You wake up today with a positive mindset. You think to yourself that you are going to clean your lawn today. You start your handy self-propelled lawn mower. But what’s this? Its wheels are not moving.
Your self-propelled lawn mower wheels are locked up. Now, this is a common issue most lawn mower owners face.
There are many reasons behind this problem. It could be the transmission not working, V-belt has defects, or the wheel gear is clogged up with grass clippings.
Whatever reason it may be, we are here to give you a solution. We will tell you how to fix your self-propelled lawn mower wheels locking up problem. Just follow our guide.
How to unlock the self propelled lawn mower wheel?
Here are some tips to help you unlock your locked up lawn mower wheels. Before we do that, we want you to check the lever first.
- You can open the hatchet and check for any problems in the transmission. You can check for any defects in the V-belt. Usually it is the V-belt that causes all the problems. The V-belt is more likely to lose quality over use.
The simple solution to this is just getting a new V-belt and installing the new one.
- As we have said earlier about checking the lever, you can do that simply by opening it with a screwdriver. The lever on the handle is what gives the command to the wheels to move. If there is something wrong with the lever, it should explain why your wheels aren’t moving.
Now you can’t fix it entirely on your own. You need to either change it or take it to a mechanic. But hey, at least now you know.
- Sometimes the wheels get jammed up for very minor reasons. It could be possible that the wheel joints have dried up or something is stuck in the wheels. You can clean up the wheels, remove any clogs and then lubricate it. The lubrication should get the wheels moving again.
You can try the B’laster 8-GS Industrial Graphite Dry Lubricant. A good lubricant will not only make your wheels work properly, but also increase the lifespan of your wheel.
- If you have a gas powered self-propelled lawn mower, you should receive a guide with some precautions.
One of the most common mistakes every owner makes is that they don’t empty the gas line. The guide always tells you to run the engine until all the gas is out of the line. Unfortunately, some owners neglect this message and in the process they temporarily defect the engine. This results in defective engines which results in wheels not moving.
The solution is to turn the lawn mower over on both sides to minimize this gas flooding.
- You could check for clogs in the lawn mower. It is working with grass so there is a good chance the grass clippings have gone inside the machine.
Not only grass clippings, even dust or other debris in your lawn could also damage the machine. What you need to do is open the hatchet, remove the deck and look for places where there could be a potential clog. Clean up all the messes and your machine should be back in its prime potential.
Just make sure you don’t get water or anything inside the carburetor. After the clean up your wheels should start moving.
- Another reason the wheels are not moving is the drive cable is stuck or out of place. It is possible that somehow the drive cable is out of position. Simply put it back on its place to fix the problem.
Worst case scenario would be when your transmission is not working. There is no solution to that. You will have to buy a new lawn mower because the transmission is irreplaceable.
If you want to know how to change a lawn mower wheel you can check out our blog. Go check out how to change wheels on a self-propelled lawn mower?
Alright, now you know how to fix this problem, but what if this happens again? Well, we will tell a few precautionary steps you can take to not end up with locked up wheels on your lawn mower.
Avoid getting your lawn mower wheel locked up
Here are some proactive moves you can take to avoid getting your wheels locked up on your self-propelled lawn mower.
- Make sure your gears on the wheels are solidly attached. You can check that by removing the rear wheels. Check for any lodge in between the pinion gear and the inside of the wheel. You should know if something is stuck in there or not.
- Turn off the wheels and on a flat concrete surface, start the drive system.
Pay attention and see, does the axle turn? If it does then your issue is probably in the friction washer, thruster, clutch, engagement key or gear assembly.
Grease the pivot arms on a regular basis. This will prevent the plastic clutch washer from gradually getting hot. This will stop it from becoming ineffective in engaging the drive key inside the pinion.
- What if the axle doesn’t turn? Check the transmission or drive belt. Again look for a clog or defect.
You can turn the transmission pulley by hand. If it doesn’t turn or show resistance then you have problems inside the transmission. It could also be possible that the axle is frozen in the pivot arm.
- The last thing you can do is give it a regular check at the store. Monthly check ups will help keep your lawn mower in a good condition. This will also help save your time and effort.
Keep a Capri Tools 3/8 inch Combination Wrench with you. This tool is really handy if you ever need to check your lawn mower by yourself.
What we are trying to say is just stay proactive. Keep checking your machine weekly or monthly. These things tend to lose quality over time and without regular maintenance, they lose quality fast.
F.A.Q.s
Why is my self-propelled lawn mower not propelling?
The most common problem for the lawn mower to stop propelling is that the V-belt attached to the drive system is broken or not working. That is why the wheels are unable to move.
What causes a lawn mower to lock up?
If your lawn mower stays in a bad condition for too long then, the piston can stop working. It could also be possible that you forgot to pour oil in the crankcase.
Can you manually push a self-propelled lawn mower?
Yes, you can manually push a self-propelled lawn mower that has its self-propelled feature turned off.
Will pushing a self-propelled lawn mower damage it?
No, it will not. You can turn off the self-propelled feature and push your lawn mower manually. This will even save energy.
Final Words
Self-propelled lawn mowers are mechanical stuff. They are not as simple as traditional push lawn mowers. Traditional lawn mowers can last years after years without lacking quality. They don’t even need any maintenance.
However, self-propelled lawn mowers require regular maintenance and you have to be really careful with them. A single mess up with a self-propelled lawn mower will cost you.
After reading all the steps and solutions you should understand by now that a wheel lock is not only caused by problems in the wheels. In a self-propelled lawn mower one problem in one part could affect its other parts.So you have to be really careful with these machines. Anyway, we hope our steps to fixing your self-propelled lawn mower locked up wheel helped you. Let us know your opinion.