Troy Bilt bronco 17.5 hp mower is slow

[StarTech]

Something doesn't appear to be threaded right.

 

[Endless Summer]

Something doesn't appear to be threaded right.

What do you think may be not threaded correctly?

 

[bertsmobile1]

The springs should not cross over each other.
Spring 38 should be connected to the pedal then travel above the top belt to a hole in the mower chassis.
A strong flash light will show with some keyhole wear , it is a return spring to make the belt go slack.
Spring 39 looks right.
And if that is the new belt in the photo it is showing bare rubber which means that excessive wear has worn the cover off .
Check that it is not rubbing on something .
If it does not have enough slack then the engine pulley will wear the cover off & start burning the belt.

 

[Rivets]

To me the belt is routed wrong. If you look at the pics Star posted and your pic, the belts are routed differently. I may be wrong, as I can’t see the entire adjuster arm.

 

[bertsmobile1]

To me the belt is routed wrong. If you look at the pics Star posted and your pic, the belts are routed differently. I may be wrong, as I can’t see the entire adjuster arm.

I thought that when I first looked at it but the rod pulls so when it comes back the rear pulley should come forward .
I think the bottom of the phots is the front & the top is the back.