Craftsman Tiller Shift problem (pics)

[Irvin Cooper]

Hello all.

My early-80's craftsman tiller was a little hard to shift out of neutral last year until it got really warmed up from use.

I got it out today to turn in some compost and simply cannot get it out of neutral.

Despite its age, this is a very low-use tiller. It was used for one season and then sat for years. I got it a year ago from the former-owner's son in law. It is in mint condition. I have serviced it frequently (oil, etc) but cannot find any instructions in the manual regarding lube for the gear box.

Has anyone had experience with this model of tiller, and in particular with lubrication of the gear box and/or the shifter locking up?

Thanks.

Irv
[IMG]

[raybait1]

Have you tried rocking it back and forth while trying to put it in gear?

[Irvin Cooper]

Thank you for the response. Yes, I have. I was having to do that last fall, but it was never jammed/locked to this extent.

[How Do I]

My craftsman tiller is a 2000+ model but the style looks very similar. If it weren't almost three in the morning and I weren't way past tired I'd try to see if I could find a manual somewhere online for you. I'll try in the late morning if you haven't found an answer yet. I believe mine has a grease fitting somewhere in the area of where the height adjustment "knob" is in the actual picture above. I'm really tired, so could just be a brain malfunction going on. But I want to say the fitting is somewhere in that area, if that model even has one.

[How Do I]

I checked my tiller this morning/afternoonish and the grease fitting for lubricating the gear housing is right where I stated before. Doesn't look like yours is located there going by the photo. Do you have a model number for this tiller? Sears Parts has diagrams so you should be able to see how it's all put together and guesstimate what's causing the problem.

[geo in mi]

If you take the belt guard off, then can you turn the big pulley? If so, your transmission may need lubrication, but possibly not. If the forward /reverse and the tiller tines operated last year, then it probably isn't locked up or out of lube. Pull the ring pin(visible in your picture) out of the shaft that holds the lever/pointer together and use penetrating oil or such on that shaft right where it goes into the transmission. My hunch is that it is that selector shaft which has rusted or gotten stuck with crud, though I wouldn't neglect the tranny lube if the machine is that age. The machine sort of looks like my newer Huskvarna--same basic layout. Hope this helps.

[rufus]

That sure looks like the tiller I have and I had a very simular problem with it. The tines would turn, it just wouldn't self propel. I had to dismantle the hole rototiller and replace the drive chain down to the wheels. If I remember right the chain was a #20, pretty light weight for a tiller I think but hey who am I? Be prepaired, I couldn't get the one wheel off even with a torch and gear puller so I had to do everything through a 3-4" opening but it can still be done. When I was at this point, I was prepaired to cut the axel and drill out the stubb if need be. It was getting personal.

[Ichabod]

I have a tiller like that and had the same problem. I drilled a 1/4 inch hole in the upper corner of the chain case and squirted in a bunch of 00 grease, then installed a self tapping sheet metal screw to seal the hole. I've had no problems since then.

Ichabod

[JohnnyColeman]

My shifter was getting more difficult to move by the year. I injected about a quarter tube of JD cornhead grease in the transmission grease zerk. Works like new now.