MOWER WONT MOVE

Toro LX460 CVT transmission

Was mowing the lawn the other day when the “go” pedal seemed to pop and went all the way to forward. Upon inspection I could see that when engage the pedal the drive belt would tension but when it made contact with the spinning engine shaft pulley it would only smoke and squeal.

I chalked it up to an old worn out belt. I ordered a new lower drive belt (the one that runs from the engine pulley to the variable speed pulley on the rear axle) and a upper drive belt (the smaller belt that is routed above the rear axle.) After some bloody knuckles, spilt beer, and cussing, I removed & replaced the belts without issue. Everything is back together and....same issue. The lower drive belt definitely seems tighter through what I can feel when pressing the pedal but it is still smoking and squealing when it makes contact with the spinning engine pulley.

I am mechanically inclined enough to make whatever repairs are necessary I am just not great at diagnosing what the issue is. I had a tough time finding anything in regards to this same issue across the interwebs. I’m hoping it’s something simple that I can dig into. I’m kind of thinking it might have to do with that variable speed pulley...any and all information is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you. Couple questions.

1) When I had it removed I noticed the the “disc” in the middle had play in it; I was able to move it up and down maybe about 1/4”. Is this normal?

2) How does the variable speed pulley come into play with the symptoms that I am having. I am just trying to get a better grasp of how it works.

3) how do I go about oiling it?

tiger041988
Disassembled VSP.

One of the bearings was missing half the balls and one was imploded. I think I’ll start with replacing the bearings

6203-2RS

Either got something assemble wrong and it is the same auto drive setup as MTD mowers. or you have the wrong belts. Check the belt lengths. Primary 5/8 x 90.5 - 90.8; Secondary 5/8 x 41.5 - 42.
 
But I am suspecting more likely of an assembly error.

UPDATE: I checked the routing of both drive belts. Everything is good. I adjusted the lower drive belt tensioner, all the way in, middle, all the way out. No change in the speed. Only difference I noticed is the pressure needed to press the pedal.

Upon looking at the VSP I saw it was shiny on the top and bottom. So I’m thinking maybe the new belt that I installed is a little taller than the OEM belt and was restricting the belt travel. So, now that I’m good at this, I removed the belts and installed the original belts. Test ran and it seems maybe a litttttttllllleeeee bit faster but still not as fast as I remember.

Disclaimer- I haven’t drove this thing in almost a month and in the interim I have mowed my Dads lawn with his very fast mower 3 times. So maybe I am misremembering how fast this thing actually is in comparison to my Dads.

Anyway, I adjusted the belt tensioner out, middle, and all the way in with the original belts installed and test ran in all settings. Still doesn’t seem right.

Anything I should be looking at? Getting ready to set this thing on fire and cover my lawn in asphalt.