The drive (motion) belt can only be replaced from underneath. The deck must be removed first. Before replacing the deck, make sure the brake/clutch linkage, belt guides and keepers and idlers are clear of debree and that the idlers/pulleys are turning freely. Don't take the belt off until you have memorized its positioning.
Good luck.

Possibly you had rolled the belt off an idler pulley and all the rest is fine.

Memorized its position?????
That's what your digital camera is for!!
The days when I would trust things to memory are long gone.
You should not trust a memory either, it's easier to take pictures than to try and get a diagram.

I was afraid that might be the case. That's going to hurt with my back the way it is right now.

No problem with knowing how it goes back on. I have the owners manual and there is a diagram on the mower.

Thanks to All.

It's bad, the belt is fine. I had my sweet dear wife to sit on it and press the drive pedal while I watched underneath. It's spinning the hydro and nothing happens.

I called Lowes and it is still under warranty. I'm taking it in the morning. I just hope they don't find or invent a different problem......

It seems that every-time I take something to be repaired under warranty they find something else or invent a different problem to charge an arm and leg for!

did you double check to make sure that the hydro "disengage" control is really in the engaged position? - see your manual for details on it's location/function details....

Yes rcbe, I checked. When I tried to pull it out so that it would be easier to push I couldn't pull it out all of the way to disengage. I even tried to push the lever from under the mower and it won't budge.

Have you had one or both of your rear tires and rim off the hub recently where you may have lost the axle to hub keys? and did you try to push that hydro lever back IN as it may have already been in the pulled out position..?

No the tires have never been off. I tried to push that hydro lever back in. It won't budge either direction.

It doesn't make any sound when you push the drive pedal at all and the linkage is moving the lever on the drive. I think it should make some sound even if the lever to disengage it was pulled out.

I noticed from day 1 that it didn't want to go uphill very good.

apologize for the 'grilling', wertach... was just trying to save you an aggravating tractor repair return.
Yes, does sound as if that tranny has gone south. Hopefully, your warranty will cover what's needed. Good luck.

No need to apologize! Thanks for trying to help!

I know nothing about hydrostatic dives on mowers.

I figure they are similar to the ones used in industrial machines. I am a little familiar with them.

Wertach, be sure you emphasize to the service techs that you tried to operate the hydrostat "free wheel" lever/mechanism only AFTER THE PROBLEM AROSE.
You mentioned your feelings of apprehension that they might "invent a different problem". If they find something amiss in the settings/positions of the free wheel lever.............that could just be the "disclaimer" they might latch onto.

I didn't have to deal with the service techs. I took it to Lowes and dropped it off.

The guy that helped unload it said we need to pull the free wheel lever. I told him there was no need to and flipped the parking brake off. It rolled out of my trailer, no resistance or pushing at all.

He said that darn thing rolls easier than the ones I have to haul in and out with the free wheel lever pulled!

I told him about the other problems I've had with it. He said if I had of bought the Lowes extended warranty they would have just gave me a new one with the first problem.

That would have been a good deal @ $190. I have spent a lot more than that on it about $250, not counting my labor. It would have been $500 + if I had took it for repair.

Like they say hindsight is 20/20!

I have a 20+ year old Murray that I bought from them and it has never needed anything except regular maintenance. They don't make them like that anymore.

I fired it up a little while ago, first pull, and finished the job that I was doing with the Husky.

mownie, rcbe, and others, Lowes called this morning and said my mower was ready.

They said that the only thing that was wrong was the "free wheel" lever/mechanism was engaged.

How could that happen when I have never engaged it or tried to until after it quit pulling? And then couldn't get it to move either way!

The woman that I talked to said she didn't know if there would be a service charge.

If there is a charge I'm going next door to the Walmart as soon as I load it and buy a bag of lemons, a magic marker, and a piece of poster board.

Then I'm going to pull in front of the store place the lemons all over it and make a sign. I Bought This Lemon Here!

Har!
Perhaps you should suck on a lemon (to get your face right) and then use the marker and poster board to make a sign stating "I don't know how to operate a free wheel lever" or something like that.
Then stand outside Lowe's and hold the sign and a cup to see who feels sympathy for you.
Realistically, I would stick to the original story and if an attempt by them to charge you for this is made..........you need to object to that and reiterate that the condition arose without any action taken by you.
In the very least you need to "make them" show you how they operate the free wheel lever to both disengage......and engage....the transmission.

Hold up Buck. You've got your horn up the wrong butt. Lowe's doesn't make the Husqvarna and Husqvarna doesn't make the Hydro-gear. And to be honest, it sounds a bit like operator error.

Thanks for the comments grass1950 and mownie.

I'm a little pissed at the moment, so don't take everything that I'm about to say in a bad way. I will calm down ..... Later.

"And to be honest, it sounds a bit like operator error."

First of all, I'm not a rookie. I'm a licensed electrician, certified Chevy and industrial mechanic, I can fix anything. I am considered the best troubleshooter for the company that I work for and the same with my previous employer. If you are younger than 50 I was repairing mowers, tractors, cars, and trucks before you were even born.

Nope No operator error, the "free wheel" has never been engaged from day one. I drove it on to my trailer when I bought it and have never even messed with it until it stopped pulling.

I tried to engage and disengage after it stopped moving and it wouldn't move. I followed the linkage to see if anything was blocking it, nothing was, I could not get the lever to move either direction pulling and pushing directly on it.

"Lowe's doesn't make the Husqvarna and Husqvarna doesn't make the Hydro-gear."

I don't give a rats butt who made it. I bought it from Lowe's. If they don't stand behind what they sell there is a Home Depot on the other side of the block!

OK that vent is over!

Next vent:

I probably came close to getting a good old fashion butt whooping when I picked it up.

I peeved off the muscular young man when he told me that there was a $78 charge. I told him no way.

He also said that they engaged the free wheel to load it, which wasn't necessary since it was already freewheeling!

He said that it was my fault not theirs. I said to him You engaged the freewheel, not me.

He said that he had replaced the battery because it wouldn't start. As a courtesy, no charge. I had to put a battery maintainer on it two weeks after the battery warranty ran out, and told him that.

He popped off and said I'll take the battery back out and put your old one back in if you don't want to pay the service charge.

Then I got peeved off.

I told him that he didn't have to be an a-hole. And that I wanted to talk to the manager. He looked at me like he wanted to kick my butt. He went in and got on the phone, came back out threw me a piece of paper and said sign this as proof that you have picked it up and be on your way.

He got impatient with me when I was reading it an said, just sign the D thing!

I took my time and read it and signed it. He grabbed it up and said the key is in it and walked away.

a man after my own heart....

I just got trough trying it out after putting the mower deck back on.

Instead of the slow take off that it had from day one, it almost snaps the neck. Forward and reverse.

It also seems to go faster, which could be my imagination, not sure. I won't know until I cut the grass and see an increase in time to get done or not.

I intentionally stopped in my gutter drain ditch to see if it would pull out. It did, it never did before.

rcbe, I have to admit, the lemon and sign idea wasn't an original of mine. My recently departed brother in law used it first.

He bought a lemon car and the dealer kept giving him the run around. He did the lemon and sign thingy and about 30 minutes later they put him in a more expensive car with lower mileage just to get him to go away! LOL

I don't want to get into a pissing match about age or who is a rookie, I wasn't trying to insult you.
Let's recap:
You've spent $250 repairing the mower while under warranty, but never took advantage of the warranty until now and presumably know that DIY can void a warranty.
When you do finally take it in, you don't tell him, when he asks, that the free wheel lever will not move and suggest he try it.
Then, when you pick the machine up, you don't say that you asked him to show you what was wrong and try the free wheel for yourself or for that matter test the machine before leaving.
People should feel free to vent, it's good for the soul, but its a bit disingenuous to camouflage a complaint as a request for advice.

NM. Glad to see it's now working as intended and you are happy.

"I wasn't trying to insult you."

OK apology accepted. I don't want a pissing match either. It appeared to be an insult.

"You've spent $250 repairing the mower while under warranty, but never took advantage of the warranty until now"

Everything I repaired was out of warranty. The transmission is the only thing that is still under warranty.

"When you do finally take it in, you don't tell him, when he asks, that the free wheel lever will not move and suggest he try it."

It was not a repair person, just a kid that they sent to push it through the store. I told the lady in CS. She wrote it on the paper work.

"Then, when you pick the machine up, you don't say that you asked him to show you what was wrong and try the free wheel for yourself or for that matter test the machine before leaving."

When he said that there was a charge and I said no way he was instantly peeved off. I never had a chance to ask him to show me what was wrong. He was also not the repair man, they sent it to a shop for repair. The only reason he replaced the battery was because he couldn't start it to drive it around to the front of the store.

Also I did test it before leaving I engaged disengaged. I drove it back and forth and up and down the ramp on to my trailer. Both forward and reverse.

"presumably know that DIY can void a warranty."

Yes, that is why I didn't attempt to repair the transmission and took it in. I probably could have found the problem If I had took it apart.

"People should feel free to vent, it's good for the soul, but its a bit disingenuous to camouflage a complaint as a request for advice."

I don't quiet understand that statement. Please explain what you mean?

It wasn't an apology. It was a simple statement or fact.

I'm impressed, despite not purchasing an extended warranty, that you somehow obtained a warranty on JUST the transaxle that not only exceeds the 2 year warranty by Husqvarna on the tractor which btw specifically excludes parts they do not produce (e.g. engine and transmissions) but, astonishingly, even exceeds the 2 year Tuff Torq warranty. (Normally, the manufacturers' warranty is the only warranty honored by any store on products purchased without some sort of an extended promotional/purchased warranty).
I appear to have erroneously mistook you for a chronic complainer; an always right, sour-pussed lemon sucker.
Well done. I stand corrected.

"Normally, the manufacturers' warranty is the only warranty honored"

You are correct, it is the manufacturers' warranty. The 2 year warranty on the trans-axle expires in 2 months. The rest of the mower only had a 1 year warranty. That is when everything started breaking.

"It wasn't an apology. It was a simple statement or fact."

Oh sorry, I stand corrected. Have A Good day!

I'm just going to keep my mouth shut on this as I've said enough already.

This post was edited by grass1950 on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 1:48

Instead of editing, I'll post again.

"The rest of the mower only had a 1 year warranty." that isn't quiet correct.

I made the mistake of talking to the Lowes CS at the store and they said that the broke stuff wasn't covered. The battery wasn't, it only has one year.

I should have called the Husky CS, like I did with this problem.

Why did you edit and remove what you said earlier?

Thanks for your help anyway!