Won't go into gear and not a stripped hub

[skipper98]

1998 txt does not seem to be engaing into forward gear. Reverse still works but seems like it is slipping occasionally. The shift lever when moved to forward seemed loose so I tightened the nut on cable in the rear and now the lever seems to pop into place but cart does not go. 1 brake drum on right side came off and is not stripped, the left drum is seized on and could not beat it off so its not stripped, but that is a different problem being stuck on. When I rev it up when jacked up the rear axles move slow and it sounds like the teeth of the gears are just barely touching and not fully engaging. Please help, could not find any advice on adjusting forward and reverse cables or any clues other than stripped drums. The cart drove fine into garage and after backing out it would not move formard anymore.

[Cartmaster]

left drum is seized on and could not beat it off so its not stripped

When you say this, i wonder if you mean that the drum will not come off over the brake shoes. This is no proof that the hub is not stripped. Put the cart on the floor, get someone to try to drive the cart and watch the large hub/drum nut on the left side and see if it spins without the wheel turning. If so the drum IS stripped. back the brakes off and remove the drum and replace with a new one. If neither the left or right hub nut spin freely but the cart will not move, then you need to look elsewhere. either the clutches are not doing their job or the transaxle has a problem and will need to be torn down to inspect the internals.

The most common issue here is the nut not being tight enough that it wears the contact face between washer and drum, then the drum can chatter and wear out the splines. I see it a lot on these carts.

[skipper98]

Just checked with nut on axle and it is not stripped, drum looks to be rusted on to shaft. My best description of what happened is the shifter when moved to forward position just felt floppy and not engaged. I tightened nut on cable back by rear end and it feels better now but still believe it is not engaging into gear all the way. I live on very hilly terrain and it drove up the hills perfectly fine before issue started. Is there any adjustments to be tried before tearing into rear end? When cart is revved up it sounds like the teeth of gears are almost engaged but not catching. Where forward and reverse cable attach to rear the piece they hook to goes up and down and I can't get it to move any further than it does on its own. Thanks for any help with this issue, I have 3 dogs and 1 child who are bummed over broken cart

[Cartmaster]

Can you try removing the cables and manually move the shifter? If that solves the problem then it is likely to be cable issue. Maybe one is seized. If no different, then looks like a strip down is required.