Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): riding mower transmission, hydrostatic transmission, tall grass

Question
While mowing the other day, I ran into a tree branch which stopped me dead in my tracks. At this point, the mower decided it no longer wanted to go forward or backwards, nor into nuetral. However, after much cursing, and swearing, and dumping the clutch,and some smoking of the drive belt, the mower began lurching forward. Eventually it quit lurching and began behaving somewhat normally, though in lower gears even tall grass would stop it from moving, and  I would have to put it in a higher gear to get it moving, then drop it into a lower gear. Today as I mowed it got progressively worse, and i had to use progressively higher gears to get the mower moving, and the lurching returned, but once again, as I drove it back up to the house cursing, the lurching smoothed out. It appears that when the mower refuses to move that the drive belt is also not moving. The mower is a two year old troy-bilt tuffy, with just a regular non-hydrostatic transmission. What are the odds it's just the drive belt slipping, and not a screwed up tranny? And if it is a screwed up tranny, any idea how hard they are to fix?


Answer
Hi Tom,

I would start with an easy check first.  Inspect the drive belt.  Look for a condition that is not cracked, has pieces missing or is shiny.  If the belt is fine then I would try to inspect the rear end and tranny.  Being non-hydro it would be much easier and less costly to repair.

Let me know what you find,
Michael