Husqvarna z242e deck belt constantly snapping.

Benno

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Hi guys, 5 belts in 5 months. Spindles are fine, idler pulley fine, no obstructions at any height. Belts keep breaking near the factory join. Not under any massive amount of load. Doing my head in. Any ideas?
 

StarTech

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First there is two idlers on this deck. Even a small rough spot in the bearings can cause a bearing to hang and snap belts.

With the belts are you buying OEM or aftermarket? Also are they Kevlar belts? Most deck belts need to be Kevlar belts.
 

Pedro 11

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I have had 7 belts in 70 hours on my 242f
Brand new factory towers and pulleys
My last husq mower was one belt in 8 years
Dealer who sold it was worthless
 

JoeyB05

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I have done 5 in 25 hours (brand new) on my 242 with the last one being after market apparently indestructible...it lasted 5 minutes.
My dealer says there is nothing wrong, the ground is a bit bumpy and the blade touches the ground occasionally, surely the belts should last this???
 

bertsmobile1

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I have done 5 in 25 hours (brand new) on my 242 with the last one being after market apparently indestructible...it lasted 5 minutes.
My dealer says there is nothing wrong, the ground is a bit bumpy and the blade touches the ground occasionally, surely the belts should last this???
Try running a slightly longer belt or backing off the belt tension if it is adjustable
In theory the belt tensioner should simply swing in when there is a momentary excessive load on the blades
I have not touched one yet but I regularly fit belts 1" longer to customers who are always breaking belts .
Too long & the belts will slip on heavy cuts .
As the years go by Husqvarna products get noticeably worse
To the point that the only Husqvarna products I recommend to my customers are chain saws & leaf blowers
Everything else made by Husqvarna USA is trash
We get some of the EU made products down here and again there is a noticeable increase in quality in the EU models
Seem like they are treating the USA market with total contempt
There is no product so badly made or designed that you can not make it a success in the market place with sufficient advertising.
Down here Husqvarna outs spends the rest of the market at least 3 to 1 and that says a lot
God products sell on their merit, bad products have to be sold to the public
 

JoeyB05

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Thanks for your response Bert, I am in Australia and not sure if I have the USA or European model ( I will check with that) I am picking the mower up from the dealer tomorrow and relay your comments. The last time the belt snapped I grabbed it from under the mower and it was very hot to the touch, I thought this rather irregular and that there may be too much tension there.
 

bertsmobile1

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Now we come to the different language problem
Your belt should be an A 119 in Australian parlance or A 121 if you speak American
Aust uses inside measurement , US uses outside measurement
I would try an A 120 ( US A 122 ) and see how you go
Stens do a 265-083 which is a cub cadet 46" deck belt @ 122" ( US measurement ) and I would try one of those
If nothing else they should retail for about 1/2 to 2/3 of the Husqvarna price
IMHO any deck belt much longer than 100" should really be a B section to resist the shock loadings
\
Right now Allmowers list the genuine MTD954 04153A at $ 61.36 ( + freight ) discounted down from $ 112
The Stens belt is listed at $ 63
Jackmax retail Pix belts which are also reasonable quality but I do not stock any Jackmax parts due to quality problems & a narky rep .The pix belts are quite reasonable and usually a bit cheaper than the Stens belts .
Avoid any of the "unbranded " belts you see on evilpay , Ammozone or FaceAche as most are very cheap trash from China , India or Belaruse .

Belts get very hot in use because of the flexing & friction
Try touching the fan belt on your car after 10 minutes or running or even your tyres .

Specific types of failures have tell tale appearances but a strait snap is always too much shock loading.
Not easy realizing that a $ 7,000 mower is a dud .
Husqvarna regularly dumps large numbers of dud mowers on the OZ market if they don't sell in the USA .
The best mower on the retail market is the Greenfields Fastcut and when you get used to cutting backwards around tight obstacles it will leave your 42" Husqvarna for dead in both speed & quality of cut
But they just don't look as sexy as the bright orange junk piles .
 
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StarTech

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Actually if the belts are spec as A119 or B119 then they are inside measurements here too. A belts you add two inches for outside measurement and B belts you add three inches. And I have been belts for over 13 yrs now in the USA.

Bert if you order a A122K belt here you will get a 1/2" x 124" Kevlar belt.

Also note that deck belts needs to be Kevlar corded due to heat involved so that A119 need to be A119K. Poly belt just heat up and break.

Yes sometimes I have to go slightly longer or shorter depending what the root cause is. I have 46" deck by MTD that specs a 103" belt but over time it requires a 102" due belt slippage. I know of the problem so question my customers as to what the reason they need a new belt.
 

bertsmobile1

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Well the Stens catalogue lists it as 1/2 x 122" and the RGS catalogue lists it as 1/2 x 120"
 

StarTech

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Well when I place my next for Husqvarna I could order one for stock and actually measure the OEM belt which anyone else here that has one could do and save me the $39 as I have no Z242F under my wing. Either way it be at least two before I can order as I hit my credit and it takes that long for Gardner and Redstone Federal Credit Union get the payment process for the HG transaxle just I brought. Gardner only gave a $1000 credit limit and they refuse to setup Codis to accept electronic checks. With this it just causes them to lose sales to my company as RBI will do it.
 
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