89 John Deere 285 hydro bypass won't work

i just saw this thread.....i was mowing just the other day and i shut the throttle down to answer a phone call,but instaed of going to idle,the engine died....didnt think much of it until i tried to restart,no fire. when i tried to push the freewheel lever,machine still wont move....
this thread doesnt say to push on the lever OR pull it,either way,mine wont move at all...need to get it out of the middle of the yard.

You got 2 problems
1) engine won't crank this will be electrical ( are the blades turned off )
2) mower will not move , this will be mechanical

Jack up the rear end & try to turn the rear wheels.
If they move fairly easily and go in opposite directions then the brake is stuck on.
The brake works on the layshaft , same as in a automotive gearbox in the P position.
The free wheel bypasses to oil flow but it does not bypass the brake.


The no crank is probably because one of the controls is not set properly.
When things stall out we oft forget to reset all of the controls before starting to crank the engine.
If your engine has a low oil switch it could also be low oil.

Engine cranks,just won’t start....no fire at the plug. I went out the next day and it started and ran for about 10 seconds and died again. I jacked the back up and the tires turn in the opposite direction.
I’m thinking the linkage from the freewheel lever to the hydrostatic trans has come loose because it moves freely like it’s not moving anything ...I guess I’m just going to have to raise the back up and drag it into my shop and take the seat deck off so I can see if it’s moving anythng

The important thing is can you make them rotate in the same direction ?
If not the brake is locking the wheels, nothing to do with the hydro
If you have an external brake, remove the caliper by undoing the SMALL nuts at either end.
See if it will push with the caliper loose / removed.
Put a little panumder it as there are 2 brake pads 1 or 2 shims and 2 small pins that can all fall into the grass .
From there they will pass into that parallel universe where all the lost keys and left socks seem to end up in never to be seen again.

I guess my question is,how would the brakes be holding it when the brakes were never applied

blu4secmustang said:

I guess my question is,how would the brakes be holding it when the brakes were never applied

Click to expand...

The cranking circuit goes key switch, PTO switch, Brake switch, solenoid trigger.
Unless you have been fooling with the wiring

Homer1 said:

I have owned this mower for a while, and known well this is an issue, but i've never investigated.

Anyone know why the neutral switch that dis-engages the hydro drive wouldn't work when moved. It seems like it has no resistance at all, it just moves, but never hits Neutral.

Not a huge issue, but it is if it dies and needs to be pushed. Any breakdowns or how-to's welcome!

Thanks guys, Mow on.

Click to expand...

On the 265, 285, and 320 (any more?) the release for the transmission is the flat lever that flops around on top of the transaxle. Its fulcrum is on the transaxle and the lever is arch-shaped. It's activated by pushing DOWN on the lever. Not up. Not left nor right. (At rest, the lever makes contact with nothing but its fulcrum, which is why it normally flops around.) That being said, because the fulcrum is inherently loosey-goosey the lever can also be easily nudged left or right somewhat.

On some tractors, you can inadvertedly wiggle the lever sideways when attempting to press downward and miss the mark. I've attached two photos that shows the business end of that lever.

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The first image is an overview, what you'd see after removing the seat pan and gas tank. And, you must ---> (Details later if you want them, but just today here I removed the seat pan, foot rests and center cover as one unit because I find that easier to do on these series of tractors IF you have a helper to lift it all off. The alternative is to remove foot rests, center section, seat pan separately which is more work because the part you care about here (seat pan) is tucked under the center section ... and center section can be removed with foot rests attached to it ... possibly you see the challenge.)




Anyway, back to the first image. Where the end of the lever meets the transmission I've "louped" (enlarged) it. It presses horizontally against a little button sticking out of what looks like a nut. The button only sticks out about 1/4" max, which is why when you press down on the other end of the release lever a mile away it doesn't seem as if you're doing anything.

And that's when it's working properly!

Next is just a closeup image with lever pulled up (i.e. back away from the button) so that you can see the button on the trans easier. On this tractor, I'd removed the seat pan stuff/gas tank in order to learn why the lever wasn't doing anything. What I saw is that the button seems corroded and jammed in a bit, but not enough to disengage the trans and can't be pushed in further. That's as far as I've gotten.



Assuming it's safe to do I'll try soaking it in penetrant tomorrow and seeing if some pliers can pull the button out (if I push the button in but it never comes back out, the transmission won't ever turn the rear tires ... ) I *think* I've located the bypass valve assembly, part # AM106270 but there are three problems. One is it seems no longer available, and the other is that the last-known price was something like $77, and the third is that from the diagram it could be too long to be removed without separating the trans from the differential. Not gonna happen here.

more:

I tried pressing the button in with a flat blade screwdriver but it's seized.

Before the seat pan is removed I'd suggest first trying to hold the left off to one side and then pressing down. That might line it up. If it doesn't, you're screwed like me, except you might be able to unstick the button or whatever. Imma go out and squirt some penetrant on it tonight.

Yes, I DID have small bits of sticks, grass and whatnot down in the hole where that thing is, but clearing it out of course did nothing.

It was the NEXT generation of tractor that incorporates the familiar rod that gets pulled out to release the transmission. These need their lever not only pushed down but also held down when pushing the mower around.

update:

I was able to grasp the button with pliers and it pulled out easily to its original position. And then just as easily (that is, not under pressure as normal it would be ... ) popped right back to become more or less flush again.

So it's toast, and without a new bypass valve the transmission will never be able to be bypassed again in the intended way. Something to think about if/when owning one of these older tractors.

As for the 265 I opened up to look at here, it was headed for resale anyway, since it came to me with the 46" mower which I feel is significantly inferior to the later 48" design. After having moved what's left of the bypass valve's button I did retest the mower's drive system and it still moves, so that's good!

How do you take the seat and stuff off as one unit....I have a crane truck to lift it