Yard-Man Lawn Mower Hard to Pull Backwards

I have a 14 year old Yard-Man 21" Self-Propelled mower, Model #12A-979L401 that has become hard to pull backwards when mowing under trees etc. It appears the rear wheels stay engaged with the transmission and therefore it takes more effort to pull it backwards. It seems to me the rear wheels should disengage and free wheel much like the front wheels when pulling the mower backwards. Any suggestions and/or comments appreciated.

Does it pull backwards freely when the engine is off? If it does your belt is getting bad and sticking. Will need to replace it. Also take the belt cover off and see if the tranie releases.

I replaced the belt and with the engine off it does pull back more freely but not without some effort. With the engine running the wheels lock up completely unless I pull back very slowly. I don't understand how taking the belt cover off will show me if the tranie releases any more than just pulling the mower backwards. I must be missing something here, please explain further.

jemret said:

I have a 14 year old Yard-Man 21" Self-Propelled mower, Model #12A-979L401 that has become hard to pull backwards when mowing under trees etc. It appears the rear wheels stay engaged with the transmission and therefore it takes more effort to pull it backwards. It seems to me the rear wheels should disengage and free wheel much like the front wheels when pulling the mower backwards. Any suggestions and/or comments appreciated.

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I have a similar problem with the same mower and model number. I found that I can pull back on the mower without the wheels locking when the deck level is at 3,4 and 5. As soon as I lower it to 1 and 2 the rear wheels lock when reversed. I tried cable adjustments and had no success. Other than this everything else works fine on the mower. Also although the mower is old, it was stored for over 12 years and is almost like new. Hope someone has some suggestions.

It wouldn't hurt to try cleaning and lubricating the gear mechanism and related parts behind the wheels. The parts may have become stuck or stopped moving freely.

primerbulb120 said:

It wouldn't hurt to try cleaning and lubricating the gear mechanism and related parts behind the wheels. The parts may have become stuck or stopped moving freely.

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Today I contacted MTD. The technician could not explain why the wheels locked in only the 1st and 2nd cut height adjustment and worked fine with the others. He suggested there may be a transmission problem. I turned the mower on the side and worked the height adjustment lever just to see what occurs with the transmission. I also played with turning the pulley to see what happens. While doing this I discovered a broken spring that appears to go between the idler bracket and cable bracket. It seems this maintains tension on the idler when the height adjustment is lowered.

I tried installing one from the hardware store but was unable to access the area. I ordered the part from MTD and will have to remove the rear axle to install the spring and hope this fixes the problem. Any comments are appreciated.

primerbulb120 said:

It wouldn't hurt to try cleaning and lubricating the gear mechanism and related parts behind the wheels. The parts may have become stuck or stopped moving freely.

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