OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions On Victa Ride On Mower Frames Victa 4012TX (1996) No drive !

1996 Victa Ride On Model 4012TX. Serial 5001278340891
Power B&S 7.21 kw
Thanks for looking. I'm new on this site and do believe I might have come to the right place.
I'm trying to assist a disabled pensioner with her Ride on Mower.
Engine is great..
Belts are perfect.
Brake is released.
But, will not drive when put into gear.
Raised the back end onto stands,and when started and put into gear then the wheels will turn, forward or reverse.
But apply any load onto turning wheels and can easily be stopped while engine note does not change.
I have applied extra weight against drive belt, but still no difference.
No noises between gears, yet will increase revolutions either by higher gear application or engine revs.
Sitting of stands back on the ground, engine running and in gear I can see the axle shaft (left hand looking from rear) turning inside wheel. Can stop shaft turning with finger pressure.

I hate to think it might be a major problem for this pensioner, but just maybe someone in here can enlighten me as to how when or where this problem can be rectified.
Cheers from Bushy

Bushy, welcome to Outdoorking. You have come to the right place to discuss mower repairs, whether to push mowers or ride-ons.

The Victa 4012 usually comes with a belt-clutch system - there may be a hydro version, but the belt clutch is the usual arrangement. Forward drive is accomplished by tightening the V belt. Of course this arrangement results in substantial wear to the drive belt, partly due to slippage during clutch engagement and partly due to dirt embedding in the belt and then wearing away both the belt and the pulleys. You should regard belt adjustment, belt replacement, and pulley replacement as fairly standard maintenance operations.

From your symptoms, your belt either has insufficient tension, or has worn so much that it is reaching the bottom of the pulley grooves. If you post a picture of the inside of the belt, where it would touch the pulley if it was bottoming, we may be able to tell you whether this is the problem. If the belt is bottoming you will need a new one, but you may also need new pulleys - you can't really tell until you try a new belt in the pulleys and see how far down in the grooves it rides.

There is an owner's manual for the 4012 GXTW in the parts and manuals section of this site. That gives instructions for belt adjustment and for belt replacement.

Thanks for the welcome Grumpy, and the clues to searching for the problem.
I will now endeavour to follow your guiding notes.
Thanks again
Bushy
P.S. yes it it a belt/clutch system.

G'day again Grumpy. Problem solvered !

A new one on me..seems a key-way was made from soft metal which had disintegrated and hence drive was useless on that one axle.

Located a new one, and now her machine is working great and she is one happy pensioner.

Once again, thanks for your input.
Regards
Bushy

Well I didn't really help you Bushy, I wanted to be convinced the belt was OK before I considered anything else.

The symptoms do match a sheared axle-key. I recall with a car I once had I needed to do a really big U-turn to impress someone. I came out of that U turn in 3rd gear with 50 mph on the speedometer, but it was one of the gentlest starts I ever made. Rear axle hub key sheared first thing when I dropped the clutch. I managed to drive it home by being gentle - the broken bits of key kind of jammed against each other if I pussy-footed all the time. My credibility with the other person was permanently shot, though.