I am new here and have a question. I have a Craftsman DSY4500 mower (917.288260). I haven't had it a year yet (bought it used) but yesterday after using it for about 2-3 hours picking up leaves, the forward is moving very slow. It has an automatic transmission. The reverse seems to work OK but not as fast as normal but when i push the lever forward it starts very slow, gains some speed as long as its flat or downhill but boggs down easily. I was running over and backing over some pretty big pile of leaves to pick them up with the bagger attachment. Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong. Does is sound like a drive belt problem or is the transaxle shot??? Can debris hamper the cooling fan and cause this? I tried running today just to see if it was a problem only when it was hot but it ran the same this morning.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Troy Clark
#2
wjjones
I have the ys4500 and it did the same thing I called sears they came out changed the drive belt, and it was good as used.:laughing:.. He said somehow the belt had streched he even showed me by holding the 2 up side by side. You could actually see the older original belt was a little longer he didnt know what caused it.. but if I where you thats where I would start. Check your part# to be sure it matches but this is the best deal I could find you may find one cheaper..
Thank you very much for the info. I will try replacing the drive belt before i do anything else. I looked at the deck and saw that the pads that stop the blade pulleys when the mower is disengaged are worn and won't stop the pullys from spinning. Does anyone know what the part numbers are for these. I have looked at the diagrams and can't tell which parts they are. Since I am ordering a belt might as well get these as well.
im a 14 year sears lawnmower tech your problem is dirt 95percent of time new belt will do same thing . go to the left side of the tractor look under the frame below the clutch pedal there is a plate under the frame lock your brake down and reach on top of that plate and remove the big chunk of dirt thats compressed and see how much better it is
#7
Dangeroustoys56
Sounds like the issue i had with my 99 hydro murray - would go real slow at times - i swapped a newer belt on and it fixed the problem.
Its surprising how much belts will stretch over time .
A good example was on my wifes 2001 mustang- the sepentine belt was original to the car , one day it up and died on her- the belt fell off . I got a new belt, checked it against the original- it stretched darn near 3" longer - those are under a whole lot more tension then any tractor belt .
I ordered the belt and brake arms and finally got a chance to install them. I pulled the deck off and cleaned everything under the tractor I could. I was really surprised with the amound of dirt under the tractor. There is a flat shelf under the tractor where the steering gears are and it was completely full of dirt. It took a paint scraper to pry it loose and remove it all. I pulled the old belt and compared it to the new belt and they didn't look like different lengths at all. I went ahead and put the new belt on and reinstalled the deck and it works great now. Thanks all for the help. I was really relieved that it wasn't the tranny.
Troy
#9
reynoldston
Unless they are making belts different one thing I have never seen was a belt that stretched. Wear out and break yes but not stretch. But who knows with all the modern way they make things. If you got belts that are longer you had better recheck your belt numbers. I am not buying into the belt streching story and I have been in this buness for the last 60 years but also things change till I see it with my own eyes.
Put a kevlar lawnmower belt on a Toyota pickup with the 22re engine once and the belt stretched like a rubber band. Nearly 3 inches in about 50 miles. Put a auto belt on a old wheel horse once that stretched 2 inches in about 10 minutes.
Put a kevlar lawnmower belt on a Toyota pickup with the 22re engine once and the belt stretched like a rubber band. Nearly 3 inches in about 50 miles. Put a auto belt on a old wheel horse once that stretched 2 inches in about 10 minutes.
Where in the world are you buying your belts? Made in china? You have some kind problem there. By the time a belt had stretched 3 inches it couldn't of even been turning what it should of been turning much less any tension left on the belt. Three inches on a belt is a long ways. I am sure of one thing I sure would have a word or two with the place I buy my belts from. For one thing belts aren't cheap. You might want to try NAPA they have a lot better quality belts. I am still going to say a quality belt isn't going to stretch and I am not going to change my mine on that. I have taken off belts with over 100,000 miles on them and no stretch. I replaced the drive belt on my wheel horse last year with over 800hrs on it because it was coming apart and measured the old one to buy the new one and it had not stretched.
It's been my experience that belts will wear narrower and that lets them set deeper in the pulleys... Makes the Idler take up a lot more slack than normal... But when they Try to get Longer they Break.
That has been with cheep and expensive belts. :smile:KennyV
It's been my experience that belts will wear narrower and that lets them set deeper in the pulleys... Makes the Idler take up a lot more slack than normal... But when they Try to get Longer they Break.
That has been with cheep and expensive belts. :smile:KennyV
Well I am on my 2nd belt that has streched, and is longer the first one the sears tech changed it, and said he had never seen one do that before.. he said he had been with sears 25 years it was replaced the first year I had it, and now in the 5th year I had to replace it again for the same reason.. I held the old belt up to the new belt, and the old one is about 1 1/2"s longer than the new one.. As before after replacing the belt.. it works fine again now.. He nor I know what caused it to strech this way but it did, and the new belt got it back up to speed.. I dont pull anything I just mow so there is no weight factor to cause it to strech?? But this makes 2 times it was streched, and slipping enough to slow the mower down to about half the speed it should be traveling..
Hey Troy.I have a 2004 LT1000 Craftsman Hydro with a 17 kohler and mine does the exact same thing.But it only does it when I am grinding leaves.I keep mine in tip top shape and do regular maintenance...lol...very detailed maintenance.By the time I get it back to the shop,all is well.I assume that leaf dust,if you will,gets on the pulleys and allows the belt to slip.That's all I can figure.Hope that helps.:smile:
im a 14 year sears lawnmower tech your problem is dirt 95percent of time new belt will do same thing . go to the left side of the tractor look under the frame below the clutch pedal there is a plate under the frame lock your brake down and reach on top of that plate and remove the big chunk of dirt thats compressed and see how much better it is
Hi, I've just been trying to clean the dirt off the steering deck on my Craftsman lawn tractor. Even with the deck lowered, it's a very hard fit/reach even with my small hands (lots of scrapes and bruising). Is there an easier way to clean this or access the steering deck without removing parts? I'm not much of a mechanic (understatement) but do want to learn how to keep this clean and running well.
I had the identical problem described in this thread, and had been mowing in very dusty conditions, using a mulching blade that seems to make the dust clouds and debris thrown up much worse.
im a 14 year sears lawnmower tech your problem is dirt 95percent of time new belt will do same thing . go to the left side of the tractor look under the frame below the clutch pedal there is a plate under the frame lock your brake down and reach on top of that plate and remove the big chunk of dirt thats compressed and see how much better it is
