HRB217HXA Change Cable Question

After a successful rebuild of the hydrostatic transmission, I re-installed the unit back in the mower and re-assembled the rear wheels and cable assemblies. Everything works well but I am having a bit of trouble adjusting the change cable so when released the rear wheels go into "free wheel" to enable the operator to pull backwards. I have tried to loosen the bottom jam nut and tighten the top one from end to end of the adjustment threads. My question is...there is a bit of rust on the threads of the adjuster and I'm not sure if this adjuster should turn independent of the outside sheath or not. It appears to be crimped to the outside sheath to prevent it from moving but I wasn't sure since the service manual instructs to move the adjuster during part of the set up steps. Hoping someone could give me some insight on this as I look forward to using the mower. Thanks in advance...

I am not sure I understand exactly what you are describing, but the threaded portion on the handlebar end of the change cable does not turn independent of the outside sheath. By adjusting the position of the threaded portion in the handlebar, you are adjusting the length of the outside sheath which affects the slack on the inner cable. If the rear wheels do not roll backwards when the drive clutch bar is released, then the inner cable might not have enough slack or the return spring on the lever at the transmission end of the cable might not be pulling the lever back to the neutral position.

Thanks CrossTalk, that is exactly what I am referring too. I think I found the problem in another thread I failed to read before posting the question. I think the return spring on the control arm is not in the correct webbing on the transmission case. I placed it in the first web and from a picture from another thread I think it should be placed in the second web in order to develope more tension to return the control arm back to the neutral position. Bad thing is, I have to remove the whole transmission once again in order to tighten the spring. Whoever worked on this mower before I got it did a number on the transmission and ended up cracking the case where the control arm shaft come out of the transmission. I repaired the crack, refilled the tranny and re-installed the unit only to have the rear wheel lock issue. I'll tear it back down this weekend and move the spring. Hopefully I will be able to dial in the change cable adjustment and get some use out of the mower in the afternoon. Thanks for the help...

You might be able to remove the change cable from the handlebar, remove the rear scroll and release the belt tensioning spring to pivot the transmission down enough to access the control arm without removing the assembly from the machine. Of course, this might not end up being much of a shortcut if it takes a lot longer to get the control arm adjusted than it would if the whole trans assembly had been removed from the machine.

I can get to the pin, control arm and spring just by tilting the mower on its side. The problem is the shade tree mechanic that worked on the mower before I got it must have had problems getting the spring pin out of the control shaft. It looked like they beat on it a while and in the process cracked the housing. When that didn't work they decided to drill the pin out and broke at least two bits off in the shaft. After I took the tranny apart I had to braze the case and tig weld the shaft. The shaft was hardened so I used a hard filler rod to fill the hole for the spring pin and put it in the EDM to erode the 4mm hole back in the shaft. It was a little bit of work but the repair is holding up so far. When I put everything back together, the spring pin was tighter than I expected but I got through the shaft to hold the control arm in place. I didn't want to have to drive it back out since that technique probably started all this to start with. The only other option is to take the tranny back out and press the spring pin out of the shaft and locate the spring in the correct webbing of the transmission housing. I've come this far, no sense making a mess of it now. Just an oversight on my part. As soon as the grass slows down, I'll fix the spring and I'm sure the cable adjustment will dial right in. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look to see if your idea will be any faster before I take the transnission out again.