Hydrogear transaxle reassembly from a Craftsman lawn tractor, part 1

Tractor would move a couple feet and the wheels would lock up. rocking it back and forth would free up to travel a couple feet. Same problem when running or being pushed. The only problem I found when I tore it down was a broken bearing race on the motor thrust bearing. Hardest part of reassembly is getting the motor installed without the piston binding in the bores of the housing. That's why I was turning the shaft with pliers, is make sure nothing was bound up before continuing. That is also why I installed the center section before installing the motor and swashplate as it's easier to only fight one set of springs at a time.