Gravely WAW 34 Drive Issue

frankster

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Hello there. I'm new to the forum. I just bought a WAW 34 used and I think I got hosed. I got about half way through cuttin the lawn and the forward drive all but craps out. Reverse seems to work fine. It looks like the drive axle is shifting off to the right. I didn't have time to tear into it yet. Just wondering if anyone has dealt with this machine much. Not hearing much good about it in my searches so far.
 

bertsmobile1

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This mower uses 2 different gearboxes for forward & reverse .
Both of them drive the same axle ( hopefully only one at a time ) part # 29 in the linked page below.
As it drives fine in reverse that leaves 5 possibilities for no forward motion
Part # 28 the forward gear box pulley is stripped on the shaft
Part # 31 the drive key is sheared
part # 22 the driven gear is worn or stripped
part # 26 the bevel gear is stripped
or the belt is slipping

Pull the cover off & watch what happens , could be as simple as the nut # 24 is not tight.
If the belt is slipping yopu should see , hear & smell it burning as it slips over the pulley.
If one of the other 4 you should hear a clicking sound as the stripped part rotates.
The drives themselves are interchangable as are the driven gears so you can swap them left right and see if the problem transfers to reverse .
Having gone through the difficult bit I would put my money on belt slipping as the mechanism that tensions the forward drive belt between will wear if the belt looses tension because of wear the small pulley will slip .
In particular check the tension pulley the pivot holes . That is part # 34 in the diagram and everything that is connected to it.
A small amount of ovality at the hole makes a big difference at the pulley.
Also check whatever moves 34 to engage the belt, usually there is an adjustment so you can select neutral .
Because it is used to drive forward most of the time you will get more wear on the forward parts.
IT could be as simple as swapping the tension springs over # 21 as the forward one will stretch .
Or as the axle seems to be moving the circlip part # 32 may have fallen off or even been forgotten .
Good news is all of the bits seem to be available and reasonably priced.

WAW 34 parts diagram from Jacks.
 
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frankster

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Well bertsmobile1, thanks for the info. It was the drive belt. It was stretched and would start slipping about halfway through the lawn. Also, the right drive wheel bearing (cheezy plastic bushing) was shot and had been for a while. So was the carrier. Replaced both along with the forward drive belt. Also one of the front wheels as the bearings were shot in it too. Now, I almost have to run to keep up with it at full power. Really impressed and happy with it now.
Thanks again for the reply. Jacks Small engine was a great source for the parts too.
Frank
 

bertsmobile1

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Glad to hear it.
Those bushes are a WEAR item and are supposed to be changed every X hours.
The belt does not stretch, it wears thinner side to side so sits deeper in the pulley thus becomes loose.
It is important to remember this because you should always check the new belt against the old one, if they are not the same +/- 1/4" then one of them is wrong.
So the next time you order some parts like filters & plugs add a set of bushes so you have them on hand.
About 5 to 10 years would be an expected life for them depending upon how hard the mower is driven.
So did it end up being a bargain after all ?
 
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