It sounds like one of the pinion gears is backwards. Do you hear clicks from both sides when you pull backwards with the transmission not engaged? The gears go on the axle with the open side facing the same direction. If one is reversed the wheel on the "wrong" side will lock in place and not spin when pulled backwards and you will hear clicks from that side when pushing it forward. Bk bk - the axle springs ca be ordered from www.greenpartsstore.com or through a John Deere dealer.

OTOH, the LB is a smaller (20"), lighter mower with a guarantee and parts availability for many years. It seems to be a perfect fit for a small yard. I agree about the blade clutch. How hard is it to pull the starter cord once or twice during a cutting if you need to stop to empty a bag or pick up a stick. Just go by one cardinal rule - never mess around with any mower with a running engine. Do you know for certain that the clutch has worked and stopped the blade? Not without picking it up and looking, after which they'll call you 'Stumpy'.:) Plus, you want self-propel rear wheel drive for those hills, and the 10604 has the 'Variable-Speed' RWD drive which is my personal favorite. Same as Personal Pace except you control it manually - squeeze the bail tight for max speed, feather it for slower. When you drop the bail, it's instantly a push-pull mower for those cut-ins. Plus, the OHV Kohler engine is no slouch either. And no blade clutch on the 10604 - that's the 10605.

Thanks for the reply. I never did get around to taking the tank off but did already pull the jet mentioned and cleaned it with wire and more carb cleaner without success. I just didn't want to put anymore time and money into it especially since it seemed the transmission might be starting to go. And I somehow got a sore ligament at my elbow that might be from my moving the mower around working on it (that still haven't healed now a few months later). Honda had a one-year extended warranty offer at the time so I bought the $399 model at the local H D store. Glad I did, quieter, lighter and easier to maneuver than the John Deere. And it mulches better and doesn't accumulate clippings under the deck like the Deere does. With the Deere, I'd have to scrap under the deck with a putter knife after almost every mow, and that's when my grass is dry to the touch. Only thing with the Honda is I have to get used to the hand padels self-propel speed control. It's good for on the go speed adjustments, but the down side is it does take more effort to keep a constant speed, especially with my lumpy lawn often bumping my mower a little up and down. And I have to restart it every time I let go of the handle. But it's a lot cheaper than the Deere that cost me $700 back in 1995, will have to see how long it last. Overall I like the Honda better and will try to sell the Deere for parts.

I think that's a pretty good deal. I was just at Lowe's this past week and saw a John Deere electric start push mower on sale for about $300, around $150 off the original price. It looked like brand new and I wondered why the big discount. I was told that it was because the person who bought it changed his mind and that Lowe's can't sell it as new and gives a good sale price on it. Even though he said they don't usually do it, the guy held it for me until I could drag my husband down to look at it and see what he thought. He liked it too and so we bought it. Neither of us has gotten around to starting it yet. Heck, I'm not even sure what oil we should buy for it. I suppose it says in the book, but neither of us has had time to read the manual yet. I don't know offhand which model it is, but is electric start. We're both tired of having to practically pull our guts out trying to start push mowers and so decided that this one was the one for us! The salesman said if we would run it and decide we didn't like it, we have 30 days to return it.