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Snapper Self-Propelled Not Working

17 years ago

After using my 1-year old Snapper RP217019BV lawn mower for about 5 minutes yesterday, my self-propelled stopped working. When I engage the lever, the spring pulls up correctly, the (sorry, I don't know the correct terms) metal arm connected to the spring pulls up, but the belt does not turn, nor does anything else. The wheels do not spin. The same goes for if I lift the wheels in the air. No movement. The belt is not old, nor does it show sign of wear. I cannot see sign of any loose nuts or other reasons it may not work. The mower is under warranty, but the waiting period is 3 weeks, and my lawn will be a mess by then! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

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Comments (3)

mattv21
17 years ago
Is the belt that gets pulled up when you depress the drive lever getting tight? If not, it's broken or jumped a pulley. Seems unlikely. Is the driveplate turntable spinning if the motor is running? It should always spin when the motor turns, whether or not you have the drive engaged. If not (and I'm betting not), then the belt running from it to the pulley on the crankshaft (under the deck, above the blade) has slipped off and/or broken. If both of the above are okay, then is the vertical pulley (wheel, tire, whatever) turning when the engine is running? That's the pulley that rides on the drive turntable and moves toward the center when you select a lower speed or toward the edge when you select a faster speed. If not, then it has slipped off the turntable or maybe the spring that keeps it pressed down on the turntable came off the metal bracket that holds this driven pulley/tire/whatever. If even that is working properly, then you probably have a problem within the differential. But that seems unlikely on a fairly new Snapper.
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nevada_walrus
17 years ago
Check the belt guide below the belt you are pulling up on. Its just a sheet metal tab and sometime they are not bent far enough out, allowing the belt to drop below and get caught underneath. This tab is below belt just above the deck.

If it has dropped below, work belt around to the top side. Take a large slot screw driver and go between the tab plate after it bend up and goes up along side lower handle bracket. Wedge the plate outward a bit to keep the tab in better alignment with the belt.
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Both of these mowers will serve you well, expecially considering the small size of your lot. Should only be about a 30 minute job each mowing. Since you are at Sears, I would also recommend another mower, at a slightly cheaper price, a Craftsman brand that has a Honda GCV 160 engine. It is presently on sale for $289.95, and appears to be identical to my Craftsman-Honda purchased in 2000. I have an hour meter on this mower, and it is up to 490+ hours right now, and the engine still does a one year, 60+ hour oil change interval without using a drop of oil. It is on its' second set of wheels. I have a .5 acre lot, which I am already having to cut twice a week this year, and I use the mower year 'round, cleaning up leaves and yard debris through the fall and winter. If I were in the market for a new mower, it would be a hard choice as Sears has so many on sale in the $300 price range, including rear wheel drive models that many on this board find more desirable. For myself, I would choose between the Husky with the Kohler or the Craftsman with the Honda.
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It's not my intention to piss you off, but perhaps others can learn something constructive from your experience. Unfortunately, when Briggs & Stratton acquired Murray, Snapper, and Simplicity, they use this as a marketing opportunity to trade on the Snapper name with some of the old Murray designs. Your mower, as well as most of the walk-behind mowers on the Sears website are rebadged Murrays. Not necessarily junk, but not up to the standards of the "old" Snapper, which is now sold only thru authorized dealers or the the commercial space. That said, I'd take advantage of the warranty first. In the case of the drive cable, it might have come loose from the attachment on the deck, or the drive belt is broken or off the pulley. In any case, if you keep fooling with it and let your warranty run out Sears will tell you they can't help. Since you sound like you've lost confidence in the mower, I'd try to get Sears to offer your money back, and then move on to something else. Good luck.
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Died grass build up in the drive pulley or possibly near the transmission creating a little more tension than normal? You could look on a parts list and see if maybe there is a missing belt guide as well.
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mikec82
Original Author
17 years ago
You guys just saved a lot of time and heart-ache, thanks! After turning the mower over, sure enough, right behind the blade was a belt that had come off the runner. I half-way fed it back on as far as I could, cranked the engine, and it was back in good shape. I was able to get my lawn cut in time for company coming over!
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