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While cutting my yard the belt fell off my 42" Raptor. I can't seem to figure out a way to put the belt back on. Is one of the pulleys supposed to be taken off? Any help would be appreciated.

mk3wagen said:

While cutting my yard the belt fell off my 42" Raptor. I can't seem to figure out a way to put the belt back on. Is one of the pulleys supposed to be taken off? Any help would be appreciated.

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Do you have an owners manual?

gfp55 said:

Do you have an owners manual?

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Yes

The bracket in the picture does not allow the belt to fit on the pulley. Is this pulley supposed to be taken off. If so, how?

mk3wagen said:

The bracket in the picture does not allow the belt to fit on the pulley. Is this pulley supposed to be taken off. If so, how?

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You are not putting the belt on correctly. Check you belt route. The pulley you have your finger is near is supposed to have the back side of the belt ride on it, not the V part of the belt.

gfp55 said:

You are not putting the belt on correctly. Check you belt route. The pulley you have your finger is near is supposed to have the back side of the belt ride on it, not the V part of the belt.

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The point is that the belt doesn't clear the bracket. I know which way to route the belt and I realize that belt is on backwards on that pulley.

mk3wagen said:

The point is that the belt doesn't clear the bracket. I know which way to route the belt and I realize that belt is on backwards on that pulley.

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If you are putting the belt on correct the bracket has nothing to do with the belt. If the belt is on right the bracket will not be in the way, so you don't have to take it off of its not in the way do you.

gfp55 said:

If you are putting the belt on correct the bracket has nothing to do with the belt. If the belt is on right the bracket will not be in the way, so you don't have to take it off of its not in the way do you.

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I've routed the belt exactly how the manual and the sticker on my deck shows. The belt needs to be in between the bracket and the pulley. By bracket I mean that piece metal that my finger is touching.

I've been searching all over and can't seem to find a guide or DIY on replacing the belt on one of these machines. Beyond frustrating...

You are putting the belt on right.

Loosen the bolt on top of the pulley. That will let the guide move so you can get the bolt on.

By the looks of the belt you need a new one.

Number one reason a belt comes off is time to replace it.

mk3wagen said:

I've been searching all over and can't seem to find a guide or DIY on replacing the belt on one of these machines. Beyond frustrating...

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I'm sorry but I can't put your belt route map and your picture together so I can understand it. I'm glad someone with more brains then me stepped in to help you. I'm sorry for the confusion I caused you. Thanks Carscw for helping them out.

gfp55 said:

I'm sorry but I can't put your belt route map and your picture together so I can understand it. I'm glad someone with more brains then me stepped in to help you. I'm sorry for the confusion I caused you. Thanks Carscw for helping them out.

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No sir not more brains.

I have just had his problem before.

Carscw said:

You are putting the belt on right.

Loosen the bolt on top of the pulley. That will let the guide move so you can get the bolt on.

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I just tried that and can't loosen it.

Carscw said:

By the looks of the belt you need a new one.

Number one reason a belt comes off is time to replace it.

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Doubt it needs to be replaced. The mower has less than 8 hours on it. I was cutting the grass in my backyard at the lowest setting and backed up into a bump. When I pulled forward I noticed that the blades were no longer on. It sucks because I just got it back from service last week due to the deck not staying leveled and now this. I'll call service tomorrow and have them pick it up again. :mur:

Loosening the bolt is the best way.

I and a lot of others just bend the guide then bend it back after the belt is on.

To loosen the nut you need to hold the bolt with a wrench. Just slide it under the pulley while you turn the nut and the wrench will slip on to the bolt.

Carscw said:

Loosening the bolt is the best way.

I and a lot of others just bend the guide then bend it back after the belt is on.

To loosen the nut you need to hold the bolt with a wrench. Just slide it under the pulley while you turn the nut and the wrench will slip on to the bolt.

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Took the bracket off and tried to take the bolt off the pulley again. No luck. I think I'll give up at this point since I've already wasted half my Sunday trying to fix it. Thanks for the help I really appreciate it.

I took another shot at it this morning and got the nut off. I used a piece of 2x4 to keep the bracket from hitting the other pulley when loosing the nut. I found a good angle to use a breaker bar and got it right off. Works like it did before. Thanks for the help Carscw. :thumbsup:

mk3wagen said:

I took another shot at it this morning and got the nut off. I used a piece of 2x4 to keep the bracket from hitting the other pulley when loosing the nut. I found a good angle to use a breaker bar and got it right off. Works like it did before. Thanks for the help Carscw. :thumbsup:

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Glad you kept at it.
Sometimes you just need a bigger tool.

Happy mowing.

mhavanti said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU7tAP9XWcM

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Thanks so much for posting and sharing this video. :thumbsup:

My pleasure

Good help with the video
but I think removing the tension spring would help keep from pinching a finger

Thought I'd try it. It isn't hard at all. I removed my covers to check to see how efficient using my blower is on the accumulated grass around the belt pulleys. I was appalled at how much build up was still packing the area between the pulleys and the cover. No wonder people are loosing belts.

While in there, why not see if I can pull the belt off by hand and it isn't a problem at all. No pinched fingers and no twisting belts, etc.

I'll also show you my version of 577Jersey's cover ventilation system modification.



You might try this on your Hustler to keep your belts happy.

Max