ZD21, mowing deck blades not engaging.

[MarkH]

When I got done mowing the other day I heard a mechanical noise when I shut the mowing deck off.
Before I used it again I checked the deck & blades and they seemed secure. Mower fired up and runs
fine but the blades will not engage to spin. I traced the linkage to where it goes into the transmission
and it is actuating properly but seems like it is not attached to anything internal after that.
Any idea what is up?

 

[85Hokie]

Does that have an electronic clutch? If so - check the wiring to the clutch pack.

 

[Dave_eng]

Lets start with possible simple things.

Is the shaft to the deck gearbox spinning?

If the shaft is spinning, check the deck belt tension pulley to make sertain it is in place on its swinging arm and that there is a spring pulling the arm to tension the deck belt.

If these two items are OK than you get to the internal clutch and its controls and I have no info on them.

Dave

 

[bx tractorjoe]

Opps.. no electric clutch..

 

[MarkH]

No, absolutely nothing happens. The lever linkage moves and moves the shaft going into the transmission housing but it is like the shaft is no longer connected to anything. No noise, no movement, no nothing. I'm afraid the mower has earned it's first trip to the dealer, after only 15 years.

 

[Dave_eng]

No, absolutely nothing happens. The lever linkage moves and moves the shaft going into the transmission housing but it is like the shaft is no longer connected to anything. No noise, no movement, no nothing. I'm afraid the mower has earned it's first trip to the dealer, after only 15 years.

If engaging the mower is done with a lever into the transmission and not an electrical connection to the transmission then its a dealer situation.

Dave

 

[whitetiger]

No, absolutely nothing happens. The lever linkage moves and moves the shaft going into the transmission housing but it is like the shaft is no longer connected to anything. No noise, no movement, no nothing. I'm afraid the mower has earned it's first trip to the dealer, after only 15 years.

The shaft in the case does not connect to anything, it's just a shaft with a hole drilled through it. When the shaft turns to the ON position, all that happens is the hole in the shaft lets oil pass to the clutch pack. Move the lever to OFF and it blocks the oil from the pack.

 

[lugbolt]

if the gearbox input shaft does not turn when you engage, you need more tools to figger it out (pressure gauges, etc)

if it does turn but the belt doesn't, you have either a sheared pulley (usually damages the shaft and pulley) or a bad gearbox. Possible loose blades but usually they'll turn with no load and when u put a load on it (in grass or leafs) they will stop turning and make a horrible terrible squealing squawking racket that will make you jump off of the machine and run for cover.

 

[MarkH]

Well, it is time to come clean and fess up to my problem and the solution.
I had a friend move the lever back and forth while I observed below and all the linkage appeared to be working normally. So I figured I had a trip to the dealer in my near future. But that would require use of my trailer which had been collecting scrap metal for a while. So I took the scrap in( 132.00 is pretty good cash for my trash). But while pulling the truck around to hook up I saw something in the grass. It was the drive shaft to my mower! The clunk I had heard when I got finished mowing was my drive shaft falling out. Before mowing the last time I had replaced the belt on the deck. I guess when reassembling I did not get the shaft secured to the output of the transmission. I had greased everything down there while it was apart. After cleaning up the ends of the splines it reassembled fine and mows like a champ again. In my great effort to diagnose the problem I never thought to look at\for the drive shaft. Yeah I felt pretty dumb but sure was glad to get back to normal without a trip to the dealer.