Lots of those hydro releases don't function. You could also check for a stuck brake. To roll a short distance, lift one rear wheel off the ramp and the differential action will allow the other tire to roll down. Most of these had a double d type wheel hub- but if yours is keyed, slide the wheel off and take the key out and it will roll where you want it to go.

Tackled the monster today. Surprising results. Took an old belt along to fabricate friction washers, also a ..."cloth"... anyway those woven things we all wore in the military as it had good thickness and I ain't going to be using a 26" belt in the near future....:-) Disassembled the unit. Consisted of a coil spring, hollow metal tube with a 9/16" (nut size) bolt through it, and a thick plastic washer against a thick ...waxed cardboard....(like the stuff gaskets in carbs etc. are made of) washer. The metal tube was obviously to control how much the spring could be tightened. The plastic and cardboard washers were pristine, no wear, no deformation that I could see. HOWEVER, someone had oiled them previously. CUDOS TO "JUSTALURKER" who suspected this. I cleaned them up, per his suggestion. I then took the metal tube to my grinder and removed about 1/16" from each end. I did this as I could easily compress the spring against the tube and there was a lot of space between the coils. Also, since the unit is 20+ years old there has got to be wear that I couldn't see. Reassembled and tried it, works fine, motion control lever stays where it's put now. Still have some more to tighten if I need to. So happy ending to the story, thanks for all the good input. Left the belts in the barn as I have another need for a friction washer. Thanks again, Ev

having a problom with a 4 yr old craftsman hydro trans started jerking and slipping now it wont go forward and real slow in rev.could it be a drive belt? there is no drain plug is this fixable or is the trans shot it also makes noise clicking pushing the brake slightly makes it less noisy but no power any help would help thanks steve.

The usual reason for the grinding noises, and poor forward or reverse, is: Its plain worn out! Time for a new tractor. If ya want longevity in a lawn tractor-buy a standard shift! Of course, if you truly love the machine, well then--go spend as much as a new tractor would cost, and have a new transmission installed!