Transaxle stopped working out of nowhere

Hi new member here with a sudden dilema. I have an 91 bolens tractor with a tecumseh peerless 5spd transaxle on it. I removed the rear tires today to swap new ones on and when I hopped back on the mower to take it for a spin it wouldnt move. I turned the axles and the pully by hand and the movement isnt in sync. Basicly when i turn the pulley i get no movement from the axles in any gear. Any suggestions? Ive only had a 4in pulley on there for a few days and i havent abused it.

hey man welcome to the forum. I believe that your problem is with your belt. it was working fine when you had smaller tires because it was less of a load on the belt but with your new tires its more work so its slipping. just a guess/therorie! i might not be right but too test it you could jack up the back end then put it in gear.

Growl60 wrote:

Hi new member here with a sudden dilema. I have an 91 bolens tractor with a tecumseh peerless 5spd transaxle on it. I removed the rear tires today to swap new ones on and when I hopped back on the mower to take it for a spin it wouldnt move. I turned the axles and the pully by hand and the movement isnt in sync. Basicly when i turn the pulley i get no movement from the axles in any gear. Any suggestions? Ive only had a 4in pulley on there for a few days and i havent abused it.

Does the tanny have any drag at all when you turn the pulley or is it like it's not even in gear.
Your pulley key might be broke, tranny might not be in gear all the way,Or the shift key's might be broke, did you forget to put he keys back in the wheels when you put them back on?

I have a manual for peerless transmissions so i can help you out if you give me your model number i can post pics of all the pages on your model tranny.

Nope keys were in both wheels and the pully. Made sure. when I turn the axles by hand the pully does not spin in any gear. I can only think of one thing that might of hurt the trans and that was going down a steep hill in first or second gear. The tranny was screaming. Thats about it.

Firstly Welcome

Strange problem. Maybe the input gear has stripped? That's my only thought if all they keys are okay, and there isnt a belt issue.
Think you'll have to open her up

How big is the front pulley - on the motor? If its smaller then the 4" rear pulley- it wont move ( i did that on a old dynamark i had- nearly burned the belt off) .

When you change the pulley diameter the trans wont sync anymore- its set for a specific ratio from the factory ( slow) , once you go a smaller trans pulley, itll change the ratio.

You did add gear oil/new grease to it as well right? Its also possible something broke inside the trans- only way to be sure is to crack it open.

you should hear something rattling round if the gears are stripped, hmm, double check the keyways again if it doesnt work

Growl60 wrote:

Nope keys were in both wheels and the pully. Made sure. when I turn the axles by hand the pully does not spin in any gear. I can only think of one thing that might of hurt the trans and that was going down a steep hill in first or second gear. The tranny was screaming. Thats about it.

The only other thing is maybe some how the shifter fork isn't working or the shift linkage.

Ok Ill sound like an idiot now so forgive me haha. But I took off the rear pulley. Turns out the set screw in the pulley I bought that acts as a key was loose and I had the belt on wrong. D'oh!! Ive only been tinkering with this tractor for a few weeks. Shes running fine now. Thanks for the help anyway guys.

I'm relatively new to mowers as well, but I didn't know there were pulley that used only a set screw to hold to a shaft, without a key. That sounds like a really weak design no matter how tight the set screw is. My store-bought engine pulley has 2 setscrews and a keyway.

Jamus wrote:

I'm relatively new to mowers as well, but I didn't know there were pulley that used only a set screw to hold to a shaft, without a key. That sounds like a really weak design no matter how tight the set screw is. My store-bought engine pulley has 2 setscrews and a keyway.

Well suprisingly on both tractors Ive modded with the same pulleys its held up pretty well. I just never tightened this one down haha, I just hopped on and went wheeling! I mean if it becomes an issue, I still have the old key to put on it.

Growl60 wrote:

Jamus wrote:

I'm relatively new to mowers as well, but I didn't know there were pulley that used only a set screw to hold to a shaft, without a key. That sounds like a really weak design no matter how tight the set screw is. My store-bought engine pulley has 2 setscrews and a keyway.

Well suprisingly on both tractors Ive modded with the same pulleys its held up pretty well. I just never tightened this one down haha, I just hopped on and went wheeling! I mean if it becomes an issue, I still have the old key to put on it.

Glad it was an easy fix, i knew it had to be something silly!

That happened on my agway - i changed pullies and the keyway wasnt in right- acted like i broke the trans.

I usually replace those allen head bolts with normal bolts- its too easy for those to strip out and rust in there.

No worries man (:
People learn by mistakes, its something you'll alwyas consider in the future.