When you shift from neutral, the shift operation should be crisp, don't try to ease it into gear. If you are idling at around 1000 to 1050 RPM that is where you should be. Your transaxle is designed to shift into gear at 1100 RPM or less. Your clutch will never stop turning, it is supposed to turn. Mine is not, which obviously makes it very difficult to engage the gears without grinding. I am pretty sure it is supposed to be stationary when the engine is at idle. The belt I am referring to is the drive belt between the two clutches. Not sure of the model number but it is an '01 4x2 Gator. Not sure what machine you have, or what belt you refer to. I have removed the cover from the clutch and cleaned it out with compressed air, but this did not help. I have slowed the idle down almost to a stop, yet the belt still turn. The belt runs continuously, even when at idle. You can watch the total repair by clicking this link.I have an '01 4x2. Some folks have made their own puller out of all thread 9/16 x 18 and grinding or milling down the front. If you want to remove the primary clutch completely you will need to purchase a clutch puller.

Several others have had this same problem with the Gator 825i becoming hard to shift over time, but I have not ran across a permanent solution as of yet. Not coming out of gear when the secondary is turning the tranny is what it's designed to do. The primary was simply not releasing the belt fully, causing the secondary to spin and bind the transmission when going into gear. After lubing the clutch the Gator began shifting into and out of gear correctly, not binding up and grinding near as bad. This process was completed three times and was finalized by rubbing a small amount of motor oil on the slides. Then we started the Gator and revved the engine, which cycles the clutch. To lube the primary, spray lubricant was applied to the slides. The primary is located toward the front of the engine. Now we have access to the primary and secondary clutches.

Once the breather hose and eleven 10mm bolts were removed the clutch cover was worked out and down toward the driver side rear tire. After adjusting the shift cable linkage and attempting to set the idol down with no results we tackled the primary clutch. The Gator 825i had to be forced into gear or turned off to get back into neutral. The 825i Gator hard to shift problem fix may also apply to the 550, 560, 590 or 620i although we have not ran across it yet, but use similar CVT clutch designs.

John deere gator clutch cleaning