# Loss of power to drive wheels,shaking mower deck, difficult steering.



## bron (Dec 12, 2010)

If you ever have a loss of power to your drive wheels on your lawn tractor, examine your belts closely. This happened to me and the loss of power was accompanied by a familiar smell that I could not quite identify. Turned out to be part of a small thin tree branch that got pulled into the belt area and was rubbing against the drive belt. The smell was burning wood - the kind of smell you get when trying to start a fire using friction. One good reason to clean the yard first !

I am not one to follow my own advice, however. The following week I again did not clean the yard before mowing. My mower deck started to shake like possessed belly dancer. I examined the belts - they were fine. No sticks to be seen. Nothing visibly broken, loose, or out place. So I thought maybe a pulley wheel was damaged and started to physically move the belts with my hand to check for a bent wheel. That is when I saw a small piece of stick stuck under the belt in the groove of the pulley wheel. It was wedged in their good. Got a screwdriver and popped it out. Mower deck was fine after that - no shimmy. 

One other thing I learned recently. My steering seemed to be stiff and turns were difficult. Kept lubricating the steering mechanism and gears - no change.
While trying to solve the shaking mower deck issue, I noticed the front tires were quite low. So low I thought this might be affecting the mower deck. No relation. But after pumping up the tires my steering problems are gone.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

At 60 yrs of age,bron,I've learned that you're NEVER too old to learn! Every time we use our equipment,we seem to learn something new!
I guess that's why we own 'em !


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Bron: A similar issue happened with my 99 weedeater - when the front tires went a tad low, the steering gears would slip badly ( poor design from craftsman actually) - my fix actually involved swapping the entire steering setup from an older sears machine - other then a few 'tweeks' it was a bolt on setup.

Heres the link if you want to see it:

http://www.tractorforum.com/f209/99-weedeater-steering-retrofit-22400/


Ive had the stick thing happen as well, one time a vine actually got wrapped up in the drive and caused issues.


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