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Information about the riding mower: Craftsman T100 CMXGRAM201302, Model: 13AC77XY093

Hey guys! This is my first post here, not sure if anyone can help with this. I recently had a family member drop their mower off at my house to see if I could fix it for them. They only recently bought it and have been having nonstop issues with it. They’ve already had it repaired in the past but it’s now at the point (past 30 days) where they can’t return it anymore and now the repairman wants $600 to fix it.

When I got it from them, it originally wouldn’t go in reverse and would smell like burning rubber while running. It also ran very poorly despite having hardly any usage. It didn’t take long to figure out what was wrong, it looked like the lower drive belt had slipped off the back dual pulley into the top groove (there’s 2 grooves on this pulley, bottom groove for bottom belt, top for top belt). The belt had been rubbing against the other belt while running, it got pretty torn up and is why it ran poorly. I bought a new bottom belt, top belt seemed okay. After installing it drives fine now but there is a nasty noise coming from the rear and only when I let my foot off the brake/clutch pedal. It's almost like a whine noise. Pressing the brake just slightly is enough to reduce the noise or make it stop. I’m not sure if the noise was there before I replaced the belt as the mower ran so poorly I didn’t notice it.

• I’ve googled quite a bit and many people say it was their idler pulley but this lower drive belt has no idler pulleys at all- it goes directly from the main engine pulley to the dual pulley in the back with not possible other routes. It's possible the other (upper belt) may have issues but I haven't touched it. I’ve inspected most of the metal pulleys that I could access with no belts on and they all sound pretty smooth when free rolling.
• Belt looks a little wobbly while running even though it feels fairly tight when the brake is not pressed in. It also seems to get hot (but not scolding hot), as does the metal pulleys it runs on. I’m not sure how hot it’s supposed to be though.
• I lifted the back end and had the mower running full speed with both tires in the air. While the tires are moving in the air (no resistance), there doesn’t seem to be any squealing noise so it’s hard to tell where the sound is coming from exactly. Maybe this could better identify the issue though?

The only thing I can think of to mention is that there's a suspicious "belt keeper rod” off to the side doing nothing in the middle of the deck, the belt seems too far away from it for it to serve a purpose. I don’t know how I could possibly use this keeper rod to help guide the belt better but could this be an indication that the springs are not pulling the pulleys in the right direction? There is also 2 brass bolts near each side of the belt not doing anything, they’re about 2-3” extended out of the deck and look like they could also be guides to prevent the belt from falling off the pulleys. The belt does seem fairly tight when the brake is released though so not sure how any of these would help. I also have to suspect why the belt “skipped” in the first place on a mower that isn't that old, belt didn't seem stretched.

-I’m not a mower expert but I figured I might be able to save my family some money. I really don’t like this particular mower TBH. I have a 12 year old mower myself that has far less issues than this thing. Anyways, any ideas? Should I just run it and hope the belt "Wears in?" I’m just afraid I might tear up another belt or possibly something much more expensive if I continue using it. Should I tell them to take it somewhere else?

I'll take some photos/videos if anyone is interested in helping. Thanks for your time!

There are 2 belt keepers near the engine pulley.
The belt must pass in between both of these keepers.

If that is all good then remove the upper belt
Screech remains then the variable pulley bearings are suspect
Screetch goes away then the top belt idler is suspect
The double pulley at the back should have a sliding member that becomes the bottom of the upper pulley and the top of the bottom pulley
As you press the "go" pedal it changes the tension on the belts so the sliding member goes either up or down which changed the diameter of the pulleys thus changes the speed .
It is essentially the same as a set of stepped pulleys that you see on a drill press or lathe except in place of fixed pulley ratios you have an undefined number of pulley ratios.

From what you originally posted I would assume the belts were in the correct place to start with.The double pulley is called a "Variator" and they are not cheap .
Some photos of what you have done would be a great assistance to us.

-Belt is between the belt guards under the engine, belt is positioned where it cannot be pulled past the guards unless you pull the pulley out or bend the guards.

-I like the idea of taking the upper belt off to test, seems like a pretty smart idea.

-The double "variator" pulley does seem to slide up/down correctly as you mentioned, I had to move it up to get the bottom belt on. It makes sense how it works though now that you explained it.

-Not sure it matters but this model has no separate gas/go pedal, the only way to regulate the speed is letting off the brake/clutch pedal. It also goes crazy fast fairly easily if you let your foot completely off the brake.

I'll take the upper belt out tomorrow and see if the screech remains, I will also upload some photos.

Thank you so much for your time and knowledge!

Sorry if I was a bit off mark.
It is a model I am yet to lay a spannar on & I was working off an IPL.
Hopefully some one with first hand experience will chime in .
There are about a dozen different variations in he system bu basically they all work the same.
All the ones I have worked on have a tension pulley on the lower belt which is the speed controlling device

Yeah, that's fine, I'm sure it's not that much different as far as what it causing the issue. I asked more about the mower from my aunt and she told me this is her second one, the first one had so many issues that they brought it back to Lowe's and gave her a new one. Not sure if it's user error or not, I did notice a big curve in one of the mower blades suggesting they probably hit something big and is maybe what caused the belt to skip.

I took some photos and a video with the sound. I also looked at the idler pulley more closely since you suggested it could be the cause. I did notice when I went to take the upper belt off that the idler pulley has some strange rusting UNDER the paint, scratching the paint with my finger was enough to reveal the rust. There is also many small rust spots where the belt rests. I know rust alone isn't enough to break the pulley but it's not as new as it looks. I also noticed some black shavings on the under side of it, looks like it came from the bearing? I sprayed some WD-40 in where the bearing was and spun it real fast and I could hear what sounded like a sandy/grinding noise. Could it be dirty or is it damaged?



Here is a youtube link with the sound the back end makes when in motion:
Thanks again!

That sounds like the transmission is whining pretty bad. Doesn't sound like belts to me. If possible, make sure the trans is full of fluid. Probably be wise to remove it and wash out with Diesel.

slomo

I will sign up with Slomo on this one.
It sounds like metal on metal to me as well .

Alright, I'll check it out tomorrow morning. The fluid needs to be fairly close to the top right?

Thank you guys, you've been a great help.

I agree with both slomo and bert with this.
If you have the Peerless model 910 transaxle there is no fill plug.
The unit is pre filled with a gear grease called Bentonite.
You would have to remove the axle and split it in half to add the grease.
Do you think the mower still might be under warranty ?

Mower is only about 6 months old, how is the transmission this bad already? Is it salvageable since it still drives fine?

If it helps, here is a picture I found of the transmission (was not easy to find):



The parts website lists it as MTD-918-04566B which can be bought for around $375 right now if I wanted to replace the whole thing. The numbers on the picture correspond to the parts list, the picture and everything listed there can be found here: https://www.partswarehouse.com/Craftsman-by-MTD-CMXGRAM201302-13AC77XY093-T100-2020-s/501671.htm

I will see if they have warranty still before going further, I just know they are about at wits end with this mower so I really appreciate all your guys help.

If the mower is 6 months old Craftsman, MTD or Peerless (who makes the transmission) should make good for the problem.
Ask any qualified Craftsman or MTD dealer about this. You shouldn't have to pay for nothing to get a new one installed.
I have the same rear in my 1988 MTD Yard Machine. Had to take it apart to fix a common forward gear problem.
That's how I know about the way it comes apart and the grease inside it.

Okay, I'll see what they can do. Thanks again for all your help!

6 months old, warranty time.

slomo

I asked my aunt again about it, apparently the place they took it to was already the MTD service warranty place. The mechanics there told her that they wouldn't cover it because of "abuse." Next closest place is 50 miles away and they may end up saying the same thing, seems like it's not worth it. -Not sure how they dictate "abuse", how do you know someone drove something incorrectly?

Looks like I'm going to have to take it apart myself.

Klord said:

I asked my aunt again about it, apparently the place they took it to was already the MTD service warranty place. The mechanics there told her that they wouldn't cover it because of "abuse." Next closest place is 50 miles away and they may end up saying the same thing, seems like it's not worth it. -Not sure how they dictate "abuse", how do you know someone drove something incorrectly?

Looks like I'm going to have to take it apart myself.

Click to expand...

Call MTD directly. Don't go off the word of some shop.

slomo