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Deck belt broken w/ .6 hrs on new machine

#1

T

Tigerintn

I purchased a new Ikon 52" from lowes this weekend(hate not buying local but logistics prevented it this weekend and i have a lot of grass to cut). I played around with it when I got it home around 8pm. It's my first ZT so i played around in the driveway for a bit. I tried to engage blades and could hear the pto but no blades. Turns out the belt wasn't attached in the back near the engine. I put the belt back on and called it a night.

The next day I went to cut grass and within 15 minutes of cutting the deck belt broke. I've read some comments about the drive belt breaking pretty early on but not the drive belt. Not seeing any comments on here about this problem. Anybody have any input on this issue? TIA


#2

M

MParr

It’s always possible to have a bad pulley or spindle from the factory. With the belt off of the machine, check the pulleys and spindles. They should turn freely. Look for bad spots on all of the pulleys.
Any problems and you will need to visit the nearest authorized repair shop. I always like to purchase from an official servicing dealer.


#3

shurguywutt

shurguywutt

Get with Ariens and make sure it is documented with them via email/phone. They may tell you where to take it and what steps to take. Busting a belt on a $4k machine in the first half hour is definitely not normal IMHO.


#4

T

Tigerintn

MParr said:
It’s always possible to have a bad pulley or spindle from the factory. With the belt off of the machine, check the pulleys and spindles. They should turn freely. Look for bad spots on all of the pulleys.
Any problems and you will need to visit the nearest authorized repair shop. I always like to purchase from an official servicing dealer.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response. I did speak to them directly and they are sending me a new belt. I will definitely check out everything before installing the new belt. In hindsight I do remember hearing a bit of a squealing noise before starting to cut grass. Fingers crossed!


#5

M

MParr

Tigerintn said:
Thanks for the response. I did speak to them directly and they are sending me a new belt. I will definitely check out everything before installing the new belt. In hindsight I do remember hearing a bit of a squealing noise before starting to cut grass. Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Squealing could mean a locked up pulley or spindle.


#6

T

Tigerintn

shurguywutt said:
Get with Ariens and make sure it is documented with them via email/phone. They may tell you where to take it and what steps to take. Busting a belt on a $4k machine in the first half hour is definitely not normal IMHO.
Click to expand...


#7

T

Tigerintn

So I finally got time to look at the deck. Spindles 1, 2 are higher than 3 & 4. I believe that 4 is for the blade, the others in the pic are part of the idler. The other 2 blade spindles are also at the lower height. Hopefully the different height can be seen in the pics. It's probably about 1/2" at the biggest gap of height.

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#8

T

Tigerintn

Another pic, I don't think 1 & 2 from previous posted pic should be so close together.

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#9

B

bertsmobile1

Grab your owners manual and check the belt run
Looks to me like the run back to the engine has been taken between the wrong 2 pulleys
The idlers where the belt goes to & from the engine are usually higher than the spindle pulleys and are also taller with a wider flange to compensate for the out of alignment that happens when the deck is raised or lowered .
Pulley 2 should be on an tension arm & spring loaded
Once the belt breaks there is nothing to tension the spring so the pulley swings in too far .


#10

M

MParr



#11

T

Tigerintn

MParr said:
Click to expand...
So the xd and the 23' version of ikon 52 have the same belt run? Was wondering about that. Thx.
bertsmobile1 said:
Grab your owners manual and check the belt run
Looks to me like the run back to the engine has been taken between the wrong 2 pulleys
The idlers where the belt goes to & from the engine are usually higher than the spindle pulleys and are also taller with a wider flange to compensate for the out of alignment that happens when the deck is raised or lowered .
Pulley 2 should be on an tension arm & spring loaded
Once the belt breaks there is nothing to tension the spring so the pulley swings in too far .
Click to expand...
Good to know. I'll take a stab at it tomorrow night. Thx!


#12

M

MParr

Tigerintn said:
So the xd and the 23' version of ikon 52 have the same belt run? Was wondering about that. Thx.

Good to know. I'll take a stab at it tomorrow night. Thx!
Click to expand...
It probably hasn’t changed. Refer to the owners manual to confirm.
There should be a belt routing diagram on your deck.
Make sure all of the pulley bolts are tight.
The tension pulley assembly should move freely and and not flop around.


#13

Tiger Small Engine

Tiger Small Engine

MParr said:
It probably hasn’t changed. Refer to the owners manual to confirm.
There should be a belt routing diagram on your deck.
Make sure all of the pulley bolts are tight.
The tension pulley assembly should move freely and and not flop around.
Click to expand...
See if you can find a dealer to check under warranty (even if you bought it at big box store, etc.). It is brand new and you should not be messing with it. That is why you bought new and not a 12 year old, 30 feet or 30 seconds warranty mower.


#14

grumpyunk

grumpyunk

If this is a brand new machine, the rust on the pulleys indicates to me that it was left out in the rain, or was pressure washed or ???. Given that, it is possible the pulley bearings are free of lubricating grease. Pressure washers produce enough force to physically push the grease out.
If it was BigBox, it is possible that Shrilly or Brob washed the machines daily.... and did a lot of damage that was unknown to anyone.
I think that inspecting the pulley bearings for ease of spin and smoothness of rotation would be a reasonable thing to do, especially after having a belt fail within minutes. Routing should be in the owners manual. Would not hurt to check the spindle bearings and ease of rotation while the belt is removed. The tension pulley should also be inspected as it could be just as clean(and rusty) as the others.
tom


#15

C

Cajun power

out of good measure, I would lubricate EVERYTHING...the big box stores park their mowers outside and leave them in the rain (and snow?)....you don't really know the condition of the spindles, pulleys etc. Go to every single grease and lube point in the owners manual...also check every bolt...it's just one of those things you have to do...the big box stores (and certain brands/manufacturers) obviously spend less time on quality control.

I would also make sure before you put a new belt on to check everything and make sure nothing is seized or a belt keeper bolt near the PTO (it's basically a protection to prevent the belt from slapping off) is installed and does not have a "factory edge". Another thing to check is the surface of the v grooves in the pulley and tensioner...make sure there is not some "factory edge" there also. Then double check the manual parts for the belt and compare it to what was broken. Maybe it was the wrong belt ...same thing with new belt they are sending...often the same mixup happens because people are too lazy to actually check the part (And measure the part!)

God Bless America


#16

F

Freddie21

One thing I noticed, on the second pic, the belt going around the lowest pulley on the left is not under the keeper. If the original belt is not routed correctly and under the keepers, it will pop off


#17

F

Freddie21

One thing I noticed, on the second pic, the belt going around the lowest pulley on the left is not under the keeper. If the original belt is not routed correctly and under the keepers, it will pop off or break.


#18

A

awkerper

Tigerintn said:
I purchased a new Ikon 52" from lowes this weekend(hate not buying local but logistics prevented it this weekend and i have a lot of grass to cut). I played around with it when I got it home around 8pm. It's my first ZT so i played around in the driveway for a bit. I tried to engage blades and could hear the pto but no blades. Turns out the belt wasn't attached in the back near the engine. I put the belt back on and called it a night.

The next day I went to cut grass and within 15 minutes of cutting the deck belt broke. I've read some comments about the drive belt breaking pretty early on but not the drive belt. Not seeing any comments on here about this problem. Anybody have any input on this issue? TIA
Click to expand...
If the belt was not installed when you bought it, then perhaps the belt tension was never properly adjusted. I would think checking the tension would be a normal part of belt installation, but if it was too tight then maybe the belt just couldn't take it.


#19

M

MParr

Freddie21 said:
One thing I noticed, on the second pic, the belt going around the lowest pulley on the left is not under the keeper. If the original belt is not routed correctly and under the keepers, it will pop off or break.
Click to expand...
Good eye! I didn’t catch that.
Yes, the belt must be under the belt keepers.


#20

B

bertsmobile1

Perhaps the fact that the belt is actually broken might just go a long way to explaining it being out of position ?


#21

T

Tigerintn

bertsmobile1 said:
Perhaps the fact that the belt is actually broken might just go a long way to explaining it being out of position ?
Click to expand...
Yeah, there was no tension on mine b/c the belt was broken. Duhh, I didn't think of that. I installed the new belt and it's been good for the last 1.1 hrs. I'm sure it just wasn't installed correctly from the factory. Must have been installed on a monday morning or a friday afternoon.


#22

T

TobyU

I'm guessing it wasn't on right when you got it or they got it on the wrong side of one of the keepers and it was rubbing.

I like to run a belt for 3-4 minutes as long as everything sounds ok and then turn off and feel the belt for excessive heat


#23

P

POW123

Tigerintn said:
I purchased a new Ikon 52" from lowes this weekend(hate not buying local but logistics prevented it this weekend and i have a lot of grass to cut). I played around with it when I got it home around 8pm. It's my first ZT so i played around in the driveway for a bit. I tried to engage blades and could hear the pto but no blades. Turns out the belt wasn't attached in the back near the engine. I put the belt back on and called it a night.

The next day I went to cut grass and within 15 minutes of cutting the deck belt broke. I've read some comments about the drive belt breaking pretty early on but not the drive belt. Not seeing any comments on here about this problem. Anybody have any input on this issue? TIA
Click to expand...
You need to adjust the belt tabs that keep the belt from coming off. There is a tab on each wheel, and you should find a tensioner spring that has tendency to hang up on the engage lever. It's actually and easy fix.


#24

J

jviews12

Are pictures of a "new" machine. Looks crusty, rusty, and years old.


#25

S

SeniorCitizen

Why all of the rust on the pulleys ? Maybe a pre-owned mower ,


#26

M

MParr

SeniorCitizen said:
Why all of the rust on the pulleys ? Maybe a pre-owned mower ,
Click to expand...
In the OP’s first post, he said that he purchased from Lowe’s. That says a lot about the mower. It probably sat outside for some time.


#27

grumpyunk

grumpyunk

Senior Citizen and Mparr, see Saturday 8:40AM... already noted that this was likely
left out in front of a BigBox store for some time, rain and all.
Inspecting and lubricating the pulley bearings seemed to be a good idea when noted.
If the belt sat in one position unmoved for a few months it could have taken a 'set' and not gotten
flexy enough to work and last before giving up the ghost. If the belt was made if that smelly stuff
from the Far East, it may not have lasted either way.
tom


#28

M

MParr

grumpyunk said:
Senior Citizen and Mparr, see Saturday 8:40AM... already noted that this was likely
left out in front of a BigBox store for some time, rain and all.
Inspecting and lubricating the pulley bearings seemed to be a good idea when noted.
If the belt sat in one position unmoved for a few months it could have taken a 'set' and not gotten
flexy enough to work and last before giving up the ghost. If the belt was made if that smelly stuff
from the Far East, it may not have lasted either way.
tom
Click to expand...
It’s rather obvious that it was exposed to the elements for some time.


#29

shurguywutt

shurguywutt

I would have asked for a discount if I saw the garbage on the deck before I bought it.


#30

7394

7394

Tigerintn said:
they are sending me a new belt. I will definitely check out everything before installing the new belt.
Click to expand...
They need to send you a tech to check & then install that new belt.


#31

Thornback

Thornback

Something was chewing up that belt. Maybe it wasn't configured properly.


#32

7394

7394

Yea.


#33

J

jeffutke

Tigerintn said:
I purchased a new Ikon 52" from lowes this weekend(hate not buying local but logistics prevented it this weekend and i have a lot of grass to cut). I played around with it when I got it home around 8pm. It's my first ZT so i played around in the driveway for a bit. I tried to engage blades and could hear the pto but no blades. Turns out the belt wasn't attached in the back near the engine. I put the belt back on and called it a night.

The next day I went to cut grass and within 15 minutes of cutting the deck belt broke. I've read some comments about the drive belt breaking pretty early on but not the drive belt. Not seeing any comments on here about this problem. Anybody have any input on this issue? TIA
Click to expand...

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#34

J

jeffutke

Tigerintn said:
I purchased a new Ikon 52" from lowes this weekend(hate not buying local but logistics prevented it this weekend and i have a lot of grass to cut). I played around with it when I got it home around 8pm. It's my first ZT so i played around in the driveway for a bit. I tried to engage blades and could hear the pto but no blades. Turns out the belt wasn't attached in the back near the engine. I put the belt back on and called it a night.

The next day I went to cut grass and within 15 minutes of cutting the deck belt broke. I've read some comments about the drive belt breaking pretty early on but not the drive belt. Not seeing any comments on here about this problem. Anybody have any input on this issue? TIA
Click to expand...
also Lowes has put a hold on all arien ikon 52 sales until arien inspector signs off. I'm in the same mess 15 mins and belt broke


#35

shurguywutt

shurguywutt

jeffutke said:
also Lowes has put a hold on all arien ikon 52 sales until arien inspector signs off. I'm in the same mess 15 mins and belt broke
Click to expand...
wow


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