Ariens Tractor Transmission

[RJRacing]

yea, that's the push nut I was talking about, sounds like you may be on the right track, these things hate dirt and with all the plastic it doesn't take much crud to give you a problem

[lefty]

Thanks RJ.

I went at this this morning and blew all the grass / dirt I could out of the trans. I tried to get into every nook but there are some plastic covers protecting the parts in question, which include some springs as I can see in the service manual.

So I was finally able to test and experience the problem for myself. I've never ran one of these machines before so I don't know how they are supposed to feel but it didn't feel right.

The pedal is not easy to push, either in reverse or forward. After going forward and letting off the pedal, the machine continued to creep forward. After going in reverse and releasing, the machine continued in reverse. In order to stop it, I had to press on the forward pedal, at which point the machine, as you might expect, stopped going in reverse and jumped forward.

The pedal does not feel smooth and takes more force than I would expect. Also, it does not spring back like I would expect. I would expect it to want to return to a neutral position, but again, this is my first experience with a machine like this.

I'm guessing that something is jammed up under those covers, spring that came off maybe or a broken part or perhaps just a big clump of grass/dirt that my air wasn't able to dislodge.

At this point, I think dropping the trans and taking some parts off is the only hope I have of identifying the problem. Dropping it looks pretty simple, it looks like 6 bolts? Two on either side mounting the axle to the frame and one on each side mounting the trans to a bracket that goes to the frame. Then a giant spring and a belt?

Some of the trouble shooting items in the service manual kind of describe my problem but not exactly. The only variable for me is it appears there's a special tool needed for removing the inversion security system. A driven tool #GT79252. According to the repair procedures, it is removed prior to removing the large plastic cover that will reveal the parts that may be involved. But I can't tell for sure if the inversion security system needs to come off in order to remove the cover.

Do you have any advice for me?

[KE4AVB]

Before going through the transaxle removal try disconnecting the linkage from the pedal and see if the pedal assembly is binding up. I have seen a few the pedal assemblies had corrosion around the pivot bushings. Just a thought.

[lefty]

Before going through the transaxle removal try disconnecting the linkage from the pedal and see if the pedal assembly is binding up. I have seen a few the pedal assemblies had corrosion around the pivot bushings. Just a thought.

I will definitely do that. Thank you.

[hanz63]

In my experience if you have a rear mounted battery, you can service it by pulling the variator and belt off. They used to have the videos on the General site. You remove the screws 4? and twist it out of the 2 side links- watching what goes where. Then blow all the debris out and back together it goes.

[lefty]

In my experience if you have a rear mounted battery, you can service it by pulling the variator and belt off. They used to have the videos on the General site. You remove the screws 4? and twist it out of the 2 side links- watching what goes where. Then blow all the debris out and back together it goes.

The rear mounted battery I do have...and can get a good look at it from above. That's good news. Thanks Hanz. I'm going to tackle it today and will let you know how it goes.

[lefty]

Worked like a charm. I removed the battery housing, the main pulley on the trans and sure enough, there was a bunch of crud under the variation levers where they are supposed to sit in a little pivot socket type thing. This caused one arm to ride up and out of the socket and the other side to catch.

I cleaned it all out and reassembled. No more sticking.

Thanks guys.

[KE4AVB]

Tnx for posting your findings as this may help others with similar problems.