I have a troy bilt model series 830. The drive wheels don't work properly. They will spin when the lever is engaged and the wheels are off the ground, but as soon as they touch the ground, nothing. I've replaced the belt and the wheels (one was broken). Adjusted the cable. It will loosen and tighten the lever. Which is the hand trigger on this model. What else could it be? It' a 2005 but only used for about 1- 2 years before the problem occurred. Always kept in doors. Maybe something's wrong with the cable or the spring on the bottom end, or the trans assembly? Any ideas?

Thanks

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Originally Posted by Cool man

Great content and very helpful thank and keep up the good work.

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That was my question. The drive wheels still won't work. I don't what to rip open the gear box if it doesn't need to be done! Looking for some suggestions.

Thanks

Same situation here, the drive wheels don't go when it touches the ground. I called a shop and they said it was about a $50 repair, but he hadn't looked at it yet.

I'm still looking for drawings, has anyone found the drawings?

Same situation here, the drive wheels don't go when it touches the ground. I called a shop and they said it was about a $50 repair, but he hadn't looked at it yet.

I'm still looking for drawings, has anyone found the drawings?

Go to Lawn Mower Parts. You can find a diagram there. Let me know what the shop says if they look at it.

You'll have to know your model number.

Hello Tutomut3

Yes, I have it... Mod 12AV566NO11, now let's see how I make out. I thank you for the lead.

Good grief... What a can of worms. No drawing and I have no idea what the parts are called. I suspect the problem may be in the gear box (?), or inside the wheels. I haven't tried to open the wheels yet.

I've always found the drawing and part number system to work well, but apparently the Troy Built people don't. I've found the model and serial numbers, plus a tag that has 675 Series on it, 21 inch, 190 cc and '3 in 1, whatever that means. How could I know the part number if I don't have a drawing. I looked in my files too but couldn't find any info or drawings.

Maybe try Troy Built... Or my local parts man.

Hmmmm... Great challenge, this...

Success. I dialed the 877 number and Scott walked me through the web pages. Thank you Scott, this old timer has trouble with computers and such.

The part number got me to the drawing which showed the gear box and the wheel assembly. Gear box is $95, and a wheel is $5.49. I'm going out to check the situation, I'm guessing the plastic wheel parts have taken a beating and that is the solution. Or it could be the gear box is out, we'll see...

Simple enough to get the wheels off, but no damage detected. The plastic gear run in both wheels is not damaged at all as I suspected it would be, nor are the gears worn, but I notice the axel shaft itself is worn (grooved), as is the plastic wheel where it slides over the axel. Not sure what that means.

Well, time to look at the gear box. Who knows, maybe it's filled with plastic too. Worn-out plastic that is...

Which leads me to the gearbox, and another disassembly.

Got my neighbor over to look at it. We decided it must be the 'gearbox', or clutch, which doesn't work, as the wheels look good, as does everything else.

So do I spend $95 for another clutch, or just put some regular wheels on it and use it as a push mower. $95 for the clutch assembly is almost half the price of the mower... What to do? What to do?

Well opened up the gear box. Few teeth had minor wear. Not enough to prevent the wheels from spinning. So it has to be the cable and or tension spring. Cost about $20 or so. I'll give it a shot. It's cheaper than the trans. Assembly. That will be last thing.

I'm going to Crossville tomorrow and I'll ask a Troy Built repair guy there what he thinks. It's a real puzzle to me. My mind keeps telling me there must be some kind of a friction clutch in that box, we'll see. And it looks like the whole wheel assembly has to be removed to get it apart.

Thanks for your input, I guess we're both looking to avoid that $100 repair bill.

Mine has a little horseshoe shape piece of steel that pushes against the larger gear when the lever is squeezed. When I had someone squeeze it whlie I had it open, there wasn't any movement. But when I manually pushed it against the gear, and then spun one wheel it engaged the smaller gear and looked the way it should. Everything was moving properly. That's why I think it's the cable and or spring.

I'll keep you posted as well.

Thanks!

Wasn't it a lot of work getting the gearbox off? Did the entire wheel assembly have to come off too? It all sounds like something I haven't had any experience with. I've got my mower in the van ready to check with a mechanic tomorrow morning. I should have something definite then.

My guess is many, many of these mowers must have this same problem, and the mechanics must be aware of it.

I'll let you know as soon as I learn something.

Not that tough. Turned the mower over, removed the 8 star screws. The bottom half was a little sticky due to the gasket sealer,but other than that no problem. Didn't need to take anything off. It comes apart like a vehicle differencial. Looks like the inside of a cars rear end.

All right, that's easier than I would have expected. By the way, did you see this other post regarding a factory recall?


https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/tools-...wer-27523.html

If this is a Model Series 830 - there was a Recall on them before they even hit the shelves at the store - and Troy Bilt is saying NOTHING ABOUT IT. I know I own one, and just went through this problem myself, the self-propelled system stops working because of the pulley system underneath - the fix is a "kit # 753-05089" and it is under warranty for this - they have a 2-year warranty on them - check your booklet on this - and if you still have your receipt you are covered - even if you take it apart to figure out what is wrong - which is what we did - to discover what the problem was - go to an authorized service center - have them plug in that kit # and they will see the recall notice of 3/21/05 for this - Troy should be sued over this in my opinion - they suck for not pulling these from the shelves - and any other model that this falls under - ticked I am over this - as I did damage to my right hand over this lever you pull to operate this - that is how hard it gets to pull trying to operate it - and beware - the idiots at these stores - also have a habit of putting these together wrong - and you may find the belt pin guards will need to be replaced as well - as they are probably broken off as result of incorrect installation - can't you tell I'm a little peeved over this Takes about a week for an authorized center to fix this - that's about how long you will be without it!
Your belt is worn out - that is why it won't "drive" while the wheels are on the ground - and why it works while you lift it in the air - DUH! The pulley system is letting it work while in the air - but the belt is too worn to move it while on the ground - it's a "DEFECT"!

And does that mean you have to get a whole new piece for $95? You think that will fix it? Hopefully it will...

Wow, it's late after a long day. What I meant to say is "Will a new belt fix it or do we need the $95 part?" I'm going back to research this post.

I put on a new belt , it did nothing.

Well after doing a Google search, there was no "official recall" on these mowers, that I could find. So I'm going to improvise and fabricate something and see it that works, before I bring it in for repairs.

Contacted Troy Bilt today. That also denied any claim of a recall. So if that is the cause of the problem and we want it fixed, we would have to pay for the repair ourselves.

No luck at Crossville. The one repair fellow out at the flea market has sold out to another fellow who will be in Sat morn. Another shop didn't have a belt, and said they had a 2 week wait for service. I'll try one more shop in Wartburg.

I'm hooked now because I can't figure out how this thing works. I'm determined to understand it, or just take the self-propel parts out and rig the wheels to operate independently.

I've had good luck with Troy Built tillers, it's a shame this piece is so weird.

I think I've got it. I took the Troy Built to my local garage, who also does mowers, and we took it apart. Inside the gearbox is a worm gear that slides sideways when the grip is applied, via the black plastic piece down there. Inside the box, next to the worm gear is a shim, which the mechanic says is worn thin so it doesn't push the worm gear far enough to completely engage the wheels. And so it was when he started it up and depressed the grip, I could see the worm gear did not move sideways far enough. So, I'll know in an hour or so if the solution is to put in another thicker shim.

And... I'm wondering if the shim was too thin to begin with, thus the many mowers experiencing the same problem. In my case the mower was purchased in 2006 and has had normal use for 3 summers. Hard to believe a metal shim could wear that much with only average use.

Success... The mechanic put in two washers which were each thicker than the original one it had, and it works well now. It required taking the entire wheel assembly off the carriage and working on a bench.

He charged me $30 for the repair, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck

Charley

I'll give it a shot! The worst that can happen is it won't work or I can't do it myself.

I mowed last night and it works just about like it did originally. Hopefully it will outlive me, because I don't want to have to deal with it again.

After taking off the gearbox cover, and it is stuck tight with sealer, you'll see the shim, it looks like an ordinary washer, about an inch dia, sitting right next to the worm gears. Pull the hand grip and you'll see the black plastic piece push up against the shim, in turn pushing the worm gear to the right and engaging the drive shaft.

How the mechanic got the new shims in I don't know. When I saw it next there were two ordinary looking washers, slightly larger in dia than the old one, and they added about the equivalent thickness of 3 or 4 of my old worn shim.

But, maybe the original shim was too thin to begin with. Mine lasted three seasons, but I still can't imagine steel wearing down so fast.

Replaced the shim with a thick washer. I looks like it should work fine when I manually compress it. Though I noticed the ring gear has a little more wear than I originally had noticed. Not sure if I what to replace the gear before putting it completely together again. I found a few similar assemblies on Ebay, pretty cheap($20 or less).Might buy one just for the gear, but it's a crap shoot. Won't know if the gear is any better.
I'll take a chance on one!

I can't see how my original unit did the job for so long, considering the mechanic put in two washers, each at least 1/16 inch thick, in addition to the original piece. But I mowed again last night and it worked OK. It doesn't seem to be "as good as new", but hopefully it will last a few more seasons.

Makes me wonder if this isn't an example of planned obsolescence. A small part, enclosed in a sealed unit that can be purchased and replaced at the shop without even opening up the old one. Calculated to last until the warranty runs out. No, not my beloved Troy Built...