I have had this tractor for about 6 seasons, and havent had a single issue with it til just this past week, when 2 problems cropped up at the same time, and was hoping for some input if anyone has any.

First problem is that it appears to have developed some sort of transmission problem. With the drive engaged, the tractor moves, but has what I can best describe as a surging issue. It will move forward 20-30 feet, come to a stop for no more than a second or so, then surge forward, and repeat indefinitely.

Second issue is that the PTO will not engage - It is a manual lever that I believe simply engages a drive belt, but when you move the lever up and over, there is simply no reaction. No noise, or pitch change, or any indication that it is attempting to do anything at all...

I am fairly handy, but I know transmissions can get pretty tricky, and I dont want to bite off more than I can chew.

If anyone has any suggestions about the best place to start looking at this, and whether they think the 2 issues are related, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!