Repairs Snapper self propel belt keeps coming off

[Sourlemon8]

Wondering if yall could help me. I just bought a used Snapper self propelled walk behind mower (7800847). I was hoping to get something higher quality than the big box stores. I was able to mow with it for about 20 minutes until the self propel stopped working. The belt that engages the self propel was off. I slipped it back on and it worked for maybe 5 more minutes. It pretty much popped right off as soon as I disengaged the self propel. My first instinct is to just replace the belt, but not sure if that will do it.

Would I be able to get a belt at a parts store?
Is this bolt/nut above the horizontal pulley supposed to be there? It looks out of place to me, but I don't have any experience with this.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

 

[upupandaway]

This would be due to 1 of the 3 pulleys misaligning. From your second pic, it looks like the shaft(and pulley) is shifted to the left when you look at it while mowing. Push the mower to the left and see if the shaft slides back to the right. It shouldn't slide left\right much. In general look to see if anything else does not line up.

 

[Sourlemon8]

Thanks for the response.
Now that you mention it, it definitely seems misaligned. All the pulleys had some play in them. But it seems like it is the pulley in the bottom connected to wheels that is not lined up with the other two.
When pushing it left or right I couldn't really tell anything.

The belt does seem quite loose I can get it on and off the pulleys pretty easily. But if it's misaligned I'm sure that's not my only problem.

Thanks

 

[Sourlemon8]

Ok. On second inspection it looks like the pulley on the hex bolt is missing a washer. I looked on the parts guide and it seems like it's supposed to have one there. This would push and keep it more left. Better aligned with the pulley attached to wheels.
I'm not sure if this is correct or how to even remove the hex bolt. Let me know what you think.
Thanks

 

[jp1961]

Hello,

Check for bearing wear on that half shaft. I had to replace the outer bearing on mine.

Regards

Jeff

 

[slomo]

For me, it's hard to tell what's going on. As other's said, look for misaligned pulleys and bad bearings. You need to oil or white lithium spray grease the pulley/bearings once a year. Don't forget the two total bearings on the hex shaft and the driven hub area next to that C clip. Simple lube job quieted down one of my resurrection white handlebar Snappers dramatically. There are two metal tabs for that belt if I recall. They are on the bottom of the belt area. Make sure the belt rides on top of them and not below. That belt is made to have a lot of slack. When you push the lever down to drive, the slack diminishes to propel the mower. Oh don't forget to spray the wheel bearings with some white lithium spray grease.

I see this is a commercial Snapper. Here's my rant. Never sell it. You will not find a better more quality mower on the planet. I bought one off Craigslist for $80.00. It was maybe 5 years old, stored in the garage and hardly used. Bought from a single mom with a 10 year old son. Valves were out of adjustment (gotta love it), carb linkage all jacked up (loving it even more), BLADE INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN. I had to look at it THREE times cause something looked funny. Sure enough sucker was flopped over. Anyway she moved to a place where a lawn crew did the yard and didn't need the mower. Sale of a freak'in lifetime. Now stupid ME, gets her running like an oiled top. Used it for one or two summers. Decided to clean out the garage. STUPID me sells it off. OMG..... What an idiot. I regret now selling it. I don't need it because my daily driver is a 33" RER Hi-Vac. BTW it had the Kawasaki FJ-180V, king of all push mower engines on it........ AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! Full pressure lube with oil filter.

slomo

 

[upupandaway]

Ok. On second inspection it looks like the pulley on the hex bolt is missing a washer. I looked on the parts guide and it seems like it's supposed to have one there. This would push and keep it more left. Better aligned with the pulley attached to wheels.
I'm not sure if this is correct or how to even remove the hex bolt. Let me know what you think.
Thanks
View attachment 44562View attachment 44563

Your pics make it look like the shafts are not parallel. the bolt that holds the idler pulley - it looks like the bolt that holds the idler pulley is bent or the holder is bent. Definitely make sure the shafts are parallel.

slomo: I got mine with a wisconsin motor for $20. It was missing the carb and intake pipe. So long as i don't leave it out in the rain for a year, I think it will outlive me.

 

[slomo]

Your pics make it look like the shafts are not parallel. the bolt that holds the idler pulley - it looks like the bolt that holds the idler pulley is bent or the holder is bent. Definitely make sure the shafts are parallel.

slomo: I got mine with a wisconsin motor for $20. It was missing the carb and intake pipe. So long as i don't leave it out in the rain for a year, I think it will outlive me.

Nice find for $20 bucks LOL. Is yours the 2 or 4 stroke Wisconsin?

slomo

 

[upupandaway]

..... Is yours the 2 or 4 stroke Wisconsin?...

Both are 4cycle - 185's.

Actually, i also got a second one. Being the second one was for $40, it was complete and i thought "i can keep the first one for parts". I ended up brazing making an intake pipe so i have 2 working.