Why is my self-propelled lawn mower not running well?
It's a Craftsman front wheel drive mower. When I got it, I did not have to push it at all and just walked behind it. Now I have to push really hard to make it budge. What could be wrong with the front wheel drive?
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5 Responses to “Why is my self-propelled lawn mower not running well?”-
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The belt may have become stretched. The belt needs a certain amount of tension in order to pull the front wheel, otherwise it will just slip. Get a new belt.
Sometimes grass, dew, and other stuff can get caught in the belt and make it slip as well, clean it out.
The drive belt is streached and slipping. write the model and serial #’s down and go to sears, they will sell you a new one. its pretty easy to install as well. good luck.
actually there is a self propel cable that connects from the handle at the top down to the wheels, its typically black, with a silver (approx 12 guage) wire inside that slides, alot of the time that will come loose or simply snap inside and cause the self propulsion to stop working all together. typically this part only cost around 12 dollars to replace and you can get it at any craftsman dealer. if you ask a mechanic they may even be able to put it on right then and there for you because it is pretty easy to do so.
The belt either needs to be adjusted or replaced is one possibility. Another could be the gears that drive the front wheels are slipping. The gears that drive are metal but the ones inside the wheels that drive the wheels are plastic and they wear out and slip.
Ditto with the last answer. First check both front wheels as these mowers frequently strip the gears off the wheels. If the gears are fine then check the belt, clean any grass buildup around the drive system & lube the front wheel axle shafts & gears. Hope this helps.