LT160 42c deck belt slips off idler pulley

[Al.C]

The belt slips off the left idler pulley when engaging blades. The keepers are about 1/8-1/4” from the belt. All pulleys spin freely. I notice the idler pulley is angled down toward the front of the deck.. is that normal? Have a look at the photos… any ideas?

 

[ILENGINE]

I have seen the angled idler mounting bracket on several JD over the years, but yours looks like the deck has rotted out around the bracket and has collasped into the deck causing an excessive angle.

 

[Bertrrr]

Nah, you need to correct that Idler angle, pull it and inspect the bracket I'll be you find your problem there

 

[Forest#2]

Heck, Ronnie Milsap can see that idler pulley has problems

 

[slomo]

Heck, Ronnie Milsap can see that idler pulley has problems

Freak'in knee slapper..........

 

[slomo]

I don't see anything straight under there.

 

[Al.C]

I have seen the angled idler mounting bracket on several JD over the years, but yours looks like the deck has rotted out around the bracket and has collasped into the deck causing an excessive angle.

ILENGINE and Bertrrr hit the nail on the head. Have a look at the photos. Thanks to both for confirming my suspicion and getting me closer to a solution. Now to the repair.. I'll post again when it's fixed.

Thanks again

 

[Al.C]

I used a breaker bar to lever the idler pulley mount into position, then tack welded it and followed up with doing the best I could welding the top and bottom. My first welding try, and it looks it, but it seems to be solid enough to use. I was able to easily engage the blades and get on with the mowing.
I found several you tube videos dealing with the same issue...

 

[ILENGINE]

Welds look like bird poop. Now with that being said, with old rusty decks that are worn too thin and the rest is rust holding rust together, Bird poop is a compliment. As long as it works and holds together your weld repair is fine.

 

[Forest#2]

Welds look like bird poop. Now with that being said, with old rusty decks that are worn too thin and the rest is rust holding rust together, Bird poop is a compliment. As long as it works and holds together your weld repair is fine.

Yep, Ronnie Milsap would blink twice if he looked at that welding.

You got er dun.
But rusty rotten decks are not a fun repair.
If the tractor itself runs good you might want to keep and eye and ear open for another replacement deck.