03 Recon 250TM (Manual) locking up

[cavry]

O3 sat a while. Engine is running fine. I got it into neutral, did some general tune-up and cleaning then pulled the shifter pedal up and it locked up and will not release into neutral again.  Does anyone have experience with this problem?  Thanks for looking and any help.

Cavry

[Gwbarm]

Sometimes that happens from sitting, things seem to dry out, i would try rocking it back and forth to try and free it up, you may also try changing the oil the new oil going in should lubricate things.Of course you said you have it runnings. That should have lubricated everything, but new oil might help. 

[jen]

when he changes oil what color is it?   Does it have water in it...milky brown color...The wateer will be at the bottom as he drains it. 

[cavry]

Oil was drained and there were about 4 to 5 oz. of water in the crankcase but no sign of mixing with the oil. I put about 2 qts. of diesel into the crankcase and pulled the engine over by hand 20+ times and then drained that. Then I changed the filter and refilled with fresh oil.

[jen]

good idea flushing with Coal oil..AKA diesel

[Gwbarm]

Very good! I would run the fresh oil for a bit just to get everything lubed up properly then change it again, wouldnt push it to hard, water and oil are hard on the internal engine componets.

[cavry]

Cranked engine and towed it with my ReconES to have clutch working and rear wheels moving too.  While running and moving it shifted up through the gears fine. Shifting down was tricky as the pedal would not return to center and had to be lifted with my toe two or three times to make the next downshift. Shifting down from 5th, 4th and 3rd was relatively easy, 2nd and 1st were a trial. I'm thinking the Stopper Arm Return Spring is broken. I'll open that cover this evening. 

[Gwbarm]

Thats very possible but these things do get kind of honery with age, i always put the harder stuff off as a last resort, but would be good to check that and make sure things are moving properly. Good luck, keep us informed!

[jen]

Is that a wet clutch...probably takes special oil?   Tractor clutches were dry clutches and notorious for sticking when left set too long.

[cavry]

Finally, I'm back at this. I finally removed the cover and had a handful of shattered washers or spacers. There were at least two in two or three pieces each and an E clip worn completely through on one end.  I will be removing the engine so I can get to the clutch and shifter parts easily.  It's going be a slow project, I'm an old goat with bad hands. Pics hopefully soon.  Thanks for the suggestions and remarks.