B1700 will not return to neutral

arnermd · Sep 18, 2017

Hello all wondering if anybody might have some thoughts on this one. I have a B1700 HD with HST, 540 hours, pedal does not return to neutral in either direction, forward seems worse though.

Here is what I have done so far:
- Lubricated everything, removed pedals from shaft and cleaned, re-greased. Does seem to be some play between the shaft and the bushings. Anybody know what the bushing ID should be? Can't find it in the manual. Also noticed the shaft has a white coating that is worn off on the outboard end. Anybody know what that is?
- Messed with the neutral return spring to no avail.
- Adjusted the neutral cam. When the pedals are in the neutral position there is no creeping.
- Removed the damper to rule that out, no change in behavior
- With the return springs and damper removed I noticed the pedal snaps back to neutral very nicely when the tractor is off. As soon as I start the engine the pedal does not snap back to neutral, it usually hangs and I have to manually help it get back in either forward or reverse. Seems like the transmission is generating an opposing force. I also noticed that if I am going downhill it does return to the neutral position more reliably.

Starting to think something is going on with the transmission, not looking forward to cracking my tractor in half!

Any ideas?

LFEngineering · Oct 11, 2019

Any resolution to this?

arnermd · Oct 11, 2019

I ended up lubing everything real good, replaced the damper, inserted some shim stock where the pivot bushing was worn to take up some slop. Been fine for a couple years now. Not perfect but OK.

Egon · Oct 11, 2019

If the neutral position is a roller centring in a V grooved plate make sure your roller stays in the proper position and runs on the plate. I have experience with a b7100 on this type of issue.

There should be a spring that can increase tension and an eccentric bolt hidden under a plug on the side for fine adjustment.