Tag: one wheel spins on riding lawn mower

Riding Lawn Mower Repair

One Wheel Turns on My Riding Lawn Mower and Other Does Not

Riding lawn mower transmissions are normally a one wheel drive at a time. You may notice it especially on hills where one tire slips on the uphill side.

On many riding lawn mowers, this is a perfectly normal situation. There is a sort of limited slip built into them and slippage like this is common.

If your riding lawn mower is supposed to have both wheels turning, then you may have a transmission problem or one of the wheel keys to holds the wheel to the axle may not have been installed after recent work.

One way to tell if your transmission is working properly is to put the rear up on jacks and then spin one back tire. The other tire should rotate in the opposite direction on a normal lawn mower. They should both turn in the same direction on a mower where both wheels engage.

Check the wheel keys. They are just a square piece of steel that slides into the axle and the wheel itself.

If you cannot find the source of the problem, visit one of our Locations for a riding lawn mower shop near you.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair

One Wheel Turns on My Riding Lawn Mower and the Other Does Not

You are riding along and take a turn while cutting the lawn and the inside tire spins. This is very normal because most riding lawn mowers have a type of limited slip or one wheel drives only.

When mowing on hills or when turning quickly, you soon find out which tire is spinning right away. Some riding lawn mowers have a locking rear end that makes both of the drive wheels turn at once. These would be on a lawn tractor or a compact tractor.

If you feel like your lawn mower should not have only one wheel turning, look in the owner’s manual and see if it gives you the specifications. If it does not list it, contact the manufacturer and speak to Technical Support for expert advice. There are many different type of transmissions so be sure to have the Model and Serial number of your mower so they can easily look it up to see what drive system it has in it.

So if the spinning tire is creating an issue, you may have to adjust your mowing habits and how you mow your lawn to resolve this situation.

If you need professional riding lawn mower repair, visit our Locations page for assistance.