Repairs New Hydro???????????

I pulled the spring off the rear tensioner pulley to loosen up the belt on my Cub Cadet 1720 that stopped suddenly and started smoking the belt.:frown:

The belt is loose and I cannot turn the fan pulley at all by hand.

I pulled the battery cover off to watch while I turned the key. The belt tightens up a lot and pulls the tensioner pulley against the other side of the belt, while turning the key and the tractor is lurching forward.

I read on another post that you should be able to turn the fan pulley by hand when disconnected from the belt.

Seems that it is stuck in gear wont release to neutral to start without trying to move the tractor.

Is the tranny/hydro junk?

Before we start considering the transmission may have a problem. Lets start by checking the linkage from the direction control, to there it connects to the tranny. does it move freely in both directions. Does the part on the tranny where the linkage connect move freely also. Almost sounds more like a linkage problem than it does a tranny problem. But it could of broke something in the swatch plate area and is jamming the tranny in gear.

If the tranny is in a direction the pulley can be hard to turn because of the resistance of the oil, pump and motor trying to turn the wheels.

Thanks. Will check the linkage.

Note that when the tractor is started I cannot move forward or reverse as it dies pretty quickly, like the fan pulley is stuck.

Are we saying to loosen the jam nut and turn counter clockwise? Not sure what I else should be looking for.

I can push the tractor when engaging the hydro dump and brake is released.

something else to consider, just because you released the brake doesn't mean it released on the tranny. Find the brake lever on the tranny and make sure it moves freely. It may only move 3/8' inch but if stuck on will cause the symptoms you describe also.

If the brake is free, then just disconnect the direction linkage from the tranny, and try to start it. It should immediate center back to neutral without any input.