john deere 318

[Cas]

I have a JD 318 mower. It mows and moves great.
But, going down a hill it wants to freewheel.
I have to pull hydro lever back to slow it down.
Does anybody have any ideas on what could be wrong? The oil and filter have been changed.

 

[chevy 65]

Ok this is going to take some explaining
I bet ur 318 slows down on hills too
Whats going on is theres play in the linkage
most likly its worn more so in the arm that hooks to the transmission the arm is proublly attached by a roll pin
Arm an roll pin is proublly loose allowing the transmission shaft to move on it own causing it to speed up going down hill an slow down going up hill because its shifting on its own according to load
Any slop in the linkage can cause the issue ur having Good luck Gary

 

[Bob]

Not to mention (as you are probably aware) Deere used at least three different linkage setups over the years to try to get one that worked correctly.