450c not moving

[starterpro]

hey guys I have a freind with a 450c, he was cleaning out a tank ad was pushing dirt up on the dam, got to top put in reverse and rolled back to bottom of tank like it was in neutral and does not move in forward or reverse. blade works good, but no movement in gears. he pulled engine and put new clutch in but still nothing. I am thinking about buying, if I can fix it. it's not my 440 but I can work on it, in spare time and sell it maybe. thanks for any help, jodie

[Hartlyboy]

I'm a fairly new owner of a 450C myself and when I went through the process of draining and prodding and replacing stuff to get it ready to work the way I'd like it to, I learned a few things that might have some bearing on your issues. First I'm sure you are aware that drive on that machine is hydralic and the clutch is there to make the pump work. He couldn't have replaced the clutch without replacing the fluid but I found the level and quality of the fluid in the resevoir under the seat made a difference in how mine worked. He must have a manual to tell him how to adjust the pump pressure on the drive pump. I never had to , but others tell me that's a first place to look when you have drive problems. It seems significant that he lost drive when going uphill with a push. I would have suspected fluid level problem if it was a steep climb but again replacing the clutch , even if it didn't need it should have brought the fluid issue back in line.