I have an old snapper rear engine mower. When I am mowing it randomly slows and stops. The engine still runs like a champ, but it won't go up even small hills. It is like it barely gets in gear. I don't know if there is an adjustment so the wheel on the bottom of the engine will make better contact with the drive wheel or not?

greg, June 2009

wondering if you found a solution ,, I just ran into the same pro. but my plate looks fine, and watching while its running in gear since my boots are torn I can see the axels spinning but still wont move. I can also turn one wheel and the other does spin

bill s, September 2009

With the gas drained, battery removed, and the sparkplug disconnected or removed, stand the mower on its tail on a hard surface level area; that's what the bumper bars on the back are designed for.

Check the drive platter on the engine crankshaft for grease or oil. Clean it if needed. Also clean the rubber faced drive disc on the transaxle input shaft.

If cleaning it does not help, or if the rubber faced drive disc shows obvious wear or damage, replace it. The rubber is about 5mm thick on a new drive disc. If it is worn to less than 3mm, I would replace it with a new one.

Unless someone has had it apart or monkeyed with it, you should not need to change any adjustments, just clean or replace the friction drive components. If you do need to make adjustments, better buy a service manual or pay a professional mechanic to do it.

haywiremechanic, June 2009