Hustler Fastrak 60 won't drive

Hi guys, I'm brand new here. I've got a 60" Hustler Fastrak. It worked great for me all summer last year, but now I'm having a problem with it. I changed my oil and sharpened my blades. I also changed the filters for the drive axle oil and drained it before installing the new filters. I then refilled the expansion tank with the correct type of engine oil (It specifically said not to use gear oil or transmission fluid). It drained from the tank to the axles excruciatingly slowly, so after the first quart was down I thought it might help to drive the mower a short ways. I figured that if I got the inner workings moving it would draw the oil down faster. (Probably where I went wrong). I didn't get 50 feet before I turned around because of how loud the gears were getting. It was like a loud whine. By the time I had my mower back at the shed my right side was acting up. It would slowly move forward, but reverse didn't work at all. While trying to figure things out I noticed that even though the gear lever shows the gears are engaged, the right wheel moved fairly easily when pushed. I tried moving the lever so that the gears would disengage, and then re-engaged them. I started up the mower again hoping for a miracle, but the right side wouldn't even move forward at that point. Hopefully it is a warranty issue, but the dealer is closed till Monday (which is exactly when the rain is supposed to get here). I was hoping someone might have some insight that could get me mowing this afternoon.

Never mind guys. I'm just an idiot who needs to be more patient. When I filled it completely with fluid the problem went away. I just jumped the gun and the gears won't work without fluid

WELCOME to the Forums....

It is generally best to operate a hydro system Without a load after a hydro oil change, to allow all the air to get pushed out of the system... You can do that by jacking up the drive wheels and move the control levers slowly forward & then reverse, keep adding oil while bleeding the air from the system. Next time do that before driving it around & you will not have any problems.
You need to understand your drive system a little better... There are NO gears to engage on a hydraulic drive system. The Engine drives pumps, those pumps move oil, (Synthetic Engine Oil), to the drive motors on each drive wheel, Using the control levers to Reverse the oil flow to the wheel motors and they will turn backwards... The more you Open the control valve, the More Gallons of oil per min moves to the drive motor, that spins the wheel motor faster...
The hydraulic system is a closed loop and will run fairly clean, but will need changed periodically... If you keep an eye on the oil level and never let it run low, it will run for a LONG time... Hustler is a Very good mower system... :smile:KennyV