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Hi all. My John Deere E130 is burning the deck belt up. I took the deck off and all 4 pulleys are smooth rolling without any noise. When I'm mowing, I can go about 15 to 20 minutes, then the belt starts to smoke and it sounds like a pulley is making a noise. Any ideas? Thanks.

One of the deck pulleys is getting hot and the bearing is seizing.

Oh so when cold/ cool it probably it free spinning. Thanks for the information.

godsey1 said:

Hi all. My John Deere E130 is burning the deck belt up. I took the deck off and all 4 pulleys are smooth rolling without any noise. When I'm mowing, I can go about 15 to 20 minutes, then the belt starts to smoke and it sounds like a pulley is making a noise. Any ideas? Thanks.

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The belt needs to be not touching the pulley or spindle you are testing. Turn the pulley or spindle slowly and quickly and listen and feel for bearing noise. Also, check each pulley or spindle for play by grabbing it and trying to rock it back and forth. Replace as needed, and check belt for any damage. Grease fitting if it has them.

One piece of advice. Before greasing spindles disassemble and verify they have greaseable bearings. Many spindle are being sent with 2RS bearings with grease zerks. When you try to grease them you shove the inner bearing seals into the bearing race cage causing damage.

I have bought the 2 idler pulleys and both blade spindles plus the belt. The guy at Tri-Green said he would start with the idler pulleys first. I'll report back later.

I just wish I could understand the mentally of equipment owners. They rather pay out extra money to the OEM instead buying from their local independent shops. On top that both blade spindles are rebuild-able with just two 6203-2RS bearings each instead complete spindles.

It seems owners prefer to spend more money on parts instead of helping their local independent shop by paying for some labor used in the repairs.

Yes my shop now charges $80 /hr for labor but the equipment owner is accessing my expertise of troubleshooting and my procurement services. The reason I charge $80 is tools are not free nor is a lot of the other things like internet, electricity, insurance, storage area, and other supplies. Most years I just barely break even. I do the repairs to help my community but I do need some help too.

But I reckon they bother mind $300 when the problem is $0.50 terminal like one my recent customers did. He was piss that I would not buy is used parts especially since didn't any of the new parts from me.

on that note, i have 3 craftsman riders i have converted to 'greasable spindles' . i change the bearings, remove the inner seals and install a Zerk mid-spindle between the bearings. i have run one deck for 4 mowing seasons without an issue. i use a hand grease gun so i can 'feel' resistance and not push the outer seals out. thats the key to not ruining the new bearings.

It would not hurt to check that the spring that the idler uses to tension the belt is not weakened. If the belt does not have enough tension, the belt will slip, get hot, get hotter, and finally start to smoke. It would take some time for the belt to get hot.
I am not sure whether you have replaced the idler pulleys yet, but spinning the old ones will give an indication of their condition. If they spin freely but make a bit of noise, they likely are a bit short on grease. They can be greased by forcing grease behind the seal or shield, or by prying the seal out, adding grease, and replacing the shield.
If you have replaced the belt, be sure you got the correct size as being oversized can lead to slippage, and undersize can add excess load on the idler bearings.
tom

StarTech said:

I just wish I could understand the mentally of equipment owners. They rather pay out extra money to the OEM instead buying from their local independent shops. On top that both blade spindles are rebuild-able with just two 6203-2RS bearings each instead complete spindles.

It seems owners prefer to spend more money on parts instead of helping their local independent shop by paying for some labor used in the repairs.

Yes my shop now charges $80 /hr for labor but the equipment owner is accessing my expertise of troubleshooting and my procurement services. The reason I charge $80 is tools are not free nor is a lot of the other things like internet, electricity, insurance, storage area, and other supplies. Most years I just barely break even. I do the repairs to help my community but I do need some help too.

But I reckon they bother mind $300 when the problem is $0.50 terminal like one my recent customers did. He was piss that I would not buy is used parts especially since didn't any of the new parts from me.

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Depending on the time of the year and how fast the grass is growing, sometimes waiting a week or two (or longer) to get something fixed at a local shop isn't feasible. Plus, many folks don't have a way to get their machines to the shop, and the shop doesn't have a pickup and delivery service. So it isn't that folks don't want to support local shops, it's the hassle and wait time. I mean no offense; I believe in and support local businesses regularly. Just offering some perspective.

MyGrassHasCrabs said:

Depending on the time of the year and how fast the grass is growing, sometimes waiting a week or two (or longer) to get something fixed at a local shop isn't feasible. Plus, many folks don't have a way to get their machines to the shop, and the shop doesn't have a pickup and delivery service. So it isn't that folks don't want to support local shops, it's the hassle and wait time. I mean no offense; I believe in and support local businesses regularly. Just offering some perspective.

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I have done all the work ever done to my machines. My experiences with 'professional' mechanics has not been something I wish to repeat. Had a camshaft replaced under warranty and the tech forgot he had closed the drain petcock on the radiator, and closed it with a wrench. At least I can make the assumption as he broke the plastic and the plug leaked. Of course it was denied. Luckily some fishing line, some super glue and I was able to reinforce the broken part. Otherwise, at the time, it would have been time to replace the radiator.
Took a new car in as the A/C compressor was dripping. The fixed that, but placed the power steering pump on the engine and let the fluid leak all over. Got home, and had more drips than before, and an oiled engine on a brand new car. Took my truck in for the 1st oil change, to keep it in warranty. Next time I went to drain the oil, the drain plug threads were hosed up, and I had to use a wrench all the way when removing. I could not rotate it by hand alone.
I like taking care of the small engine stuff myself. I know a shop cannot afford to do small repairs without charging minimal time, likely by the quarter hour, and have minimum charges over what I think reasonable for little things. I do understand they have overhead and variable costs. Some people have no interest, and are willing to pay the fees, or buy a new machine when they have problems. Some are unwilling to dirty their hands. I expect surgeons, for example, to value their hands highly as that is their living.
In short, some don't care how they do the job, even as trivial as an oil change. Others have better things to do. Even more have no interest or are all thumbs, and then there are those who likely post here and other sites as they have interest and knowledge.
I expect there are enough of the non-backyard mechanics to keep the mower shops in business. I have no idea what they plan on doing once the battery powered everything phase kicks in. I likely won't be around or won't care as I won't have need for any of it. So far I have not needed their services. The one place where I bought parts has closed their doors. It had changed hands one time in 30 years, and the new owners did not last more than 4-5 years. The other local service provider is the Ace Hardware, likely backed up 30-60 days, which is useless at this time of year given grass seems able to grow 4 inches in a day or two.

I got the deck off and took the idler pulleys off and both sound like they had sand in them. From what I was told, that is what I should be looking for. Got the new ones on, it took about 1 hour to mow the yard and it ran great. Thanks for the information. Great group. On the topic of working with local shops. I have hadone doing all the work with the one that used to be our John Deere dealer. TRI-Green came in a few years ago and took the dealership from our old dealership. I stuck with the old shop until this year. They are charging $70 to come 2.7 miles one way to come and pick up the mower and bring it back. The same as Tri Green charge. I'm going to try and do all the work myself.

MyGrassHasCrabs said:

Depending on the time of the year and how fast the grass is growing, sometimes waiting a week or two (or longer) to get something fixed at a local shop isn't feasible. Plus, many folks don't have a way to get their machines to the shop, and the shop doesn't have a pickup and delivery service. So it isn't that folks don't want to support local shops, it's the hassle and wait time. I mean no offense; I believe in and support local businesses regularly. Just offering some perspective.

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A week or 2 is quick service this time of year. Due to the lack of repair shops and even more lack of OPE techs 3-4 weeks this time of year is more the normal than the exception. I have been running a 3-4 week backlog since February. Have talked to my local Honda powersports dealer and as of right now they are scheduling December.

ILENGINE said:

A week or 2 is quick service this time of year. Due to the lack of repair shops and even more lack of OPE techs 3-4 weeks this time of year is more the normal than the exception. I have been running a 3-4 week backlog since February. Have talked to my local Honda powersports dealer and as of right now they are scheduling December.

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Four points I want to make from the previous posts in this thread:

1) How far out a shop is on repairs: 1-2 weeks out is good, a month or more is not uncommon. When it comes to mowing grass for example, raise the deck, go slower, mow it twice. It is not the end of the world.

2) Pick up and delivery:
Buy a pick up truck or SUV and install a trailer hitch, and buy a trailer. Plan B is rent or borrow a trailer. A truck and trailer do not just come in handy one or two times in life. It is your decision to be independent or not.

3) Most small shops are simply making a living and try to do the best they can. Some are better than others. Everything is expensive now.

4) Battery powered outdoor power equipment:

Everything from EV vehicles to battery blowers and trimmers have not taken off sales wise like the government and liberal media would have liked. Allowing the free market to decide major changes is the best way. I do NOT work on battery equipment by choice, and am busy all day every day.
Glad spring is here and I appreciate my customers!

Tiger Small Engine said:

Four points I want to make from the previous posts in this thread:

1) How far out a shop is on repairs: 1-2 weeks out is good, a month or more is not uncommon. When it comes to mowing grass for example, raise the deck, go slower, mow it twice. It is not the end of the world.

2) Pick up and delivery:
Buy a pick up truck or SUV and install a trailer hitch, and buy a trailer. Plan B is rent or borrow a trailer. A truck and trailer do not just come in handy one or two times in life. It is your decision to be independent or not.

3) Most small shops are simply making a living and try to do the best they can. Some are better than others. Everything is expensive now.

4) Battery powered outdoor power equipment:

Everything from EV vehicles to battery blowers and trimmers has not taken off sales wise like the government and liberal media would have liked. Allowing the free market to decide major changes is the best way. I do NOT work on battery equipment by choice, and am busy all day every day.
Glad spring is here and I appreciate my customers!

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Have you seen what appears to be an uptick in the repairs required on what would be normally a uneventful spring service

ILENGINE said:

Have you seen what appears to be an uptick in the repairs required on what would be normally a uneventful spring service

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I seen more than normal repairs for Springtime. It appears customers have been letting the repairs to go and living with problems. This is causing larger than normal Spring repair bills.

And the darn on, off, on, off, and on again tariffs are causing problems too. Packages are being held up due to this as they have no idea to charge, not charge, or charge. Customs has no idea what to do day to day now.

Good things I built up the inventory last year on certain parts. Now I am making extra money as the prices increases on them. I just waiting when stocks of parts start hitting the wall of tariffs. Then customers are going start screaming at the bills.

I got a Toro ZTR in Friday that the customer thought it was a simple belt replacement then came the three idlers and a tire. He got off lucky as the spindles are fine. Idlers and belt were $200 and still I got to add the tire and labor. Just think what those will be once the 145% tariff hits them, currently they are $42 each.

And if wasn't for all the research I done in the last years the bills would be even higher. I have develop a fairly good part cross reference guide here that save me a lot of cash and I normally had passed that along. But if the public insists on supporting these darn tariffs then I going to hit them a lot harder on repairs as I will pass those fees along to the enduser.

StarTech said:

I just wish I could understand the mentally of equipment owners. They rather pay out extra money to the OEM instead buying from their local independent shops. On top that both blade spindles are rebuild-able with just two 6203-2RS bearings each instead complete spindles.

It seems owners prefer to spend more money on parts instead of helping their local independent shop by paying for some labor used in the repairs.

Yes my shop now charges $80 /hr for labor but the equipment owner is accessing my expertise of troubleshooting and my procurement services. The reason I charge $80 is tools are not free nor is a lot of the other things like internet, electricity, insurance, storage area, and other supplies. Most years I just barely break even. I do the repairs to help my community but I do need some help too.

But I reckon they bother mind $300 when the problem is $0.50 terminal like one my recent customers did. He was piss that I would not buy is used parts especially since didn't any of the new parts from me.

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Hi Star Tech,

When it comes to customers, I refer to what can only be described as the "drive thru syndrome". People often want cheap and quick, or what they consider should be free under warranty.

Small engine repair has been a steadily dying trade around my area. I quit taking drive up clients and carefully evaluate any job before accepting them. Even then, I find myself often educating my customers what's involved to perform the diagnostics and repairs. This has improved my quality of customers and practically no dispute when it comes to paying for the services.

Dealers and box stores sell new machines but seldom have anyone qualified to conduct proper diagnostics or repairs after the sale. Most of the ones I am familiar with are self-trained with maybe some online courses.

What complicates the issue even more is when a customer buys the additional "extended warranty" only to find out that quality "certified" repair facilities are few and far between. Many dealers and independent shops will not accept the aftermarket warranty companies' referrals.

These days people are much less willing pay for repairs mostly due to bad experiences in the past, so they often throw their mowers away for even simple problems, then run off to the box store to repeat the process.

For me the last few years it is moving less around repairs on the actual engine outside of maintenance.. All the repairs are focusing on everything around them.

When mowers were $99 each at K-mart, repairs were not even considered. Changing the oil or the air filter? Maybe.
The preceptrion is likely still that OPE is cheap, and repairs are expensive.
I do not think perception has caught up with reality. Ten years ago the lowest price push mower with an engine was right around $100. Today, i expect is it about 3X that amount. The lowest priced riding mower was right at $1,000.
Unless people have made a purchase, they still think those should be ballpark prices at the low end, and likely evaluate repairs in light of the retail at a shop or big box store.
The do not want to spend $80 for a 1 hour oil change, filter, blade sharpenind and lubing all those bits & pieces. The price of opening up a carb, or an engine likely would scare them off to buy new.
I look with shock as I enter the Orange or Blue store as I walk past the outdoor display. To my mind, the asking price is way out of line for the product being sold. But, by the same measure, it should make purchasers want to keep up on maintenance, and also probably put some money into repairs instead of spending a couple grand for a new machine.

Interesting times, I should say so.

I have used the same small shop for the last 16 years for my first John Deere (got a new one 2 years ago), they were the only ones that I used. Tri Green moved in a couple years ago. The shop that i used went up from $35 to $70 this year for pick up and delivery. It is 2.7 miles 1 way. I asked why they changed their price and was told that is wht Tri Green charges. I am going to try and do all of the work myself. Thanks for all the great replies.

good job

ILENGINE said:

Have you seen what appears to be an uptick in the repairs required on what would be normally a uneventful spring service

Click to expand...

Repair and service is definitely busier this spring than last few years. My customers rarely complain about cost of parts or labor, and I am at $80/hour book rate time. Parts are marked up 30% most of the time. Many people hold on to equipment for 20,25,30 years and it is still running and performing. This will not be the case with today’s cheaper built equipment. 20 years ago a cheap push mower was $125, today it is $250. Cheap no frills riding mower is $2000. Inflation even at 3%-4% adds up. Of course everything went through the roof in prices after the pandemic.