LT1045 won’t go into freewheel mode
 

Hello,

there is a LT1045 that has been unused and sitting outside for the last two winters. The owner is willing to sell it for $50 and I was trying to put it in freewheel by pulling the rod in the back but I can’t get it to click into neutral. We jacked up the back end and the tires are spinning freely but in opposite direction. I ended up not taking it home but was wondering if anyone has any ideas on what is going on? The rod in the back is connected to a spring and the spring is connected to another lever on the transmission. I can move that lever by hand but it only moves 1/4 turn or less back and forth. I don’t think it’s the breaks as I spin the tires when it’s jacked up. It’s an hydrostatic transmission. Any ideas what’s going on or what to try?

When you pull out the bypass rod, "bypass" is initiated by physical pressure relief in the "center" section of the hydro.
The bypass arm connected to the rod you pull does not have to move very much to do that, and it does not "click" into any position.
Operating the bypass has no physical effect on the differential gears so the spinning of the wheels as you describe is normal operation of differential gears.
It sounds as though from sitting, things are sticky inside the hydro.
My suggestion would be to try and get it running where it sits and things may get freed up in there.

if the brakes are tight you can still turn the wheels freely because the differential turning is not stopped by the brakes . pick up 1 side and you'll be able to roll it on the other rear tire

I have an update, it was the brakes I started to unscrew the brake next to the release lever and it freed it up. Thanks for the tips dale and Ironman. Now I have a different question, I noticed a little oil next to the release lever, should this be concerning?