Deck belt broken w/ .6 hrs on new machine

[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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Tigerintn]

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.

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!

 

[MParr]

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!

Squealing could mean a locked up pulley or spindle.

 

[Tigerintn]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Tigerintn]

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

 

[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 .

 

[MParr]