Hi all. My John Deere E130 is burning the deck belt up. I took the deck off and all 4 pulleys are smooth rolling without any noise. When I'm mowing, I can go about 15 to 20 minutes, then the belt starts to smoke and it sounds like a pulley is making a noise. Any ideas? Thanks.
John Deere burning deck belt up.
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Tiger Small Engine
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The belt needs to be not touching the pulley or spindle you are testing. Turn the pulley or spindle slowly and quickly and listen and feel for bearing noise. Also, check each pulley or spindle for play by grabbing it and trying to rock it back and forth. Replace as needed, and check belt for any damage. Grease fitting if it has them.
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One piece of advice. Before greasing spindles disassemble and verify they have greaseable bearings. Many spindle are being sent with 2RS bearings with grease zerks. When you try to grease them you shove the inner bearing seals into the bearing race cage causing damage.
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I just wish I could understand the mentally of equipment owners. They rather pay out extra money to the OEM instead buying from their local independent shops. On top that both blade spindles are rebuild-able with just two 6203-2RS bearings each instead complete spindles.
It seems owners prefer to spend more money on parts instead of helping their local independent shop by paying for some labor used in the repairs.
Yes my shop now charges $80 /hr for labor but the equipment owner is accessing my expertise of troubleshooting and my procurement services. The reason I charge $80 is tools are not free nor is a lot of the other things like internet, electricity, insurance, storage area, and other supplies. Most years I just barely break even. I do the repairs to help my community but I do need some help too.
But I reckon they bother mind $300 when the problem is $0.50 terminal like one my recent customers did. He was piss that I would not buy is used parts especially since didn't any of the new parts from me.
It seems owners prefer to spend more money on parts instead of helping their local independent shop by paying for some labor used in the repairs.
Yes my shop now charges $80 /hr for labor but the equipment owner is accessing my expertise of troubleshooting and my procurement services. The reason I charge $80 is tools are not free nor is a lot of the other things like internet, electricity, insurance, storage area, and other supplies. Most years I just barely break even. I do the repairs to help my community but I do need some help too.
But I reckon they bother mind $300 when the problem is $0.50 terminal like one my recent customers did. He was piss that I would not buy is used parts especially since didn't any of the new parts from me.
oldntired55
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on that note, i have 3 craftsman riders i have converted to 'greasable spindles' . i change the bearings, remove the inner seals and install a Zerk mid-spindle between the bearings. i have run one deck for 4 mowing seasons without an issue. i use a hand grease gun so i can 'feel' resistance and not push the outer seals out. thats the key to not ruining the new bearings.
grumpyunk
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It would not hurt to check that the spring that the idler uses to tension the belt is not weakened. If the belt does not have enough tension, the belt will slip, get hot, get hotter, and finally start to smoke. It would take some time for the belt to get hot.
I am not sure whether you have replaced the idler pulleys yet, but spinning the old ones will give an indication of their condition. If they spin freely but make a bit of noise, they likely are a bit short on grease. They can be greased by forcing grease behind the seal or shield, or by prying the seal out, adding grease, and replacing the shield.
If you have replaced the belt, be sure you got the correct size as being oversized can lead to slippage, and undersize can add excess load on the idler bearings.
tom
I am not sure whether you have replaced the idler pulleys yet, but spinning the old ones will give an indication of their condition. If they spin freely but make a bit of noise, they likely are a bit short on grease. They can be greased by forcing grease behind the seal or shield, or by prying the seal out, adding grease, and replacing the shield.
If you have replaced the belt, be sure you got the correct size as being oversized can lead to slippage, and undersize can add excess load on the idler bearings.
tom
MyGrassHasCrabs
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Depending on the time of the year and how fast the grass is growing, sometimes waiting a week or two (or longer) to get something fixed at a local shop isn't feasible. Plus, many folks don't have a way to get their machines to the shop, and the shop doesn't have a pickup and delivery service. So it isn't that folks don't want to support local shops, it's the hassle and wait time. I mean no offense; I believe in and support local businesses regularly. Just offering some perspective.