Craftsman Snowblower - Throwing Drive Belt

[Diane W]

Hello!

I have a Craftsman older model snowblower that continues to throw the drive belt. It throws it simply on the pull of the cord, and doesn't need to fire up to throw it. I replaced the belt, same issue. The model number is 536.888400. The serial number is 720501666. When looking at the belt from a birds-eye view, it almost looks like it's not aligned well with the bottom pulley. When I pull the cord slowly to see how/where it's throwing it, it is just rolling off the front of the pulley. It does situate itself closer to the front of the idler pulley too.

Any ideas?

 

[upupandaway]

Can you post a pic? Sounds like a pulley moved from your description. If the pulleys don't line up, then yeah, you get this.
If so, just pull out the allen wrench and loosen 1 pulley and move it back.

 

[Rivets]

Check the bearings. If it is an older unit the bearings and/or bushings may be worn out, affecting alignment.

 

[mechanic mark]

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My advice : replace all idler pulleys, belts, & hardware that are worn out.

 

[Diane W]

The drive belt pulley moves, and I think that is what is throwing the belt. The alignment is off too, belt to bottom pulley, not idle pulley.

 

[Rivets]

Two things I see very quickly. First in picture three your rubber friction disc is severely worn and should be replaced. Second in picture four to me it looks like the drive pulley is on an angle. The cause of this would be a bad drive bearing. This would cause the belt to jump off. Also, both belts look to me to be worn, which won’t help your situation.