Mower Review

- How can you tell if the transmission on your lawn mower has a problem with gear selector or the transmission?
on lawn mower transmissions is it any different than car transmissions? how can tell if it is the gear selector or the transmission? also, are the gear selector "keys" also called other things? if so what and why?

A A lawn mower like a walk behind self-propelled, or do you mean a rider mower, or perhaps a lawn tractor, or it's slightly bigger brother the garden tractor? If it's a self propelled walk behind, it's usually belt drive to the front or rear wheels, so check the belt, then remove and dissassemble the gearbox and make sure there is enough grease, and that the linkages are free and no parts are excessively worn. If it's any of those other things I mentioned (rider mower, lawn/garden tractor) then those usually have what's called a transaxle. It's a transmission and drive axle in one unit. Kinda like what you see on stupid front-wheel-drive cars, except this is on the rear axle. If that has a problem, it's usually the linkage binding up, or a belt slipping. Unless you're abusing the tractor or rider, the transaxle itself should last a long time. This is assuming it's a manual transmission model. If it's automatic (also called hydrostatic), there's a few other things that could be wrong. Check the fluid if possible (some are sealed and you can't check the fluid... dumb idea but unfortunately most units are this way) check the linkage, make sure the "freewheel" lever is in the "drive" position (lever us usually on the back of the tractor, allows the tractor to be pushed by hand easily). If it still has a problem, it might be time to pull the trans out and tear it down. They are relatively simple to work on once you figure out what you're lookin at.

- is it difficult to rebuild the old lawn mower transmission if replace it with a new one?
have to buy a new transmission for my mower..and was wondering if buy the new one..can rebuild the old one and be just as good as the new one? (to keep as an extra) how difficult and how roughly to do it? also, how difficult to put on?

A I assume that you are talking about a manual transmission and not a hydro? I rebuilt one a few years ago and it wasn't all that difficult. There are a few different makers of the transmissions so they may vary somewhat but over all it wasn't hard. Mine was packed full of axle type grease so it was messy getting it clean enough to work on. I took several digital pictures as I broke it apart so I could reference them when putting it back together. Parts aren't cheap as I recall. Removing and replacing the transaxle isn't hard, just a few bolts hold it in.