I have a Craftsman Intek 3500 DLS. I got it from a friend who let it sit in his yard for a year after he bought a new zero turn mower.
First we had to get the engine running. That took some time but we got it going. It became apparent right away, the belt wasn't turning the deck. We just assumed the belt was worn, weathered, ruined from sitting in the weather for over a year. Bought a new one, fiance put it on. Mowed once, no apparent problems. Mowing the second time, about 2/3's through (I have almost an acre), and the mower suddenly disengaged. Took a minute to realize the new belt had broken. It was in the grass, snapped. It was very hot when I picked it up (not sure if that is normal). It was clear the flat side had been worn, the cover was completely gone on that side, and the rubber had appeared to have melted a bit. We assumed that something got caught, and it wore / burned it.
Bought a new belt. I put this one on, and immediately could tell, it was way too big. Probably 2 to 3 inches of play in it. Took the deck off, nothing appeared out of place. Checked the routing of the belt, is according to the diagram. Checked the belt number, it's the right part. Put the deck back on, played with it some more, no improvement. Took the deck back off, adjusted the screw on the idler arm because it seemed loose. Again, looked it over well, nothing seems out of place, routing is right, belt is just very slack. Put the deck back on..you get the idea.
The belt will engage some, but is too slack, so then just goes in and out of engaging the blades. The new belt, is the same size as the first new one I bought. We don't have the original to compare it to. Starting to wonder if there was some problem before we ever replaced the belt at all, and we just don't see it,but, nothing on the mower deck looks out of place. Anyone have this problem? Any clue what is going on? I don't find anything on adjusting tension, etc.
Thanks for any input.
First we had to get the engine running. That took some time but we got it going. It became apparent right away, the belt wasn't turning the deck. We just assumed the belt was worn, weathered, ruined from sitting in the weather for over a year. Bought a new one, fiance put it on. Mowed once, no apparent problems. Mowing the second time, about 2/3's through (I have almost an acre), and the mower suddenly disengaged. Took a minute to realize the new belt had broken. It was in the grass, snapped. It was very hot when I picked it up (not sure if that is normal). It was clear the flat side had been worn, the cover was completely gone on that side, and the rubber had appeared to have melted a bit. We assumed that something got caught, and it wore / burned it.
Bought a new belt. I put this one on, and immediately could tell, it was way too big. Probably 2 to 3 inches of play in it. Took the deck off, nothing appeared out of place. Checked the routing of the belt, is according to the diagram. Checked the belt number, it's the right part. Put the deck back on, played with it some more, no improvement. Took the deck back off, adjusted the screw on the idler arm because it seemed loose. Again, looked it over well, nothing seems out of place, routing is right, belt is just very slack. Put the deck back on..you get the idea.
The belt will engage some, but is too slack, so then just goes in and out of engaging the blades. The new belt, is the same size as the first new one I bought. We don't have the original to compare it to. Starting to wonder if there was some problem before we ever replaced the belt at all, and we just don't see it,but, nothing on the mower deck looks out of place. Anyone have this problem? Any clue what is going on? I don't find anything on adjusting tension, etc.
Thanks for any input.
