Moving John Deere X500 by hand

12 years ago

I had pulled the bypass lever at the rear of the tractor to move the tractor by hand. One hour latter I started the engine but forgot to push in the bypass lever. When the tractor would not move when pressing on the gas pedal I realized that the bypass lever was not pushed in, so I got off the tractor and pushed the bypass lever in while the engine was running. The operators manual for the John Deere X500 states that damage could be done to the transmission if the bypass lever is not pushed back to the operating position before starting the engine.

After doing this everything seemed to be ok, but is it true that I could have damaged the trans by pushing in the bypass level while the engine was running?

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Comments (8)

ll48
12 years ago
I've done that before on my X534 several years ago. I'm think that I stopped the engine before pushing the lever back in, but I'm not sure. Anyway, if it is working OK now it is probably fine. I've not had any problems with mine. I work part-time at a Deere dealer and I'll let you know if I find anything else out.
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krnuttle
12 years ago
I wish I could say I never did that, but....

When it happens I usually shut the engine off, push it in to engage, and then restart the engine.

I have done this periodically over about 9 years and the tractor is still working fne.
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wheely_boy zala
12 years ago
Apparently this is a feature they left off when they went from the GT series to the X500 series. On my GT245, the bypass release lever is reset when you set the parking break. Since you have to set the parking break to start the machine, this never happens, unless you by-pass safety switches.
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ll48
12 years ago
I verified that people do this often without any problems. If it was run for a long time in this position the transmission could overheat.
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JW Williams
9 years ago
I have a John Deere GT245 and the bypass lever does not completely get to the bypass mode when I pull it so I can push the tractor into the basement. Used to release completely and it was easy to push. Now, it can be pushed, but kind of catches and moves along like catch, catch, catch as I push it. Any ideas how to get it to release completely so I can push it freely? I can't really see where it hooks up in the machine, but have not had it on a lift yet. Thanks
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krnuttle
9 years ago
You may make sure there is no debris interfering with the movement of the lever.

For several years I did not have an parking brake on my JD lawn tractor. I got under the tractor several time trying to figure out what was causing the problem. In one of these inspections I looked from the correct angle and saw debris in the channel that forms part of the frame. You could only see the problem from one specific angle.

The debris was preventing the parking brake from engaging.
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JW Williams
9 years ago
Thanks for the suggestion. I also have a tough time seeing everything under the tractor and will try to use a jack to lift the rear end to do so. I hope it is some debris causing the issue. This just became an issue in the last few months. Thanks again.
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krnuttle
9 years ago
This is a technique that I have used to "see" under the tractor.

With the proliferation of cheap cameras in phones, you feel you can afford to lay the phone under the tractor and photograph the undersides from many different angles.

I used this technique to check the bolts that hold the motor in place.

These cheap phone camera can be used many places when working on your tractor, or on equipment in your shop. Uses could be a before pictures to establish the routing of belts, the location of wires in a switch, many uses.

Cheap phone cameras are great for this type of work.
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Moving John Deere X500 by hand

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