Pulley Problem

[farmerdave1954]

I could have put a new pulley on and mowed half my yard in the time it's taken to read through this thread. Why did you replace the original pulley to begin with?

 

[Lostviking]

I rebuilt the mower deck on my Craftsman GT3000 tractor last spring. After grinding off the rust, epoxying the underside and painting it, I replaced several pulleys, belts, and one of the bearing/blade holder assemblies. Yesterday while mowing, I heard a loud squeal followed by smoke and burning rubber. Pulled it into the garage, and this AM I pulled the deck. The drive belt for the deck was twisted and frayed.

The cause was separation of the top and bottom halves of one of the new replacement pulleys. (See Picture). I bought all of my parts from eBay, since Sears is pretty much gone and has only a few parts available for shipping sometime in this century. Despite paying a bit more for "OEM" parts I have to wonder if the parts I bought really are OEM. After all, the original pulleys and belts on this tractor only lasted 20 odd years. (When I rebuilt the deck, one of the pulleys (not this one) had similarly failed, but it did not eat the belt.)

Is this a common problem? Can I expect a new pulley to also bite the dust in a matter of months? I mow about 3/4 acre every other week during the growing season. The tractor usually logs fewer than 50 hours a year - probably a lot closer to 20 or 30. Note that in the picture I've not started loosening the retaining nut. What you see is what I saw when I yanked the deck.

just a typical cheap made pulley..even the OEM pulley's are as cheaply made.. no quality control any more..

 

[RevB]

just a typical cheap made pulley..even the OEM pulley's are as cheaply made.. no quality control any more..

But....but....there are those here who want you to buy another shitty pulley.....

 

[ILENGINE]

I have had idler pulleys in the past that there was wobble in the bearing and ordered a new OEM pulley and the new pulley had more bearing slop than the one that was already on it. About to the point that they get replaced if they break or there is actual bearing noise.

 

[moangrass]

Nothing wrong with the old pulley . Betcha you can find someone to spot weld it back. Failing a spot weld, there is always the rosette method. Just drill holes through one of the halves and then holes through the other half but offset from the first set. Then any competent welder ( sometimes even incompetent ones) can just weld in rosettes through each hole to bond the assembly. MIG, rod (GMAW or MAW), TIG or gas can all be used. Cheaper and better than new.

Had an issue with clip nuts used to secure items to a seam. Called the company and asked if they made their own. They did and told them to crank up the amperage on the "spot" welder because half of them had the "welded" nut fall off the clip. They called back a couple hours later and said, yup...someone had dialed back the amperage on one of the machines so they sent a bag of new stock gratis.....

Your diagnosis is all wrong. The pulley ripped apart and is beyond saving. Were I on a desert island w/ no access to parts, and had a shop with grinders and welding equipment, then sure, it could be restored if there were no other options. But for twenty odd bucks it is simply not worth it. I have a MIG and could weld it if I thought it were worth while.

 

[moangrass]

I could have put a new pulley on and mowed half my yard in the time it's taken to read through this thread. Why did you replace the original pulley to begin with?

After 20 years some of the pulleys' bearings felt dry. I think I replaced 4 of the 6 on the deck. The ones that remained felt fine.

 

[StarTech]

As with everything, nothing is perfect. Sometimes things just get miss during assembly. Even with us humans things goes wrong from the beginning at times.

It when I see multiple failures during inspection that I start questioning if the product I am getting is defective. But say if a new pulley fails from one vendor it is likely they gotten in a bad batch of them so I order from one of my other trusted vendors. Even then they might also part of the same batch.

That a group of spindles I ordered for a Cub Cadet here a few years ago. A&I sold Rotary ones so I ordered a set but they had excessive end play. Then I order supposedly OEM spindles from Amazon I got the same spindles. That is when I just rebuilt the ones I had on hand; although, it took going to three different auto part stores to get all six bearings. I have since gotten the bearings from my regular bearing supplier.

 

[RevB]

Your diagnosis is all wrong. The pulley ripped apart and is beyond saving. Were I on a desert island w/ no access to parts, and had a shop with grinders and welding equipment, then sure, it could be restored if there were no other options. But for twenty odd bucks it is simply not worth it. I have a MIG and could weld it if I thought it were worth while.

Bullshit.

 

[StarTech]

I believe the Moangrass is in a better place to do the diagnosis then some remote person. Even I could see it ripped apart in the image he posted and not a rivet failure or spot weld failure. I only had one double stack the did the same thing and it was definitely none repairable.

RevB just accept it that not everything can be repair like new. THe only time I would even attempt something like welding it is if the pulley was a NLA one but even then an alternate can easily be retro fitted.

 

[moangrass]

Bullshit.

Ok, I admit EVERY inanimate object in life can be repaired. "That's the best durn axe I've ever had. Replaced the handle three times and the head twice".

I could make a cross section of a V-belt, (well, a few of them), grind the torn steel off the top pulley half, position the cross sections properly, clamp it all together, set up my MIG, don the appropriate respirator (the pulley is plated), and weld the two halves together. BUT, I value my time a bit more than the $20 for a new one, and the welding might damage the bearing (it would likely melt the grease). Much much better for me to go out and buy a Precision Matthews Lathe, grab a hunk of solid steel, machine a new pulley, press in bearings, and get on with mowing. The latter course would be fun, but again, by the time I'm finished winter will be here and I will not be able to mow the leaves. (Which I will do today, since I installed the new pulley and belt yesterday).

@RevB, you can spend your life repairing things, I have better things to do with my time when I find an easier alternative.

Couple of pictures: