# John Deere 524D - stuck in 5th gear



## manfrer (Jan 25, 2014)

Hi folks - I have a John Deere 524D which is stuck in 5th gear. Any ideas on what I can do to fix this? Thanks!


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## manfrer (Jan 25, 2014)

Hi folks: I have a John Deere 524D that is stuck in 5th gear. Any clues as to how I can fix this? Thanks!


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

Your most likely going to have to stand the blower on the front bucket, remove the bottom cover and lubricate the shaft the traction wheel slides/traverses along. Its either dry without lube, rusted in place or stuck as a result of grease that has dried and hardened. So, look and see what condition you have an act accordingly. If dry a little wd40 will free it up, but wd40 is not oil so you would have to lubricated it once free. Make sure you do not get oil, lube, grease on the drive disc. 
Good luck with your project.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)




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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Merged both of your threads together to keep the answers together.


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## manfrer (Jan 25, 2014)

Thanks woodtick! That was perfect advice and exactly what the doctor ordered. Just used a little bit of WD40, let it sink in, and then a light tap freed up the traversing shifter mechanism. Cleaned the hex shaft with gas, then applied fresh thin coat of white low-temp litium grease. All is now well!


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## manfrer (Jan 25, 2014)

Thanks Shryp! Video identified my exact problem and showed exactly what I needed to do! All is now working perfectly again on my Deere 524D! Thanks again!


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

manfrer said:


> Thanks woodtick! That was perfect advice and exactly what the doctor ordered. Just used a little bit of WD40, let it sink in, and then a light tap freed up the traversing shifter mechanism. Cleaned the hex shaft with gas, then applied fresh thin coat of white low-temp litium grease. All is now well!


Glad to help. 

You might wanna give a look at the drive and auger belts also. Couple 7/16ish size bolts on the belt cover and you can take a peek at them. Personally I would replace them with new if you don't know their age or are more than a couple years old. I replace my auger belt every season as it controls your machines ability to move the snow more efficiently. That belt is doing a LOT of heavy lifting and every time it slips a little bit it begins to build a slight glaze on its surface...belt glaze reduces the belts ability to transfer power from the engine pulley to the impeller/auger pulley.


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