2072 hydro won't work
 

I just bought a 2072. It will not roll, it's like the brakes are locked up but they aint. You can jack up the rear end and the wheels turn freely. One turns one way and the other turns opposite. Crank the engine and advance the SR lever and it growls and loads the motor down but won't move. Fluid level is OK but is foamy, it's full of air. Removed both check valves and they are fine, no stuck balls. Other than change the fluid and filter I don't know what else to do. Previous owner said it ran fine last summer but has been setting since. I bought it not running. After draining about 4 quarts of water out of fuel tank and cleaning carb it runs fine. Has 800 plus ours on it. Please someone help.:bash2:

Pull the rear cover and take a look inside. I'm wondering if someone replaced an axle tube bolt and put one in that is too long and it's hitting the ring gear. Do the hydraulics work? lift and power steering?

I would take a look at the rear end and see if any bolts were replaced like Sam said. There is another possibility, but you can check for that when the rear end cover is off. When I got my 1572 new from the dealer in 1987, I also bought a 3PT hitch and rear PTO for it. During the normal procedure of installing these items on my new tractor, I had the rear end cover off. To my surprise, inside the rear end all the way toward the front of the tractor on the left-hand side was a ball of metal turnings about the size of a baseball. I never understood how that got in there, nor how it didn't wind up jammed up in the ring and pinion gears, maybe because it had only mowed the lawn once or twice. But check for shrapnel as well inside the rear-end that could be jamming up the ring gear.

Yea the power steering and lift work.

Will do that, thanks.

One other thing I forgot to ask was this machine towed for an extensive distance? Reason I ask is that you possibly have a failure of the motor section of the Hydro. Hope that is not the case. :bigthink:

To my knowledge it has not been towed. Previous owner said he mowed with it last summer and it ran fine. Gonna take the rear cover off and inspect the innards and if I don't find anything change the oil and filter. Previous owner never changed anything.

Dave, I wonder if the suction line could be sucking air from a crack or a loose fitting causing the foaming. Does it sound like the pump is cavitating? Your on the right track by draining the fluid, pulling the cover and putting new go juice in there. Keep us posted on how it goes.

It would seem that it's sucking air from somewhere. I have had lotsa supers over the yrs. and I have never had one that had air in the system. I will definitely keep you all informed on the progress although it may be up to a week before I get to drain the fluid and check the rear end. Thanks for the advice and keep your fingers crossed.