Belt slipping or transmission gone bye bye ?

Older Craftsman rider
Drive belt finally broke. I replaced it with OEM part
I don’t see any tension adjustments
It will now go on flat lawn but no longer up slight hills
Belt slipping or transmission finally gave up the ghost ? How would one tell?
With the clutch fully out (in drive mode) check under the tractor and see if belt is tight , should be fairly snug but not like guitar string tight , if loose belt may not be correct or when installing new belt the tension spring may have fell off or even broke , if it was working proper before belt broke it's more than likely a issue with the belt , also check the idlers pulleys for seized bearing and if belt is following proper routing ,
 
my usual check for proper belt tension is to remove the spark plug then try to turn the engine over by pulling on the drive belt
If it slips when the engine is on compression stroke then the belt is too loose
 
V-belt is a 1/2 x 82-5/8. They are fit very tight around the idlers on this model. Also this mower has constant pressure on the drive belt. I just did one this week where one of idlers bracket was bent
causing belt slippage.

Bracket item 47 was the one bent here and the idler nearly hitting the steering shaft.
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It was locate along the belt as indicated by the arrow.
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Also item 127 need be pull out and braced against item 142 as to pull to spring 128.
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Thanks all for the tips. I’m on site this weekend. I’ll take a look at tge belt length and the various idler wheels
 
Spent more time under the beastie this weekend. Pulleys ok. Belt ok. Routing ok
I found a spring that put tension on the belts pully
It’s got a u shaped device that when in its “normal” position it doesn’t pull the spring. One side of it sticks in a hole in the frame and is thus doesn’t pull the spring. Perhaps it acts differently when the deck is in place ?
I pulled it out of its normal position. It seems to drive ok
 
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