This tractor was running beautifully. Idling away, happy as can be. I fixed the Char-Lynn hydraulic pump on the back, raised the loader, was driving it around the field, and it ran out of gas. Filled it up, and it got stuck in second gear and lugged the engine down. Got that freed up, hit the starter, it popped, fired, and stopped. Hit the starter, nothing. I thought the battery might have gone dead because I'm not sure if the generator is working, so I put a charged on in, still nothing. I decided to try the hand crank, and it was seized up so tight I could jump on the crank and it wouldn't move at all. What happened? What do I do? I've NEVER had to deal with a stuck engine before. HELP!

Any resolution?

Got the starter unstuck, it was indeed just jammed on the flywheel. It's stuck in ?second? gear, though.

Might be the clip on the end of stater drive came loose, fell and wedged the flywheel. I have had that to happen before

I fixed that problem once on a SC by putting the transmission in high gear and pulling the tractor backwards. Not hard in case something else is wrong but just move it a little. If you are on flat ground just rocking or pushing the tractor backward might do the trick. Just something to try.

Good luck and let us know what the problem was

Lee

I pulled the starter, and the engine was still very stuck when I cranked on it by hand. There was no way I was going to be able to rock it in that soft field, but after knocking on the crank a few times, removing the shifter and putting it and the starter back on, I got it to turn over. Now, even though the shifter feels like it's in neutral, it won't crank unless I have the clutch in. Still won't fire, so I've lost spark again, too, but that's beside the point. What is going on with the transmission? If the shifter is in "neutral" but the transmission isn't, what do I do? Can anyone take a picture of the inside of the shifter when it's in neutral so I can see if something is different/wrong on mine?

Don't lose hope. This issue has come up a few times here. Unfortunately searching for past posts in the site is useless. If you just google your problem it will probably lead you to the old posts, but I am sure one of our fine contributors will spot it and weigh in.

Oh, thank goodness. I've been looking and haven't had any luck, but if others have tried searching, I don't feel quite so computer-illiterate! I think I'm going to start a fresh thread for this new problem.

Weak battery can lead to the starter drive gear getting locked up in th flywheel ring gear which will lock the engine up tight

So, as JHamilton suggested, pull the starter and see if the engine turns over? Will the starter be reusable or will I have to put another new drive on it?

Most of the time the starter is not hurt and can be used again weak batteries cause odd problem from tiem to time

Did you have oil pressure?

When it was running, yes. Oil was full, a bit dirty but no water so I figured it was okay for the initial trial runs.

did you try cranking it with the clutch disengaged?

Did you have the clutch pressed in while cranking it? Sounds like you may have a problem the transmission not the engine.

Yes, I pressed the clutch in. Did that every time I started it, to take the drag of the side PTO off the starter.

Might pull the starter out to see if by chance the starter gear has jammed into the flywheel ring gear. I've had that happen before

If that's the problem, do I have to replace the starter drive again, or will pulling it (if it is the problem) unjam everything?

Usually the starter drive gear is not damaged, like Old stated. Also, once you have the starter out I would try to turn the engine by hand and see what happens