Front wheels won't turn when self proper bar not up

Woody71

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  • / Front wheels won't turn when self proper bar not up
Hi All,

I have a Toro 20007 self-propelled push mower. Working great until I ran into a problem. Was putting it back in the garage and the front wheels wouldn't turn. Turned the mower back on, lifted the front wheels, pulled the self-propel bar up, and both wheels turn fine. I then found that it's the front right wheel that won't turn, the left front wheel turns fine.

Here's what I know: I tipped the mower over and discovered that the box that the self-propel goes into moves back and forth. If I pull on the cable housing right where it goes into the belt cover on the desk of the mower, the wheels don't lock up. If I let it go, the wheels lock up.

Is this a matter of tightening that box under the desk where the cable goes into?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Woody
 

a_gunslinger

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I have the same problem. Any answer? I have 2 of these mowers and tried to take apart next to each other to compare and cant find anything dfferent. Wierd.


Hi All,

I have a Toro 20007 self-propelled push mower. Working great until I ran into a problem. Was putting it back in the garage and the front wheels wouldn't turn. Turned the mower back on, lifted the front wheels, pulled the self-propel bar up, and both wheels turn fine. I then found that it's the front right wheel that won't turn, the left front wheel turns fine.

Here's what I know: I tipped the mower over and discovered that the box that the self-propel goes into moves back and forth. If I pull on the cable housing right where it goes into the belt cover on the desk of the mower, the wheels don't lock up. If I let it go, the wheels lock up.

Is this a matter of tightening that box under the desk where the cable goes into?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Woody
 

Woody71

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WD-40 was the answer for me

I ended up taking the front wheels off and spraying both sides of the wheel gears with a good dose of WD-40. Let it sit overnight and the front right wheel turns freely.
 

a_gunslinger

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It feels so mechanical of a lockup. But will try the heavy lube. Thanks for the prompt reply.
 

Woody71

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Mine did to, it just wouldn't move. I had made the mistake of spraying that area with water when I was cleaning the underside of the mower to remove grass. Learned that was a big mistake.

I still may take the wheel gears off and grease them up. For now, it's working and I don't want to mess with it. Hope the spray method works for you.
 

Parkmower

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I have a toro that's about 5 years old that just did this then seemed to go away. Have a feeling it's gonna come back. Didn't take anything apart yet.
 

Woody71

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Mower was still making a scraping/grinding noise in the right front. Decided to pull off the wheel pinions for a closer look. Left side was dirty so I cleaned the axles, pinion, spring, key and spring shaft. After I cleaned those components up, I coated the axle, spring and key with a generous coating of Permatex Anti-seize lubricant.

Did the same on the right side and found an extremely corroded wheel pinion. Cleaned and lobed the same components and put on the new wheel pinion.

$10 in parts and some time and what a difference it's made.

I used a straight metal pick to pull the springs out, small flat blade screwdriver to remove the clip rings and a pair of small needle nose pliers to put the clippings back on.
 

johnstof

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I had the same problem and finally realized it was self inflicted.

I had replaced the transmission/axle assembly and when I reassembled I accidentally put the left wheel gear on backwards. It slides on easily either way and it is not obvious that there is a right and wrong way. The wheel spun fine for a while but would occasionally lock. The right wheel worked perfectly so I finally took the left wheel assembly apart and realized the gear was backwards. Turned it around and it works perfectly now. No lockups and both wheels drive.

So...did you by chance ever take the wheels apart to a point where you took the gears off. If so, that might be your problem.

John
 

Woody71

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Had never taken the wheel pinion gears off prior to this happening. I can say that when I replaced them after this happened, I made outward facing lettering was correct on both pinions.
 
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