So my son ran over an old dog toy while mowing last weekend. Got crud all over the axle and blade and stuff. Got it all cleaned out. Still seems like it was slipping. Even though the drive belt looked good I replaced it anyway because it was cheap and easy. Now the wheels turn when elevated, but as soon as they touch the ground or meet any resistance they stop and there's a growly/choppy sound. I opened up the transmission gear housing and manually rotated the wheels. Lots of resistance and skipping, almost like it's missing some teeth.

Should I replace the transmission or is there something else I should look for? 11yo Toro so I'm not sinking a bunch of money into it, but the ****** is only 30-40 bucks so if that'll fix it I'll do that.

sbtxag13 said:

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Sounds like your son now has a true push mower

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Nah, the wheels lock up when I try to push it.

Is there a spring connected to it? I've seen them on some but don't know about front wheel drive models. Anyway, you may just need to replace that. I don't know for sure, but the lack of effective spring MAY be causing the wheels to not engage when lowered.

Sweet Kitten Feet said:

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sbtxag13 said:

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Sounds like your son now has a true push mower

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Nah, the wheels lock up when I try to push it.

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Remove the drive belt.