Gears won't change after belt change.

madmoojuice

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Poulan 42", 17.5hp, model #P017542ST

History: Prior to recent maintenance, gear 6 would not engage, all others worked fine. Parking brake worked fine

Issue: Drive belt popped off. Put it back on, but it slipped back off within 20 mins. Belt showed slight wearage (its 6+ years old) but no deformities, cuts or other damage. I replaced the belt with one purchased at Home Depot. Specs called for 95.25" belt but all they had was a 95". Employee was older gentleman who claimed to be 'very knowledgeable' about riding mowers and stated the .25" would not effect the mower. After installation, started mower and moved shifter from N to 3rd speed. Tried to stop in middle of yard but mower would not respond to push of brake pedal and kept moving, though at a SLIGHTLY reduced speed. As a result, tried to move back to Neutral, but gear shift would not come out of gear. Killed ignition, as I was now doing circle in the middle of yard. After it was killed, I pushed with all my might (felt close to breaking the linkage) and shifter popped back to Neutral. With engine off, if cycled fine. Started engine, moved shifter into 1st. Started moving, again brake pedal would not stop mower and shifter would not change. Ran into fence post and killed ignition. Pulled seat and battery and examined linkage. Linkage moves fine up to the point it enters gearbox/transmission.

Surely that .25" of belt didn't cause all that??! The mower is not in the best of shape, so I'm not looking to drop $500 into it to replace anything, but if I can pull the gearbox apart and overhaul it myself for cheap, I'm a quick learner and love to dive into stuff like that. I'm just bad at the troubleshooting aspect! Send me your best guess and I'll check it out.

Thank you for taking the time to read my issue and for any assistance you can send!
Art
 

Rivets

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He may have looked like he knew what he was talking about, but I’ve yet to find anyone at a BIG BOX store who really knew anything thing besides how to sell product. .25” can very easily cause your problem, new belt too tight. You need a Husqvarna belt #532138255
 

StarTech

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You probably brought an after market. They are a lot of the time shorter than what are labeled. It was one the main Reason I quit buying A&I belts as every one of them where coming in short.
 

Tiger Small Engine

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You probably brought an after market. They are a lot of the time shorter than what are labeled. It was one the main Reason I quit buying A&I belts as every one of them where coming in short.
Different manufacturers of belts measure the belt differently. An inch difference in physical length can and will make a difference. A 1/4” difference in length will not make a difference, in my opinion.
 

StarTech

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Different manufacturers of belts measure the belt differently. An inch difference in physical length can and will make a difference. A 1/4” difference in length will not make a difference, in my opinion.
Really depends on the belt length. Shorter belts it can make a big difference and longer belts it is barely noticeable. On belts that around 35" a quarter inch can make a world of difference. I got a few Hussqvarna HWTs here that this is the case where when 1/4 short the head will not disengage and 1/4 over will cause it to slip when engaged.

The manufactures may measure differently but when they spec OC length it should be the same no matter who the manufacture is. Here I use a 200" v-belt measuring tool. ON some the JD mowers I work even when the belt measures on the spec length they are at the bare minimum length to allow installation.
 
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