power director prolem??

Short recap. Friend"s D17 went kaput some time back and we have been waiting to get a shed built to work on it. It"s sitting where it quit, with these reported symptoms:

1) starts fine and sounds good (with clutch in)
2) let clutch out and tractor dies, no horrible noises
3) with clutch in and transmission in nuetral, tractor will roll and can be pulled. Let clutch out, wheels lock up.

I am pretty green and was going down the path of the transmission being stuck in two gears causing the bind and the engine to die. However, after studying I&T AC-13 and looking at Dan"s awesome pics, it would seem if the tractor will roll, the pinion and gears must be moving freely in the tranny and thus be in Nuetral. If stuck in two gears, it appears that would lock the pinion shaft and therefore the rearend making it impossible to roll.

If I am correct (and may not be), it would seem with the transmission clutch in and the tranny in nuetral, the problem area is isolated to the "power director" and/or trasmission input shaft.

Is my deduction reasonable and if so, what is the best starting point? We have a manual (AC-201) on the way, I just like to give myself some time to ponder and better understand the possible problems. TIA for any input.

Chris

Was the oil level correct in the power director? There are two other possible sources. First the power director has a shaft driven gear pump. If one of these gears lost a tooth, I think that would stop everything. Again it is unlikely. Also, the hydraulic system is between the engine clutch and the transmission. If the hydraulic oil was run low or out, the pistons might gaul in their cylinders and freeze up. This isn't uncommon but they usually freeze in the in position and don't keep the cam from turning. And of course there are a bunch of bearings.

So all of the possible problems seem unlikely but clearly one of these unlikely problems has happened.

Chris

Kent

Chris