Loose belt issue. Craftsman lt1000 model: 917275350

[OJSANDOVAL]

Prime Line, Rotary, Oregon & Stens all do OEM spec ( so they say ) mower belts
All of them have a "belts by length" table on their on line catelogues.
Stens & Prime Line also do a line of strait Kevlar reinforced belts in 1" increments .
Gates do a line of mower belts and again have a belts by length feature in their catalogue
Now there is a massive difference in belt structure
Deck belts usually have bigger reinforcing cords in them to give them greater shock loading resistance
Drive belts usually have thinner reinforcing
Belts that bend backwards a lot have the cords deeper into the V than belts that are not as serpentine in their run
Belts that clutch & need to slip like your deck belt must be covered so they can slip and not be sticky when hot like your cars fan belt
The cover can be kevlar fibre on the top shelf belts , cotton on lower grade & polly propolyene on the cheaper ones .
And then we get to the actual chemistry of the rubber which varies greatly
Finally there is construction
Top shelf belts , like the Gates ones the reinforcing is one thread wrapped spirally so there is no weak point in the belt
Cheaper belts are simply cut from a long roll & joined together then wrapped
While paying a lot does not guarantee a top quality belt paying a little guarantees a low quality belt
The only belts I fit come from my wholesalers and are Gates, Rotary, Stens , Prime Line or Oregon .
In 11 years of mower repairs I have never had a premature belt failure with any of them that was not my fault due to improper mounting .

Ok, I was just gonna buy a cheap one in smaller size to see if that even fixed my problem. I’m still not even sure what the problem is that’s causing this damn belt to get stuck under the pully…

 

[OJSANDOVAL]

Prime Line, Rotary, Oregon & Stens all do OEM spec ( so they say ) mower belts
All of them have a "belts by length" table on their on line catelogues.
Stens & Prime Line also do a line of strait Kevlar reinforced belts in 1" increments .
Gates do a line of mower belts and again have a belts by length feature in their catalogue
Now there is a massive difference in belt structure
Deck belts usually have bigger reinforcing cords in them to give them greater shock loading resistance
Drive belts usually have thinner reinforcing
Belts that bend backwards a lot have the cords deeper into the V than belts that are not as serpentine in their run
Belts that clutch & need to slip like your deck belt must be covered so they can slip and not be sticky when hot like your cars fan belt
The cover can be kevlar fibre on the top shelf belts , cotton on lower grade & polly propolyene on the cheaper ones .
And then we get to the actual chemistry of the rubber which varies greatly
Finally there is construction
Top shelf belts , like the Gates ones the reinforcing is one thread wrapped spirally so there is no weak point in the belt
Cheaper belts are simply cut from a long roll & joined together then wrapped
While paying a lot does not guarantee a top quality belt paying a little guarantees a low quality belt
The only belts I fit come from my wholesalers and are Gates, Rotary, Stens , Prime Line or Oregon .
In 11 years of mower repairs I have never had a premature belt failure with any of them that was not my fault due to improper mounting .

Ok, I was just gonna buy a cheap one in smaller size to see if that even fixed my problem. I’m still not even sure what the problem is that’s causing this damn belt to get stuck under the pully…

 

[Scrubcadet10]

Ok, I was just gonna buy a cheap one in smaller size to see if that even fixed my problem. I’m still not even sure what the problem is that’s causing this damn belt to get stuck under the pully…

The problem is the belt jumping off of the pulley.
That is usually due to a belt that is too loose. (or too long)

 

[bertsmobile1]

I work by myself so random belt jumping off problems are difficult to diagnose
I use a cheap Go=Pro camera knock off with a clamp on mount to make a video of the deck .
Best place is on the left side near the rear wheel .
I then go mow a couple of times till the belt jumps off and upload the video to my computer then step through the actual "jump" one frame at a time to see where it originates from .
You can do it with a cell phone but it has to be solidly mounted and I don't need to warn you about what will happen if it falls off while you are mowing .

 

[OJSANDOVAL]

I work by myself so random belt jumping off problems are difficult to diagnose
I use a cheap Go=Pro camera knock off with a clamp on mount to make a video of the deck .
Best place is on the left side near the rear wheel .
I then go mow a couple of times till the belt jumps off and upload the video to my computer then step through the actual "jump" one frame at a time to see where it originates from .
You can do it with a cell phone but it has to be solidly mounted and I don't need to warn you about what will happen if it falls off while you are mowing .

Those are great ideas actually. But it only ever has this problem I’ve noticed when it’s done mowing and then going to re engage mowing.

 

[bertsmobile1]

THen run the deck for 5 minutes . turn the blades off then on then off wait a minute & back on then off then wait 2 minute then back on etc etc etc
If it won't come off sitting in your drive then go to the spot where you usually finish mowing, turn the mower on run the blades for 5 minutes, turn them off and drive back to your shed to see if there is a particular bump in your yard that causes this to happen .
The "art" of diagnostics is to recreate the situation that causes the problem in a controlled environment where it can be measures or in your case observed .

 

[OJSANDOVAL]

THen run the deck for 5 minutes . turn the blades off then on then off wait a minute & back on then off then wait 2 minute then back on etc etc etc
If it won't come off sitting in your drive then go to the spot where you usually finish mowing, turn the mower on run the blades for 5 minutes, turn them off and drive back to your shed to see if there is a particular bump in your yard that causes this to happen .
The "art" of diagnostics is to recreate the situation that causes the problem in a controlled environment where it can be measures or in your case observed .

Okay , smart thinking! Thank you ima give that a shot