I think I might have the same problem as you rooster. I replaced my drive disc, which was worn badly and when purchased the part, the man assisting me said I should check the bearings on the yolk lift. I didn't quite understand all he said, but got the jist that if the bearings were worn, replacing a bad disc will not be a fix for long as the bad/worn bearings would wear down the drive disc. I can't see how the bearings react to the disc through the diagram above or how he explained it to me. He said it was something that the disc directly touched, but all I can see touchihng the drive disc is the metal drive plate? I'm just a little lost as to how these parts work together, and how to go about replacing the yolk bearings if that's my true problem. Does anyone have advice/specs/pics to guide me in the right direction??

I can't believe what I am hearing about the MTD Hydo trans. I have a ranch in Montana. I cut a 3 acres every 2 weeks (11 times a year) It has so many hills I have to ride my 42" cut yard machine side saddle most of the time. I have rolled it 3 times in 14 years of use! I am installing a new (pivot bar) (front Axle) now because 14 years of use has reamed out the axle shafts. (this is a pressed metal pivot bar. Not cast iron. That being said. I have way over 800 hours on the engine (B&S 17.5 hp) and the MTD Hydrostatic tranny. NEITHER HAVE GIVEN ME ANY TROUBLE (AT ALL). I have never changed the oil in the tranny (factory says it's a sealed unit) and I believe them. I have used 3 MTD tractors on my years in the last 40 years! I have sold all of them for 1/2 of what I paid for them. (I did have one B&S engine throw a rod at 250 hrs. Cost $357 in 1993 to get a new long block and 5 hrs to change the motor. My neighbor bought a $4000 JD the same time I bought this mower in 2002. It lasted 3 years and the Kaw. motor blew. He went to JD and they said. That was a really bad motor. We don't replace them and have no other motor to put on your mower. AND we no longer support the trans. on your JD. So he sold it for $600 for parts and was out $3600! (By the way JD said it was really a bad mower they shouldn't have built. But they would be glad to sell him a good one this time. (no discounts mind you!) Ha ha. My little old $1200 (with bags) in 2002 MTD is still running today. So if it runs like a Deere I'd run to the nearest MTD dealer and get a good mower. One with a Hydrostatic trans. that will last I think forever. But I can guarantee you it will last 800 hard hours of use! With no maintenance at all! (Sealed unit) remember. I truly think the MTD lawn tractors are the best value for the dollar of anything I have ever purchased in the past 40 years! Other than my MTD weed eater, but that is another story! You who are look between that auto CVT and the Hydro. GO WITH THE HYDRO. (SEALED UNIT) You will not be sorry! From a 40 year user of MDTS!

Does all of this seem confusing? Opinions everywhere, pieces of facts here and there. Even suggestions of possible fraud in some cases have now surfaced in regards to some of the crashes. From a technicians viewpoint, I have to draw the line at personal experience with these cars and this problem. I have not observed a throttle sticking on one, so therefore I have not had the chance to actually search for the cause on my own. All I can do is rely on the information that basically everyone is getting to hear both from on the news and snippets from techs around the country. Remember all of these are also going to dealers to be fixed under warranty, the aftermarket (independent technicians) are not involved at all with this. One Toyota tech even did a video of how the repair is done and you can find it on YouTube which essentially amounts to removing the pedal assembly. The tech then measures a gap between two portions of the pedal assembly, and then he/she installs a shim to take up that space and that causes more spring return pressure in the pedal assembly. The push for years has always been to have techs that would robotic-ally simply identify a failed (failing) part, remove it and replace it. Remember its all about price, no matter how expensive one may think auto repair labor fee's are, I've said it many times it's under priced by a significant margin. Six months ago, the repair would again have been to replace the part if they found one sticking, and this may well have happened many times. I have never seen information to support or deny how often that may have occurred if it did much at all. The diagnosis and replacement of the pedal assembly likely paid a technician about 1/2 an hour's time for the job. I could very well imagine someone else at another time looking at that pedal assembly, and if they could not prove that it was faulty, they would back flag the dealership for the repair, who would in turn take back the pay that the technician got for doing the repair back off of him/her. Many people would take the position that the tech ultimately not being paid for that repair isn't their problem, and in a direct fashion that would be true on that day. But eventually these actions erode the technician talent pool, and is the fundamental cause of many of the anecdotal stories of poor service you have ever heard of, read or told. Lastly, there have been many times that I have seen people condemn American car manufacturers about quality, and they point to recalls as their proof. It really was just a numbers game before one of the imports suffered a big issue, Toyota's quality hasn't changed because engineering underestimated what appears to be the spring tension required on one specific part. GM and Ford especially were never as bad as consumer reports wanted to make them look. JMHO. Now the Prius brakes issue where there can be a delay under certain circumstances due to a rough road? I can picture what is occurring, the rough road bounces a wheel up and and immediately locks with almost no braking pressure. That would look like a need to begin an anti-lock function to the computer. This isn't something that a dealer technician could fix on his/her own. The fix would have to come in the form of software for the HV, and ABS computers. They could in some cases require a redesign of, or potentially add a yaw sensor if the car didn't come with one. They could even incorporate suspension height sensors to help detect road surface conditions. The wheel speed sensors alone do allow for detection of rough road conditions. There is a resonance to the lock-up that is occurring the system will recognize as not matching the anti-lock systems function, and be scored as road surface, which results in less ABS activation. In Toyota's case that time period must be significantly long which is allowing the drivers to observe it.

I was witness to an event in front of my house about 15 yrs ago. A dear, very elderly lady lived next door. She was the daughter of one of the town's pioneer founders, was well known, had been a school teacher, and people looked the other way at her sometimes haphazard driving. (She was loosing control of her legs.) She was hard of hearing, but did not wear her hearing aid when she drove nor used the seat belt - we've seen these before. Both these factors played a role in what happened next. She had one of the last models of a rear wheel drive Buick. She starts her car. Meanwhile, I guests are getting into my car for trip to a museum. It was misting rain and everything was wet. The rear wheels of my neightbor's car was sitting in puddle filled with leaves. The wheels spun as she gave it gas to back out of her driveway - she couldn't hear what was going on. The car began creeping slowly backward so she gave it a bit more gas pedal, and then the tires moved out of the slick leaf puddle and grabbed pavement that had more traction. The car lurched backward surprising the driver and throwing her into the steering wheel AND her right foot to the floor. Recall, she is not hearing much of this. She did not have enough strenght in her arms to push her body back - a seat belt would have been handy right then. The car launched across the street heading for the house on the other side. The lady recovers enough to make an abrupt steering correction. The car slowed in the soft, muddy yard, but the rear wheels are still spinning. She cuts half of a doughnut in his yard, the spinning tires making a rut about 5 inches deep and now the car is coming back across the street toward my car and my guest - PANIC. I junp behind a large tree; I thought for sure either my car or house was going to be the target, but then another steering correction and the car turned to brush against a tree at my front property line - It took off an outside rear view mirror. Her car shot down my propetry line and found another tree, an old 100 year old one with a huge root bole. Her car bounced off these roots using its rocker panel as a skid. This impact turned the car and it took off back across the street this time nailing a light pole. The car stopped. The top of the pole swung wildly like in the movies, and after 5 seconds, the hood of the light fixture popped open and the big sodium vapor bulb crashed to the ground. MInd you, this all took place with the car in reverse gear. My wife was yellng at me to go over and help her out. I hesitated, and said, "I'm not so sure. Her engine is still running and I have to cross in front of her car." But, I did make my way over fearful of what I might find. As I approached the driver's side, she timidly rolled down her window and as I was starting to inquire if she was injured, she looked up at me and said, "Do you suppose this means that I will loose my driver's license?" The week before, she had been ticketed for running the stop sign at main street.