Still trying to get the mower deck right

[JimP2014]

Johner,
Thanks for the reply I don't know if I still have the old belt because the one that is partially shredded I'm still using and I don't know where the other one went it was from last year. I could tell you according to the product description from when I bought this belt it's 100.25 in by 1/2 in and I bought a belt here locally + 100 in by 5/8 in and it doesn't fit at all and for that one I figured I need 102 in by 5/8 in but I'm going to stick with what I have right now just to see if all the other stuff is working but you make some good points.

Jim

Johner,

I found the belt and so I cut it and so I used duct tape to tape it basically to a kitchen countertop area and it turns out it's 99 in long it was supposed to be 100.25 in I don't get it. And furthermore it's a little bit too long + that's because of the 1/2-in width where it basically swims inside pulleys and it just sinks down and the 5/8 in belt was too short by about 2 in and it measured stamped right on the belt itself 5/8x100.

And I forgot to mention I just I ran it no more ringing noise when the mower deck is engaged there's a little bit of vibration coming out of the mower deck it might have always been that way but now I'm looking at it more closely it seemed to run pretty good.

Jim

 

[MParr]

The only ways that pulley could be tilted is a bent bolt, wallowed out bolt mounting hole or bent mounting bracket. THE END!

 

[Doofy]

I usually cross the OEM belt number to the brands I'm looking at and have had fairly consistent good luck. I don't buy the cheapest thing I see either.

 

[JimP2014]

The only ways that pulley could be tilted is a bent bolt, wallowed out bolt mounting hole or bent mounting bracket. THE END!

Okay I appreciate your answer and I understand your frustration Right now I'm just trying to get the thing to run and it's definitely not a bolt because the bolt's brand new came right out of a box but regardless I get what you're saying

 

[MParr]

 

[JimP2014]

Who you talking about Barney Fife? I'll pass.

 

[JimP2014]

On my 42 inch Craftsman Deck, my horrendous screeching racket was caused by cracked welds on an idler bracket. It also caused the spindle pulley to chew through the brake arm. It took me several "looks" and multiple head scratches to decipher the problem. I love my Hobart Handler 140 wire feed welder for these types of problems.

Doofy,
Your skills with welding are something that I've always wanted to learn and I've looked briefly at some sort of rig that's like $20 to $30 from places like harbor freight.

But based on the problem you had and your solution that seems like the way to go however I've been thinking that a mower deck should be nothing more than a shell with very few extra features meaning that for example where you mount the small idler pulley that whole bracket assembly should be bolt on to the mower deck and if something goes wrong you replace the small idler pulley assembly you don't need to somehow weld the deck I'm thinking all those components should be easily replaceable without any hassle to the consumer. Having said that if I was building a mower deck from what I've seen I'd make all those components bolt on + you swap out that component so for example there's something wrong with a small idler pulley assembly you just replace that part and that part bolts on to the mower deck. I mean if manufacturers want to entice individuals into buying their machines they should make it so that the end user and I'm talking strictly a consumer that only wants to use their machines now and then they should be thinking in these terms and in fact if they did from what I've seen they could use this as a selling point for their product.

Jim