Craftsman Belt problems

[bertsmobile1]

Lets go back a few steps
1) how long have you had the mower for ?
2) Why are you replacing the belt & do you have the one that was fitted to it ?
3) what do the pulleys look like ?
V pulleys wear so the belts sit deeper so are looser
People fit the cheapest flat idlers they can find which will often be a little smaller than the original
4) is the tension arm fitted properly ?
It can be fitted backwards so the right pulley swings & the left is fixed
The parts break down is incorrect as far as I can tell .
The tension arm generally pivots under the fixed pulley .
If you pull the tension arm back does it tighten the belt before the belt touches the rear run between the two spindle pulleys.
5) is the spring in the right place ?

A photo of the deck with the belt on it , taken from the top ( not on the mower ) would be a great help
6) And finally is the deck mounted correctly ?
This tractor can be fitted with a few different decks so it can be fitted wrongly.

 

[laird]

I have had the mower for about a week. It was a freebie. There was no belt for the deck as it was sitting beside the machine when I picked it up. The pulleys look not to bad, could do with a little cleanup. The idlers look to be original. The right pulley does swing and the left is fixed. I can't see how the deck could be mounted any other way. It can't go back any further or the deck wheels will hit the tires. If you pull the tension pulley back the belt still falls off the engine pulley. Going to go to bed . Thanks again. I will keep you informed.

 

[ILENGINE]

Definitely pull the deck off and get us a picture. something else to look at while the deck is off. Make sure the tension arm moves through its full range. That style of pivot with the brake arms will wear grooves in the back side where the brake arm rollers sit and will cause either binding preventing full rear motion. Or will hang up and no release. The full pivot is something in the range of 4-5 inches.

 

[laird]

 

[laird]

this a photo of the deck and the way the belt is routed

 

[Cusser]

I have 42" deck Craftsman LT1000 917.275371 from 2005. Yes, Sears model number stuff is pretty confusing.

Yes, the owner's manual lists slightly-different length/different part numbers for its two belts.

I use 95 x ½ inches Kevlar A93K for both the tractor belt and the mowing blades belt.

 

[ILENGINE]

The fixed idler pulley is incorrectly mounted. The plate that it is attached to needs to be rotated 180 degrees. The belt will actually go behind the deck hanger like the moveable idler pulley in your picture.

 

[bertsmobile1]

That is also the wrong deck for the mower
So when you have sorted the fixed pulley position you still might need a different belt.
There is also a tension spring missing and probably a return spring as well
The deck cable & spring is not strong enough to keep the blades engaged and if the springs are missing then the cable will perpetually break.
So it looks like the original deck gave up the ghost & the previous owner gave up on getting that deck to work.
I am off to the hospital all day today so hopefully those with better knowledge than myself will be able to recognise the deck & point you to the correct IPL for it

 

[Rivets]

Nice catch IL, I’ve been looking at it since he posted it, could tell something was wrong but I didn’t see that.

 

[laird]

Thankyou to everyone who posted or thought about posting. I will see what happens when I adjust things. And to Rivets: An opinion is never wrong....others may disagree but an opinion is never wrong.