Working on my daughters mower, thinking the sacrificial plastic ring gear on the front wheel drive shaft in the self propelled transmission is worn out. I've got the axle and transmission assembly out but can't get the two halves of the transmission apart. I'm assuming that it is "glued" together with some type of gasket glue. The housing is plastic so I don't want to get too heavy handed with it. Any ideas? I've tapped it gently with a block of wood. I don't have a dead blow hammer but may go get one. The only pry point is where the axle exits the transmission. I do want to bugger that up by prying on it. The pic of one separated is a screen shot of a You Tube tutorial. TexasFire

Got a head scratcher. 3 different Briggs engines(12 to 13hp) stall after running, while cutting, for about an hour to hour and a half. One smells of gas after quitting, other puffs dark (grayish) smoke, sputters, then either comes back to life for a while or dies and has to sit for a while then starts up. Gone thru the carbs on all 3 in a sonic bath (completely disassembled) then I spray carb cleaner thru them to make sure every thing is flowing. Have checked flywheel pin and valve lash and made sure choke is working properly. Next step, in my mind, is to replace carb. For some reason I'm thinking it could be something else and don't want to waste money. I have also checked compression and all are right at about 100.Any help is greatly appreciated!!! P.S they are all riders.