A hydraulic excavator drive system includes: first and second pumps; arm cylinder; arm first control valve connected to the cylinder by an arm crowding supply line and arm pushing supply line; arm second control valve connected to the supply lines by a first and second replenishment line; and arm operation device that outputs an operation signal corresponding to an inclination angle of an operating lever. The arm second control valve is configured so, when performing an arm crowding operation, an opening area at a meter-in side changes in accordance with the operation signal, and an opening area at a meter-out side is: kept to zero when a predetermined condition is not satisfied; and kept to zero until the operation signal becomes a setting value or greater, and when the operation signal has become the setting value or greater, increases to a maximum value when the predetermined condition is satisfied.
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