RE a Murray Riding Mower - all of a sudden last evening it will not go into reverse, but noting that it will still go forward I figured the grass still needed cut last night, and I'd tackle the 'reverse' issue today. So I put it neutral and pushed it backwards out of the garage. It started with no problem and I cut the front yard (20 minutes), and moved to the backyard. After about 10-15 minutes in the back yard there was a huge blast of smoke from the exhaust on the side of the engine, so I immediately turned it off. After the smoke cleared I restarted and cut for about 5 more minutes and then another huge blast of smoke from the exhaust. My questions given the age of the mower (approx. 10 years old) are (1) does the symptom of not being able to shift, but being stuck in a forward gear sound like a fairly inexpensive repair. If expensive, given the age of the mower, it could just be time for a new one. Then (2) do the 2 blasts of smoke from the exhaust relate to the shift problem? In advance, major thanks, from the land of the Hokies, for any expertise!!!!