Deck belt broken w/ .6 hrs on new machine

[Tigerintn]

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

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 .

Good to know. I'll take a stab at it tomorrow night. Thx!

 

[MParr]

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!

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.

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

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.

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.

 

[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

 

[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

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[awkerper]

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

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.

 

[MParr]

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.

Good eye! I didn’t catch that.
Yes, the belt must be under the belt keepers.

 

[bertsmobile1]

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