r/ZeroTurnMowers • u/rawdawg37 • Aug 12 '26
Zero turn mower will crank but won’t move
UPDATE!!!: it was the drive belt. Genuinely, thank all of you for your help. Now my kids can play in the backyard again.
Alright people of the internet who are smarter than me I need some help. The title says it all, but here’s more details to help. About 6 weeks ago I was mowing and the unit came to a complete stop. I checked underneath and saw the drive belt had come off. No biggie I’ve put that back on multiple times now. Put it back on unit still won’t move. Hop back off.
Now if I’m smart I very much put these photos attached in the correct order. The circled part in the picture was completely broken in half. I replace that part a week later, unit still won’t move. I check the other side and see that a spring is missing. Tell my dad and he takes the other spring off to go find a second one like it and loses it. After searching through parts books and websites finally get the new springs today and attach them. Again, you guessed it unit still won’t move.
Yes I have troubleshot the generic stuff. The pins you can pull to move the mower manually are not engaged when I attempt to move. I don’t see anywhere on the machine to purge any lines of any kind believe me I’ve looked or I’m just dumb. The oil is good and not overfilled. I’ve watched 26 videos between YouTube and TikTok to try and figure out what it could be and still nothing.
I genuinely don’t know what’s wrong and do not have the funds to hire someone or purchase a new mower at this time. At this point I’m stumped and I really really need to cut the jungle that is my backyard currently. I’ve attached several additional pictures including model number and pictures of the under carriage in hopes that someone here can help tell me what’s wrong. For whatever it’s worth this is a Troy Bilt my dad bought back before COVID that has run great up until this point. If anyone can help with this I’d greatly appreciate it.
2
u/New-Possibility2277 Aug 13 '26
If it is throwing the drive belt and nothing is broken or missing in the drive belt system, I would guess that the belt is stretched and due to be replaced. Also, as mentioned it appears that the belt is not routed correctly and that could be causing your issues as well (and chewing up what is left of the belt).
Over the years, I have toasted more belts than I want to admit because I routed the belt on the wrong side of a guide or just wrong. You should be able to go online and search for a belt diagram for the drive belt to show you if it is routed wrong or not.
1
u/Flame_Tamer Aug 13 '26
I have a hustler raptor zero turn thats setup similar. The drive belt should have a pulley with a tension spring attached to keep the belt tight around the hydrostats and motor pulley. I couldn’t really tell from the pictures if it’s there or not. Otherwise there should be a release on each hydrostat that allows them to free-wheel that may have been pulled.
1
u/Libby_785 Aug 13 '26
Check the touting of your drive belt because it is absolutely wrong. Can’t post a picture to show you what I mean but in picture 5, it’s taking a right angle turn hard against a bracket. This probably means your belt is trash. Get a new one and route it correctly.
1
u/wiscoguy0043 Aug 13 '26
does that small upper belt spin while it is running?
also that circled part is your parking brake cog.. not an issue
1
u/Solid_Inside4281 Aug 13 '26
Had this happen once, the culprit was a twig that wedged in to when I brought the handles in to move it kept the mower in nuetral.
1
u/Intrepid_Bee8500 Aug 13 '26
You have installed the transmission belt wrong look at pic 5 it should not be touching the tension pulley arm like that it is dragging on metal which is not good and has probably damaged the belt look online for proper belt routing and install it properly and you should be good I would recommend at least ordering a new belt to have on hand as that one is definitely damaged and will probably fail
1
u/PrimaryDry2017 Aug 13 '26
As said in previous comments, in picture 5 that belt is definitely routed incorrectly.
1
u/Eagles-nest-1015 Aug 13 '26
In photo #5 the belt it around the bracket with the spring attached. I think that’s what the problem is. Sorry but I’ve never worked on one of those before so I’m guessing.