If you need a dry lubricant /protectant, check out a silicone spray.

 

Hi everyone, well, I've replaced the needle bearings of the variable pulley (they were literally destroyed) with the help of a bench vise, cleaned and lubed the pulley and it moves smoothly now, I've also replaced all the belts (transmission and deck), adjusted the clutch and had to adjust the deck engagement height as well, next couple of weeks I'll be testing this a little bit more and post the progress. By the way do you guys know of a mechanics manual for this little machines?

Now I can move the little gladiator in reverse !!!!!!! 🙌, sometimes I can see that the belt is slipping and not moving the variable pulley so I need to play a little with the speed setting or put the lever at max speed and play with the pedal a little bit, in some moment it engages and starts moving properly. Advice is more than welcome.

Side question (it's also a very noob question), all threads and rods are rusting (I oil them regularly with very thin oil but still...) besides painting them, what´s your preventive maintenance procedure to avoid rust in this cases avoiding grass and dirt buildup?

Thanks a lot as usual.
Best regards!
Lucho

 

Hi 2billt and BigT thank you for your replies! I've tried both things and guess what, you were both right.
I checked out the adjustment mentioned in the link posted by BigT and I was able to shift much easier than before, I still have to check if I have to give it more turns or less...
After trying this adjustment I removed the pulley (belts were fairly OK) but the needle bearings of the Vpulley were completely destroyed. I ended up with the small cylinder pieces in my hand and the middle part of the pulley was not moving up and down freely as I expected.
I ordered the needle bearings to rebuild the Vpulley and all the belts. Since I'm fairly far away, I'll have all this in about a month. I'll post how it went.
Thank you both for your help. It's much appreciated.

 

Hey Lucho, welcome to the forum

Here's an interesting thread on the subject.

https://www.doityourself.com/forum/outdoor-gasoline-electric-powered-equipment-small-engines/392183-mtd-shifting-problem.html

 

I believe the MTD 600 series uses a vari-pulley that adjusts the belt's V-space when moving the clutch pedal. Have you tried shifting while moving clutch pedal back and forth, sometimes very little movement?
Take a look at the train of events that occur under the mower when you depress the clutch. The belt and pulley function are critical for shifting w/engine running.
Could simply be the belt or a sticky/rusty pulley.