Westwood T1200 – jerky transmission

[samp]

My 1989 Westwood T1200 drives well, but in the lower manual gears, the mower jerks forwards every few seconds. I have changed the drive belt for a genuine replacement, and have replaced the belt tensioner pulleys, but the problem remains. In top gear all is smooth, but the lower gears are needed for grass cutting. Has anyone come across this problem before, and if so, what was the cure? Thanks, Sam

[trusty220]

Have a look at the pulley on the transaxle. You’ll probably find that the key holding it to the shaft has either sheared or rolled over, giving you an intermittent drive in the lower gears.

[samp]

Thank you trusty220! You have given me hope! I’ve recedntly replaced the engine with a newer used one but this jerky transmission problem was evident before that change. Getting that pulley off without major dismantling looks like a challenge, but I’ll give it a go. Thanks again. Sam

[wristpin]

I hope that Trusty220 is right but I suspect that you will end up having to split the ‘box where you may find that the gear selector keys are rounded off and that the corresponding internal dogs on the individual gears are slightly rounded off. If this is the case you may get away with just changing the selector keys ( two on early ‘boxes and four on later ones), but if any of the gears shows signs of distress, change it.
The cause of the issue is “ impatient shifting” – not being totally stationary .

[trusty220]

Let us know what you find. If it looks like an internal issue I may have a spare transaxle. What part of the country are you in?

[Author]

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