Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): peerless transaxle 206-545C, peerless transaxle, lawnmover

Question
The riding lawnmover shifted up in gears fine, my problem was going down in gears, i had to really pull back on the lever to get it to drop, i disassembled the transaxle to find that the gears where in good shape and i wanted to know how to inspect the shift keys, because i think that is the problem, can u tell me what i need to look for if the shift keys need to be replaced, thanks

Answer
From my experience, the shift keys get worn and skip gears or won't stay in gear. I wonder if your brakes are sticking, making it hard for you to shift. In a manual transmission, the gears must move a little bit to allow the keys to move. The other possibility is a shift shaft binding.