna just quietly sliiiide the other half of that cover back on, and bolt it back in place, cross my fingers, and hope it all continues to stay fixed.

Everybody hold your breath. And thanks again for your help.

Check the shift keys that slide in the key ways on the shaft.
If they are broken then there may be enough there to provide drive when there is no load on the axels .

Keys checked (did you see post #16?)