Tranny locked up under pressure?

I have my old wards mower set up and pushing snow.....It is working good, except when I get it pushing up against a pile and and won't push any more {wheels spin}..........then It is very difficult to get into reverse .........I have to shift the speed control to park and then get off and pull back machine to release the pressure on the tranny...I have messed with clutch adjustment some.......but I'm not sure if that is the problem?? The belt from the engine is fully stopped when I push in on the clutch .........The belts are in pretty good condition....[I've used it pretty hard and have had no belt problems]..........Is this a norm with this drive system or can I make some kind of adjustment some where to get it to shift when under pressure??

I think this is normal, I have 2 MTD FNRs and a 5spd in my WH 210-5 and they all do that, I believe it is because they are sliding gear trannys and they don't like to shift under tension, my mud mower won't even shift gears if stopped on a slope, I have to rock it to get it to shift, it is possible that I am doing something wrong on all 3 of my mowers with sliding gear trannys but I'm pretty sure this is normal?

My peerless you kinda have to line the gears up to change ranges. These aren’t synchronized trannies or well built. If it seems to be too much of a problem you might want to pull the trans and have a look.

Sounds normal. The shifter slides keys on the shaft and if there is pressure on them, you will bend or break something if you don’t release the pressure on it.
If you can spin the wheels, try shifting just as you let off of the ‘push’. (Just as you push the clutch)
Otherwise, stop pushing sooner… LOL

Ok thanks a lot friends, I figured as much, just by the way that  it acted........but I had to make sure before I started tweaking things that shouldn't be tweaked!!

I will just have to change my operating habits ;-)........I ran heavy equipment in a quarry for 15 years before retireing.....  it was all easier than blading my snow....BUT not nearly as fun...
thanks again.....

Let us know what happens please.

What happens is that .........I figure out that I'm not in a d10 dozer, but in a little buggy originally built to mow my lawn...NOT blade snow  

I hit a snow pile with my RTV and blade last year and it raised the blade and broke the winch strap. Maybe a D10 would be better. LOL

The f/n/r in mine is really notchy/grumpy and got worse over time from just mowing the lawn. I've had to basically slam it into reverse and yank it back out, not sure what's up with it yet but I'll probably be opening it up in the next couple months

It sure is fun working on them though,,,,,,,,I like the feeling that I can tear it up and rebuild how ever I want.......I can't do that with my monte carlo......everything on it I want to be stock and original........so I just keep it in shape and cruise around in it once in a while........when the weather is good....

I have bin promised a little satoh tractor [mitsubish formed off of satoh] I'm not sure of the year???.........This little tractor was made and bought in japan. An American service man was stationed in japan and had it shipped to the states..

It is 4wd with a 3 cylinder mitsubishi diesel............I am waiting for the lawyers to settle the estate before I can load it up.........I'll take some pics and post them when it gets to my playground.........I hope to push my snow with it next winter...

That sounds like a fun little machine.

Your Monty is MTD built ya? @Nevadablue started a thread for us to try and figure out how many different variations of the platform there are, if you get a chance maybe you could enter yours please?

www.atltf.com/t6837-mtd-square-body-mowers-information-and-pictures

Brianator:
My old machine shifts amazingly well, when just working easily, not too good with front end lifted in the air and tires digging holes.......when you dig holes it just makes a lot harder to shift ..........that's why I have to relearn...., or learn how rebuild these little gear boxes

I didn’t realize you have an FNR (forward/neutral/reverse) axle. No shift keys, but look at part 17 in this drawing.




To shift from forward to reverse, the shift fork has to slide that part side to side. If there is pressure on it from being pushed to a stopping point, you can see that it won’t move sideways until the pressure is released. There is probably nothing wrong with the gearbox if it works normally when not jammed up.

Like I said, I have 2 of these FNR's and they both do the same thing