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Troy Bilt 14BV809H063
I think it’s from 2001 and has a Briggs engine
I bought it as a project. Got it started but won’t drive. Found out the variable speed belt was old and broken in 2. Put a new drive belt and variable speed belt on with what I think is the correct routing but not sure. I think something is wrong because there is so much belt slack that it slaps around at idle and actually it still pulls a little without pressing the pedal. Other than that. It drives great. Except for I tried pressing the brake and it did not stop the mower lol

I hope somebody has this mower and can take some pictures of the bottom with the deck off for me.

Also the belt I put on was a 754-0467(A)
The manual calls for 745-0467
Not sure what the A means

Your belt is on right
Weather it is the right belt is another matter all together ,.
Lots of different belts for these ones that are only a inch or so different.
They are also not a standard B section, they are 5L same width different V angle & shallower .
IT is prudent to replace these belts as a set from the same manufacturer .
If you are still having grief pull the lever that pulls the tensioning arm off at the arm and adjust the length
The 2 light return springs go on the same end so the lower one is wrong and it looks like it is on the wrong pace on the pedal as well.
IT should pull strait and not be touching anything.
There is an adjustment to balance the brale on the brake rod and another on the brake itself ( nut in the middle of the brake caliper. )
NOTE<
THIS HAS BEEN CORRECTED AS PER POST #4 BELOW for the sake of clarity in future.

Ok. I’m pretty sure I have the correct belts. After researching it some more, I found another person that used a belt with an A at the end too. I think those are genuine oem belts. They weren’t cheap. I’ll fix the spring and adjust the tension. Just worried about that belt slapping around and wearing stuff out quickly. I will have to take a video to show what I mean.

I also wondered about the keeper by the double idler. Seems like it’s too short and the belt actually makes contact with the very end. I’ll have to take a close up picture.

Bert, It is not a 4L belt. It is a 5L belt ie 5/8 wide not 1/2 wide.Yes the thickness (height) is less on the 5L than the standard 5/8 (B) belt.

I know I correcting you again. Do I need to get the ruler and slap your fingers? Please assuming stuff does get us in trouble.

Durkinnj, the "A" is just a revision level and is the current replacement provided. If the belt is a MTD one it is actually superseded to 954-0467A and would imprinted on the belt and come in a green and white paper sleeve with MTD name and logo. Now on these auto drive setups the belt in non drive will be quite loose until your press the motion pedal.

Depending on how you got the belt on at the engine pulley you have a pulley with slight damage grabbing the belt. I have seen this where pulley got bent prying on the belt on a stuck engine where the engine should have been unbolted. Or from installing the double shack pulley without the spacer in place. Now I have done that once and had to straighten out the pulley as I also had motive at non drive position of the auto drive pedal because of the damage I did incorrectly installing the double stack pulley.

Also as mention if the belt is an after market belt the standard 5/8 (B belt) will drag on the pulley too as there is very clearance around the engine pulley.

So if I am understanding you correctly, the belt should be loose and actually the pulley on the motor shaft should spin and the belt not move? Wouldn’t the belt rub against the pulley and burn up?

and yes I did bend up the pulley. It is seized on there nothing I do works. I actually bent one side of the pulley out and turned it around as I pushed the belt inside the keepers and then hammered the pulley end back to normal. Maybe I went a bit too much and pinched the belt.

That what the fabric covering is for, it provides an air cushion and when not tight provides slippage.

And I say the pulley you damage is the problem with the mower now moving while at rest. Yes if the pulley pinches the belt it will cause the problem you describe. Sometime you can get lucky and see the area of the pinch as it will cleaner and shinier than the rest the groove.

As I said I have taken engines loose on account pulleys being stuck on when only the belt needs changing. It is a necessary thing to do at times. If push comes to shove I go ahead and destroy the pulley and install a new one but I only that in worst cases like when I got to pull the engine for internal repairs.

Matter of fact I take a lot Cub Cadet ZTR loose because of the transmission pulley being rust seized on the crankshaft.

Previous incorrect post corrected.
Must be this new medication I should go back to smoking wacky tobaccie .
So yes the belt is a 5L and Yes it sits loose on the pulley when the brake is applied to stop the mower trying to brake & accelerate at the same time
Wrapped belts are called "clutching " belts down here.
The wrapper prevents the hot rubber becoming sticky as happens in a plain belt like on you cars water pump & fan.
The drive on your mower is best described as a tug of war between the top belt & the bottom belt .
When driving the lower belt changes tension and when it is tighter than the top you go faster and when it is looser than the top you go slower or stop completely.
And yes the belt does flap around a bit that is why the keepers are there to stop it flapping off the pulleys.
Check the two small pulleys for damage and make sure they spin free & silent .
Also get under the mower & have some one work the brake pedal watching that it pivots cleanly.
The hole in the tension arm tends to flog out oval it should be lubed regularly with dry lithium spray grease
Or dry pushbike chain lube if you happen to own a push bike.

Thank you so much for your help guys. Seriously. The pulley was the problem. All I had to do was take a pair of pliers and slightly bend the lip of the pulley down so that the belt is not pinched in between. The belt now does not move at idle. I got almost my whole lawn done without any problems today. At the very end, it started making a rattling sound which would go away when I disengage the PTO. Then after a while it would come back while cutting. The last two stripes the noise would come back on every time I turned on PTO no matter what I did, engine speed, whatever. I am hoping it’s not something I messed up on the electric clutch when I put it back on. Hopefully these deck belts or one of the springs is just worn and the belt is slipping. I’ll check it out in a couple of days. Thanks again for your help.

rattle is a funny work.
The clutch is a loose fit on the retainer.
Some rattle really bad some don't
COngratulations on getting back on the grass .
Get some on to sit in the seat, drop the deck to the lowest position then get down and watch the belt running with the blades turning ( watch your fingers ).
A loose ensioner will cause the deck to rattle as will a loose blade, some crud stuck in a pulley V , a loose pulley or a busted pulley or spindle bearing .

Ok I’ll take a look at it today. Might have to do with the height causing too much belt slack. At the end I raised it to the highest setting because even 5 was cutting the grass too short. Had to have it on H. How do I adjust those settings to be higher? I can’t find it in the manual.

Don't really know with that mower.
The front drag link will change the pitch which will change the cutting height but you should have the Cub Cadet quick hitch but worked by a cable , not threaded lift rods.
Somewhere hidden around the rear of the mower , under the seat there should be an adjuster but I think it only adjusts one side for the purpose of leveling the deck.

How do I tell if it’s the belt or the tensioner? The upper deck belt is slapping around and I believe that is what is causing the deck to rattle like mad. The blades are brand new and torqued to spec so I don’t think it’s an imbalance issue unless there is a certain direction you are supposed to face the blades when you put them on. I just put them any which way except obviously the grass side down.

You probably got a belt that has a burned place in it or the idler pulley has a bearing that is failing. What I mean by burned place is where belt got heavy worn when the deck was jammed causing to narrower in a place. Also can one of two driven pulleys damaged.

Ok I will inspect the belt bearings and pulleys. Didn’t notice anything when working with it but I didn’t fully inspect it.

I can’t find anything wrong with the belts or anything. Not sure what to do. Might have to just replace the deck belts and see if that fixes it.

Are you 100% sure that the belts are routed correctly and the springs that tension the belt are in the right place ?
Where did you get the belts from ?
What was the numbers on the belt sleeve ?

The deck belts came with the mower they do not have numbers on them but yes everything is routed and attached correctly.

durkinnj said:

The deck belts came with the mower they do not have numbers on them but yes everything is routed and attached correctly.

Click to expand...

Of course there will be no numbers on the used belts. The only used belts I have ever seen numbers on are older Murray where they were embossed into the belts.

The only way to know if the belts are the correct ones is to measure them and compare them the OEM specs which many now try to keep secret. But are us that have belt measuring tools that record the lengths of new OEM belts when we buy them.

Here I now measure every belt I get except those that are over 165" and by this summer I can even do the ones up to 200". That how I found that over 90% of my after market were all shorter than the size on the sleeves (paper box). I even throw out a $1000 in belt last year along with the vendor. Then the vendor said they had resolved the problem with the belt so I tried them last month. Guess what they still sent me two belt that were an inch short.

Ok so I put 2 new deck belts on. The new upper deck seems actually more loose than the old one. The problem is still the same. I uploaded a couple of videos. It is very loud.

durkinnj said:

Ok so I put 2 new deck belts on. The new upper deck seems actually more loose than the old one. The problem is still the same. I uploaded a couple of videos. It is very loud.

Click to expand...

Also when you first fire it up, it doesn’t make this sound. It’s only after you start to mow that causes to to start going crazy. I’ll have to get that on video. Makes no sense. But then after that it will do it no matter what.

I recorded a better video. You can hear it’s fine at first but then it starts this higher pitched whining sound.

The high pitched wirring sound is a dry bearing or perhaps a belt slipping on a flat idler pulley, hart to tell from the video
Usually a slipping belt will be accompanied by some smoke & a burning rubber smell.

I ordered all new bearings. Will replace all when they arrive.

UPDATE: Replaced all of the deck bearings and it runs much smoother now. Annoying loud sound and vibration is gone. Thank you all for your help with getting this mower going. Runs and cuts great for a cheap old tractor. Cheers.