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I have a Poulan riding mower with a 46" cut. When I engage the clutch I can place the mower in either forward or reverse but when I release the clutch the mower won't move. I have done several searches and one suggestion has been the transaxle pully, I wanted to see if there was other opinions.

First time poster and new to the forum

Need the model number of your mower as Polan has mowers with gear drives, Hydro drives and Variable speed drives.

Has the mower been used recently, or has it been sitting for awhile ?

Broken tension spring
Stuck brake
broken belt
worn belt
belt off pulley
Frozen variable pulley
Detatched control rod.
Collapsed idler pulley

cal516 said:

I have a Troybilt Model #13WX7KT011 riding mower with a 46" cut. When I engage the clutch I can place the mower in either forward or reverse but when I release the clutch the mower won't move. I have done several searches and one suggestion has been the transaxle pully, I wanted to see if there was other opinions.

First time poster and new to the forum

Click to expand...

Troybilt Model #13WX7KT011

No it had not been rider in a while

cal516 said:

Troybilt Model #13WX7KT011

No it had not been rider in a while

Click to expand...

I'm thinking it may be an issue with the Disc brake ( spring, rod, or the disc may be rusted, see if this manual is of help, I THINK you have a 700 series mower from MTD ( built for Troy-Bilt) see section 5 .. starting at page 35.

https://data2.manualslib.com/pdf3/70/6996/699532-mtd/700_series.pdf?db35fc0c8d696c9236af1ffffd0025e5

(brake adjust is on page 40)

https://www.partstree.com/parts/troy-bilt/mowers-lawn-garden-tractor/13wx79kt011-troy-bilt-horse-xp-lawn-tractor-2011/drive-rear-wheels/

This should be your mower.
Now you have told us what your mower is, that reduces the possibilities.
Belt # 50 is damaged, broken rusted solid on a pulley or off a pulley
Pulleys # 51 are damaged and not tensioning the belt.
Pulley # 52 is broken & not turning the shaft
Spring # 30 is broken , fallen of or worn through it's anchor point.
Tension arm # 54 is rusted solid and not moving
Brake ( not shown in diagram as it is a transaxel part not a mower part) is rusted on , highly likely on an old mower not used for a while .
If you can push the mower backwards and forewards and both wheels move in the same direction.
If one wheel locks up, the brake is the problem.

Let me explain more what occurred. The mower is stored in a shed and had not not been ride for about 4 months. I had just taken it out for a quick mow and a small peach tree branch kicked up and wedged itself between pulley #52 and the belt. Thats when I issue occurred. I removed the branch but it still won’t move. I am thinking the pulley got damaged...

Why didn't you explain that in the first place ?? Anyway it does sound as though you have a motion problem, the belt off or as you say a damaged pulley, could also be bent linkages, you're going to have to get underneath and check things out, then post back, WE cannot SEE what you can !

Cal,
You need to explain exactly what happened.
What you heard, felt, smelt & saw.
When a pulley jambs oft you get a burnout on the belt at the engine pulley.
In that case the belt gets too thin in one spot to drive, so you go nowhere.

Very rare to damage the pulley to the point it won't drive at all.
Very easy to get the belt on the wrong side of a belt keeper, particularly on that back pulley.

bertsmobile1 said:

Cal,
You need to explain exactly what happened.
What you heard, felt, smelt & saw.
When a pulley jambs oft you get a burnout on the belt at the engine pulley.
In that case the belt gets too thin in one spot to drive, so you go nowhere.

Very rare to damage the pulley to the point it won't drive at all.
Very easy to get the belt on the wrong side of a belt keeper, particularly on that back pulley.

Click to expand...

The mower was running and cutting fine til I hit the small branch (didn't notice til too late). Shortly after the mower felt and sounded "rough". I stopped to look at it and at first did not see anything until I tried to go again and it didn't. Upon further inspection I noticed the branch wedged around the pulley (between the pulley and belt). I removed it but it did not rectify the issue. I am taking off the wheels to see what else could be wrong. I am just trying to nail down a starting point.

cal516 said:

The mower was running and cutting fine til I hit the small branch (didn't notice til too late). Shortly after the mower felt and sounded "rough". I stopped to look at it and at first did not see anything until I tried to go again and it didn't. Upon further inspection I noticed the branch wedged around the pulley (between the pulley and belt). I removed it but it did not rectify the issue. I am taking off the wheels to see what else could be wrong. I am just trying to nail down a starting point.

Click to expand...

Refer to the parts diagram, during your search, and keep us posted .

The trans axle belt is off the pulley. Is there a trick to getting the hydro fan off (part #28)? I have used a screw driver to wedge it in place. I don't think I can get an impact wrench in there because of a cross bar (hydro handle control assembly). It is being soaked with some lubricant now.

cal516 said:

The trans axle belt is off the pulley. Is there a trick to getting the hydro fan off (part #28)? I have used a screw driver to wedge it in place. I don't think I can get an impact wrench in there because of a cross bar (hydro handle control assembly). It is being soaked with some lubricant now.

Click to expand...

If the belt has come off the pulley then it has been damaged and will need to be replaced.
The belt keeper is way too close to the pulley for the belt to flip off without damage and you really do not want to be doing this job again on a 90+ deg weekend.

Cause I am not sure, is the nut off or are you having troubles getting it undone ?
There should be a hole in the pulley ( and fan ) to allow a locking bar ( formally called a screwdriver ) to hold it from moving while the nut is loosened.
The nut is not doe up all that tight but it tends to rust in place.

I have a strap that goes around the pulley to hold it tight but prior to that I used to pull the whole tranny out and hit it with the impact gun.
It is only 6 bolts and a couple of control rods, about 1/2 hour.

So did the "NO GO " end up being the belt jumped off the pulley ?

My intention was to lower the tranny and then use an impact wrench. Right now I am under the assumption that this is the cause for the NO GO. I appreciate the input and patience.

I realize that this suggestion is not directly related to the No-Go situation with the mower but I've seen
axle shaft/ wheel keys left out when a rear tire is removed to inspect something or put a tube or valve
in the wheel. Many people leave the key out and the tranny will engage but the wheels won't turn. Then
the transaxle is condemned when not at fault. This has happened way too many times with riding mowers.

cal516 said:

My intention was to lower the tranny and then use an impact wrench. Right now I am under the assumption that this is the cause for the NO GO. I appreciate the input and patience.

Click to expand...

That will work & I have done the same on many an occasion.
Resist the temptation to do it back up with a rattle gun as the shafts are quite prone to breaking.
A drop of never seize on the shaft when you put it back together will work wonders in future.
The positioning where a rattle gun can't get in there was intentional.