Repairs 33" troy-bilt mower creeps forward when in gear

zawisza75

Forum Newbie
Joined
Sep 18, 2014
Threads
1
Messages
2
I just purchased a used 33" troy-bilt walk behind lawn mower model number 34342. When I put it in any of the gears it creeps forward and also creeps back in reverse. It does this when I'm not pulling on the bottom handle. I took off the wheel drive control rod and spun that to see if that would would and nothing changed.
Is there another adjustment somewhere or could the belt just be to tight? Any help would be appreciated.
 

Mike88se

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2013
Threads
76
Messages
738
I just purchased a used 33" troy-bilt walk behind lawn mower model number 34342. When I put it in any of the gears it creeps forward and also creeps back in reverse. It does this when I'm not pulling on the bottom handle. I took off the wheel drive control rod and spun that to see if that would would and nothing changed.
Is there another adjustment somewhere or could the belt just be to tight? Any help would be appreciated.

Seems like it would have to be the belt or the cable. Most likely the cable.
 

Fish

Lawn Pro
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Threads
11
Messages
5,123
Probably a loose belt. Or a bad one.

troybilt
 

zawisza75

Forum Newbie
Joined
Sep 18, 2014
Threads
1
Messages
2
I got a new belt and put it on. But it still creeps, it actually creeps a little more. Im guessing that its the new belt and its not stretch out like the older one. Is there any other adjustments I could do other than the drive rod shaft on the left?
 

Swerv

Forum Newbie
Joined
May 20, 2016
Threads
0
Messages
2
Did you ever fix this issue? I have a 33in troy-bilt model 34071 and it does the same thing. it is very hard to shift into gear. once its in gear i can use the trottle like its suppose to, but if i engage the blades the trottle doesnt do anything. the mower instantly moves and doesnt stop untill you release the lever for the blades.
 

Cfs

Active Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Threads
12
Messages
50
Did you ever fix this issue? I have a 33in troy-bilt model 34071 and it does the same thing. it is very hard to shift into gear. once its in gear i can use the trottle like its suppose to, but if i engage the blades the trottle doesnt do anything. the mower instantly moves and doesnt stop untill you release the lever for the blades.

Swerv,
Did you ever find an answer for the hard to shift/will not shift out of gear once it is in gear and running... I have the a 34342 that is having this problem. Please let me know if you found a fix. On the creeping the there is a nut on brake lever that needs to be tightened...a quarter turn or so a a time. it will fix the creep.

Cfs
 

willys55

Lawn Addict
Joined
Nov 11, 2016
Threads
8
Messages
1,053
at the end of the clutch rod there is a small linkage rod, the pivot for the rod under the motor portion of the deck get seized over time causing it to drag/stick....the release spring does not have the strength to overcome this issue on its own....sometimes an adjustment will fix it, but most times you need to replace the link rod
 

Cfs

Active Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Threads
12
Messages
50
at the end of the clutch rod there is a small linkage rod, the pivot for the rod under the motor portion of the deck get seized over time causing it to drag/stick....the release spring does not have the strength to overcome this issue on its own....sometimes an adjustment will fix it, but most times you need to replace the link rod

Russ, thanks for the quick reply.. So I am clear which linkage is causing the hard to shift when running situation that I am having. You are referring to. What is called the lower transmission rod it passes through an eyebolt and has a light gauge compression spring between 2 washers at the end of it?
 

Swerv

Forum Newbie
Joined
May 20, 2016
Threads
0
Messages
2
Swerv,
Did you ever find an answer for the hard to shift/will not shift out of gear once it is in gear and running... I have the a 34342 that is having this problem. Please let me know if you found a fix. On the creeping the there is a nut on brake lever that needs to be tightened...a quarter turn or so a a time. it will fix the creep.

Cfs

Yea I did fix the issue. I no longer have the mower, but I had it running like new before I sold it. All my issues came down to bad/ worn belts. So when you released the throttle the worn belt was sticky, not allowing the belt to slip past the pulley completely so the mower would creap forward. Then once you released the top “blade engagement” lever, a brake would apply which would then over come the belt slowly creeping the mower forwar and it would come to a stop. So because the worn belt would always cause the mower to move, that then made it hard to shift gears because the transmission was on the move. It was all related in one way or another.

Another reason for the shifting was my shift rod wasn’t sitting correctly. Trying to remember exactly how it goes because I’ve sold it and can’t 100% remember, but there is a cottar pin of some sort that goes into the shift rod and holds it at a certain height. Also only alouds you to go into reverse if you raise the rod and twist. That pin was missing on mine, causing the linkage to “sag”. That cause it to be harder to get into forward or reverse gears.

Careful with adjusting the nut for the brake like you said. I tried this and it did stop the creeping, but all it was doing was applying the brake more. Adjust it to much and your brake will drag the whole time and you will smoke it. Check your belts before adjusting the brake. You should have to touch the brake in my opinion.

Hope his helps, let me know if I can help you more.

Evan
 

willys55

Lawn Addict
Joined
Nov 11, 2016
Threads
8
Messages
1,053
Russ, thanks for the quick reply.. So I am clear which linkage is causing the hard to shift when running situation that I am having. You are referring to. What is called the lower transmission rod it passes through an eyebolt and has a light gauge compression spring between 2 washers at the end of it?
yes, that's the one
 
Top