My neighbor bought a used lawnmower and it only has one speed, even thought it shows that there are seven speeds on the fender. It also will not reverse. In taking apart the transmission, the gears seem to turn OK, but the lever to shift seems to not pull the gears into the proper placement. I do not know much about these workings and I may not even be looking at it properly. Is there a way to check to see if the transmission is working good and is there a way to see why I only have one speed and not more?

Thanks

This is pretty vague without a model number or picture but the problems sounds like an linkage adjustment issue. If the gears appear to align but you can't get it to move try disconnecting the gear shift linkage and move the arm of the transmission by hand, or large channel lock plyer.

Ball I think you have some good points there.