I've got a Craftsman mower from the early 2000's that I've been nursing along for a while now. Recently, the self propel mechanism started crapping out. One wheel still gets some power, but the other doesn't, so now its pulls to the right.
I have doubts about parts availability, as it took some searching to replace the blade on it earlier this year. I was thinking I'd replace it with a lighter mower with no self propel. But, I'm kind of cheap. Anyone ever disabled and removed the parts that drive the wheels? I'm thinking the reduced friction and slight weight loss would be worth it over trying to push it around the yard as is.
The drive mechanism is fairly simple. Weird that it is driving only one wheel.
Might be an easy fix, ie: roll pin.
Most likely you can disconnect the drive and just push it.
Take a look at the possibilities.
The little nubs on the back of the front wheels wear out over time. New wheels are 15-20 each and on the shelf at your local sears. Might check amazon for cheaper.
It is about a 5 minute fix. Super easy.
Those teeth on the inside lip.
Most look like this after a few years
In reply to eastsidemav:
You said that it was made by Craftsmen. Does it has a readable model number on it? Of you can get the Craftsman model number, you will be able to go online and find all the parts diagrams. chances are the parts you need are still available.
From the description you gave, it sounds like one of the plastic gears in the front wheel is stripped. The gear is molded into the wheel, its made to fail sacrificially, so that more costly parts don't get damaged. They are easy to replace, and I recommend replacing them in pairs.
The best thing to do when you find the part number is Google it and cross reference it to the OEM Builders part number, then enter that part number into an Amazon search.
I have a Craftsman mower, most are made my major mower mfg. I saw nearly the same mower at a HD, only the tags were different. Yes those wheels wear out after a few years. The drive shaft runs on ball bearings as well and they have only dust shields and are not sealed so dirt will get into them and wear them out. Then the shaft will move around and wear the plastic gears out even faster. In the end you have to buy a new mower as the drive system will just wear out making it not worth fixing.
What I did with mine as soon as I opened the box was replace the bearings with "sealed" bearings of the correct size. It's not hard, it just takes some effort in searching for the correct bearing from an internet supplier.
Its actually a rear wheel drive mower, with a Honda engine(the major reason I'd like to keep it around). I have found parts diagrams in the past, but was just feeling a little lazy. I'll do a little digging and see. Honestly, I don't mind losing the self propel mechanism if I can get rid of all the drag on it.
I do seem to recall this model was notorious for having driveline issues, mainly brought about because it didn't disengage quickly enough, so if you needed to back up, you'd be dragging it backwards.
