With all the snow up here in Minnesota I've been pushing lots of it for hours with a plow mounted on the front. Today while pushing I noticed that the variable speed seemed to be adjusting itself. When I would push it forward for higher speeds, the engine would bog down like something was binding. This was without any other inputs, not trying to move or run the hydraulics. If I tried to do any of that, it would die. I found it tricky to get the variable speed high enough to do what I wanted, and then it seemed to change, going back to slow. I parked it in the shed and looked, and I think the one sheave is wobbly. It looks like there is worn metal on the shaft, and on the three bolts holding the spring. I have the manual, and while it tells me how to take it apart, I'm wondering what exactly is wrong with it? What kind of use/abuse causes this failure? I have a parts machine, and the variable looks normal to my untrained eye, so tomorrow I will start the process of taking it apart.
