Thomas D Garrod

Finally got the blade adapter off using considerable heat and a puller-thingy. With the high moisture here in the Pacific Northwest, rust is a big factor. Once I got the mower back together with new bolt in place, and replaced center pulleys, I tightened the tension cable (the one that engages the transmission). It seems to work: no more noise with engaged transmission (that seems to be a function of pulley issues), both front and rear wheels pull with vigor. Lets hope it stays working for a while.

Lessons learned:

1. Be careful not to over-torque the blade bolt. 
2. Increase cable tension if the transmission seems to pull less. 
3. Pay attention to that annoying rushing and whistling sound when the transmission is engaged, it is probably binding pulleys.

I haven't replaced the belt, but that and the tension cable are probable candidates for future failure.

Thanks for weighing in Eugene. I finally got the front cover off. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the front drive transmission. The pulley turns, and when turning the shaft, at least one wheel turns (now that I think about it, I didn't observe both wheels). So I think if there is a problem with more than the frozen pulley, of your two possibilities, it will have to be the clutching problem. Stay tuned, the pulley will arrive on Tuesday. When I install that, I'll report what I find. 

I see that this site has a "wish list." I thought that was a place where users could suggest improvements. Apparently it is a place where we can wish that a ferry godmother will happen upon our wish and buy us a desired Husqvarna product (perhaps a big and powerful riding lawn mower). If there my kind of wish list existed, I would wish that future designs close up the drive channel to prevent grass and dirt collection - and subsequent corrosion. This wouldn't be that difficult. They should also include ports allowing flushing of that channel. As it is, tons of grass and dirt collect inside the plastic covers, and there is no easy way to access those channels - though it does add a nice "heft" to the machine - a real feeling of substance.

Removing the front cover requires removal of two screws on underside at front and two screws on left side (standing behind) and one on right side (all three of the latter screws are, of course, are just behind the front wheels). My comment about flushing refers to the difficulty of flushing the belt housing - it was stuffed with grass despite my having flushed the underside after mowing.

Oh, and the belt slack is as it should be, because, by default, the belt is slack until the drive is engaged (smack forehead). If slack persists after engagement, I need to adjust the cable or replace the belt.The final question is: how is the frozen pulley enough to disable front-wheel drive? Perhaps the frozen pulley stretched the belt. Stay tuned.

The owner's manual, like nearly all owner's manuals on the planet could be better written (and I just downloaded mine, it wasn't given to me at purchase).