Need to move your hydrostatic ride on lawnmower manually but can’t? In this video James explains how to disengage a hydrostatic drive axle/transaxle/transmission on a ride on mower/lawn tractor. Essentially showing you how to Manually Move a Hydrostatic Lawnmower.
Brands we cover in this video include, Al-KO, Cud Cadet, Countax, Westwood, Husqvarna, Stiga, John Deere, Honda, Mountfield and many more similar machines.
Hydrostatic drive transmissions are filled with fluid and require the operation of a gear driven pump to move the fluid which then in turn drives the wheels.
These systems should normally be in the engaged or operation mode when the mower is to be driven.
If a hydrostatic drive tractor starts but engagement of the operator controls for the transmission drive results in neither a forward or reverse drive of the mower itself, the operator should check that the manual bypass controls have not been left in the activated (bypass) position.
The “no forward or reverse drive” scenario described above occasionally happens when new tractors are delivered. The delivery person rolls the tractor off of the delivery vehicle and then fails to deactivate these bypass valves. Just another reason why it is always a good idea to read all of the literature that comes with a new product, before using it for the first time.
To push a riding mower equipped with hydrostatic drive it will be necessary to disengage the fluid drive by activating the manual bypass valve. The activation of the manual bypass valve will allow the axles to roll freely by diverting the flow of fluid around the drive pump system.
CAUTION: Activation of the fluid drive manual bypass control valve will result in the axles being free to revolve with significantly reduced effort, for safety reasons this procedure should always be performed on level ground and with the parking brake engaged to prevent accidental free rolling of the tractor. When ready to push the tractor the parking brake should then be released.
The manual bypass control lever is generally located at the rear of the riding mower and the linkage is connected directly to the transmission. It will be necessary for the operator to dismount the riding mower to activate or deactivate the bypass valve control lever. Please consult the tractor Operator’s Manual for the location and operation of these bypass control levers, as the exact location and operation of these valve controls may vary slightly with individual transmission and mower designs.
NOTE: Many zero radius turn style riding mowers are equipped with two individual hydrostatic transmissions, a left side and right side, each will have its own manual bypass control lever.
