# 2006 Troy-bilt Zero Turn: help



## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

Hello all,

I was recently given a 2006 troybilt 50" zero turn. This mower had a pto switch issue and the previous owner decided to park it and buy a new mower. The mower was put in a barn and has sat for a couple of years. I loaded it on the trailer today and brought it home. I wish I could say that it loaded easy, but we had to use his current zero turn to push it onto the trailer. I feel that's a bad sign, but it was given to me so...

Anyway, I'm making a list of what to do to bring it back to life. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, though I don't have any lawn mower / zero turn experience. What I have so far is:

Drain / replace fluids (oil, gas)
New spark plug
Clean or replace air filter
New battery
Check / replace belts and tires (rear tires will not hold air and look dry rotted)

What else am I missing? My other concern is that the left rear wheel (if sitting on the mower) will not free spin. The other seems to turn fine. I downloaded the manual when I got home and read that there are two rods you engage to move the mower by hand ("transmission bypass rods" is what they're called). These were not in "move by hand" mode when we loaded the mower, but seem to have no effect either "in" or "out". 

Is the transmission messed up from having been sitting so long? The previous owner said it ran fine when he parked it, it was just an issue with the pto (which I'm guessing is the switch). Any advice on how to proceed would be great. 

Thanks!


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I'd make sure the motor runs first before buying a PTO or trying to figure out what's up with the hydraulics.
I'd buy a whole rebuild kit for the carburetor, not just clean it. 
Then I'd work on the hydraulics. 
If there not working the mower is pretty much useless and the hyd. motors and valves are very expensive to replace.
Want to save some money? Just add a tube to that bad tire.
Got a model #?


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## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

joecaption said:


> I'd make sure the motor runs first before buying a PTO or trying to figure out what's up with the hydraulics.
> I'd buy a whole rebuild kit for the carburetor, not just clean it.
> Then I'd work on the hydraulics.
> If there not working the mower is pretty much useless and the hyd. motors and valves are very expensive to replace.
> ...


I was hoping that I wasn't going to hear that the hydraulics are probably shot :-/. Is it even worth spending the money on?

The model # is 17AA5ABP766.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

May want to down load a real service manual, not just a owners manual.
Any I've found are not free, about $17.00.


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## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

joecaption said:


> May want to down load a real service manual, not just a owners manual.
> Any I've found are not free, about $17.00.


If it would help me diagnose it, $17 isn't a bad investment. It's a catch 22 right now. I don't want to invest in the motor if the hydraulics is shot.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

If the motor runs you could sell it.


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## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

Who would buy a mower that doesn't move?


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

A couple of spark plugs, carburetor kit, air cleaner, a quart and a half or whatever of oil, and a battery sounds reasonable enough to me to find out if an 8 year old Toro is worth spending any more time and money on. Based on my experiences around Toro's, I would do it, unless of course you suspect that the guy who had it was that rough on it. My Toro Proline is 20 years old, and still going strong. And their are a variety of configurations, but mine is hydrostatis as well, and it is a bugger to push, the few times that I have wanted to roll it without starting it. Anyway, you spend $60-$70 to get it running, then see how the transmission performs.


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## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

DexterII said:


> A couple of spark plugs, carburetor kit, air cleaner, a quart and a half or whatever of oil, and a battery sounds reasonable enough to me to find out if an 8 year old Toro is worth spending any more time and money on. Based on my experiences around Toro's, I would do it, unless of course you suspect that the guy who had it was that rough on it. My Toro Proline is 20 years old, and still going strong. And their are a variety of configurations, but mine is hydrostatis as well, and it is a bugger to push, the few times that I have wanted to roll it without starting it. Anyway, you spend $60-$70 to get it running, then see how the transmission performs.


Is toro the same as Troy-bilt?


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

No, not as far a I know. Sorry about. It's an old man thing. Still, Troy-bilt has always been a good name too, so I would do likewise with it. Get the engine running, and then you can get a better idea of where the transmission is.


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## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

DexterII said:


> No, not as far a I know. Sorry about. It's an old man thing. Still, Troy-bilt has always been a good name too, so I would do likewise with it. Get the engine running, and then you can get a better idea of where the transmission is.


I'll look to see what the engine is (b&s for sure) to see if I can find a carb rebuild kit for it. I've also looked for a downloadable service manual, but haven't found one yet. 

I guess I can take a $100 chance to get the motor running (hopefully) and maybe that'll get the transmission running again once it's under power. Maybe I'll get "lucky" and it's just a rusted pulley or something. I know the previous owner and don't believe he was hard on it and also believe he parked it because of a bad pto switch. He wanted a new john Deere and that's what he bought...


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

I said carburetor kit because Joe did, and because he's right in that it most likely needs to be taken apart and cleaned, but, being perfectly frank, you might get it running without going that far. I would definitely change the spark plugs, inspect the air cleaner, replace if needed, drain and replace the gas, remove and clean the inside of the bowl, and make sure that neither the float nor needle is stuck. After that, not knowing what kind of shape the rest of it is in, I would probably hit the key and see what happens. If it doesn't start then, yes, I would definitely do a carb overhaul.


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## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

DexterII said:


> I said carburetor kit because Joe did, and because he's right in that it most likely needs to be taken apart and cleaned, but, being perfectly frank, you might get it running without going that far. I would definitely change the spark plugs, inspect the air cleaner, replace if needed, drain and replace the gas, remove and clean the inside of the bowl, and make sure that neither the float nor needle is stuck. After that, not knowing what kind of shape the rest of it is in, I would probably hit the key and see what happens. If it doesn't start then, yes, I would definitely do a carb overhaul.


It will need a battery for sure. So I plan to change the plug and all fluids before trying start it. I'll pull the carb and see what kind of shape it's in. Then, I'll start it and if it's running, I'll throw some seafoam in with the gas and let it run from there. 

I'm just hoping that 1) it runs and 2) it moves under it's own power


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## 97runner (Apr 15, 2014)

Wanted to update:

I got the mower to roll off the trailer. Don't ask me how/why, but I aired the tires up and it rolled. Anyway, I checked everything over engine wise and it looked good believe it or not. The spark plug even fired. 

So, just to see what would happen, I jumped the battery and to my surprise, it started. I didn't run it long, just to see if it would run. I did try the pto, but it didn't work. Looks like I'll change the pto switch. Hopefully that's all there is besides the above stuff I mentioned that I'm going to change before putting it in operation. 

Oh, and the mower did move under it's own power, so the hydraulics isn't toast. Good news for me!


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