Repairs No Forward Motion (2006 Troy Bilt Super Bronco)

This forum is so wonderfully helpful!!
Spring is thisclose, and time to get a jump on the yards!! I did get the back under control last year. Want to keep it under control!!
Last Fall while mowing my front yard - which is full of trees and their lovely sticks (and I was mowing high), my mower stopped moving. Blades fine, engine fine. No smoke or obvious signs of distress. But no consistent forward or backwards motion. Asking for forward got a few inches backward and vice versa.
I tinkered with it off and on, researched, and cussed.
I think it is a spring. But what spring and how does Girl Mechanic (who cannot read diagrams!!) go about repairing?? Last year I got to be an expert at replacing the deck belt. Time for a new talent!!
Thank you
Anne
Troy Bilt 6605 13AX60TG766 Super Bronco (2006) 42" deck

Anne

Welcome back

Another season, another problem.

I am having troubles following your text.
Are you saying it goes backwards a few inches when you try to go forwards & visa- versa ?

If so jack up the rear end , start the mower & put it in drive.
If the wheels spin in opposite directions then your brake is jambed on.
As it happened while you were mowing the sticks that you should have raked up first, good chance one has gotten stuck in the brake.
The brake sits behind the rear right hand wheel so if the above happens, whip the wheel off and look for debris around the brake lever and / or disc.

Already tinkered with the brakes. All clear. But I'll look again today. Need to charge her battery and look at pre-mowing maintenance ... like making spider webs go away!!!
She starts and runs fine, and the blades will engage. but when put in Forward gear, the mower moves backwards a few inches and stops. Put in Reverse, she moves forward a few inches and stops.
When I removed the battery under the seat, the belts I can see (NOT the deck belt!!!) are sloppy. No tension, even when put in gear.
Google research says it is a spring. Girl Mechanic has no clue where to seek pesky spring ... and the schematic diagrams confuddle me. I've never been able to read them well.

On this mower I would not recommend standing the mower on end. Because it has a two belt, variable drive system, it will make it more difficult to work as you need to work from the bottom up and top down. You say it is a 2006 unit and if the belts are still original, I suspect that it is time to replace both belts. At the same time you should also check to see that the variable speed pulley is working properly. This job is not extremely hard or difficult, but to a first timer it will take time and get a little frustrating . If you are going to give it a try, I recommend getting an assistant and having both belts on hand before starting. I have found that the best way to do this job is to raise the front end of the unit and work from under the unit. When not in the shop I have some wooden blocks to put the unit on and then put a large piece of cardboard under the unit to slide around on. Once under the unit you can check to see if the tensioner springs are in place and working properly. Page 36 of this manual will also help you out. http://manuals.mtdproducts.com/manuals/770-10490h.pdf. If you decide to tackle this problem, just ask and I’ll try to give you more specific instructions.

Thank you An Assistant is not an option. All by my lonesome out here.

I have studied that page (I downloaded the manual after I bought the mower) at length this winter, that is why I know that I cannot read schematic drawings.

The two belts under the seat are not original, they were replaced two years ago. They are not wiggle loose, like they have stretched, they are fall off the pulley loose.

Tensioner Spring is something I have run across often in my research!! The drawing gives me numbers ... not function or names.

the rear belt should be tight, the front belt will be loose until you press on the go pedal. If the rear belt is loose then most likely the belt has broke, came off the pulley, or the tension spring has broken. If the rear belt is loose, then in front of the big transmission pulley is an arm about 6 inches long. with an idle pulley toward the end of it. Below that pulley there should be a spring. If that spring is missing it will need to be replace. the other end connect to a tab with a slot in it that hangs down from the frame about 4-6 inches toward the engine on what would be the right side of the frame. There should be another spring attached into the same slot that goes forward to a rod closer to the engine.

ILENGINE said:

the rear belt should be tight, the front belt will be loose until you press on the go pedal.

Click to expand...

That gives me a good idea what I am looking for. Belts are wiggle loose, but around the pulleys they should be. Not broken - that was the first thing I thought of!!
I took a picture of what I was seeing looking down the battery opening. But it is a really bad, cannot make heads or tails picture LOL

Both belts are toast. the belt that is touching the big transmission pulley on the left side if you are looking down from the rear of the mower should be on the right side of that pulley. Normally you have to remove that nut in the center of the big pulley to slip the belt between the pulley and the right side frame.

Which explains the reason that is tries to move in reverse when you try to go forward and vise versa. What little tension you are getting on the rear belt is trying to turn the transmission backwards.