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The upper belt broke yesterday. I've ordered MTD replacements for both the upper and lower belts. Any help in installing the new belts would be appreciated.

Model: 13CC26JD011
Serial: 1E227B20369

Thanks!

Hardest part of this job will be to get the lower belt off. Clearance between the pulley and frame is to tight to slide belt past.
I normally loosen not remove the two bolts (#6 in diagram) to get extra clearance. You will need to remove the deck and an extra pair of hand will help. I also put the rear end on a pair of jack stands to make it easier to get under. Delete your other thread as this could get confusing.

Thank you! Doesn't look like the easiest job for an amateur. I can usually get most repairs done if I have a step-by-step guide or a video. I've removed the blade deck from the mower before as that belt came off once and I found a how-to on YouTube, but I'm not sure about approaching this one from just a diagram, particularly if an impact wrench is really required.

You don’t have to remove the nut I think you are talking about needing a torque wrench for. When you loosen the two bolts I mentioned, it will allow the variable speed assembly the tilt to get the belt off.

Oh - got it! Here I go!

Looks like I might be able to get by with just replacing the upper/smaller belt this time. That’s the one that’s broken and it looks fairly simple to get back on now that I have the deck removed.

Just my advice, they should be replaced as a set. It’s up to you.

Rivets said:

Hardest part of this job will be to get the lower belt off. Clearance between the pulley and frame is to tight to slide belt past.
I normally loosen not remove the two bolts (#6 in diagram) to get extra clearance. You will need to remove the deck and an extra pair of hand will help. I also put the rear end on a pair of jack stands to make it easier to get under. Delete your other thread as this could get confusing.

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Great tip for people! These are not the easiest to change!

Rivets said:

Just my advice, they should be replaced as a set. It’s up to you.

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I’ll probably do that while I’m in there. Good point.

W

mower king said:

Great tip for people! These are not the easiest to change!

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Which part of the repair will I need the second set of hands for? I’ve got the deck off and the mower on jack stands already.

4Corners said:

W


Which part of the repair will I need the second set of hands for? I’ve got the deck off and the mower on jack stands already.

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You'll have get ask Rivets about the extra set of hands deal.....................

I just over think things when I don’t know the ability of the poster. Many times the extra body is needed by those with limited ability or just extra eyes if a problem comes along. It’s also nice to have someone to celebrate with when everything goes right.

Rivets said:

I just over think things when I don’t know the ability of the poster. Many times the extra body is needed by those with limited ability or just extra eyes if a problem comes along. It’s also nice to have someone to celebrate with when everything goes right.

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Love it Rivets! We'll all celebrate if I can accomplish this. Thanks!

Looks like I'm gonna need more than just a schematic to fully understand what needs to come off (besides the deck) and the path of the belt. For instance, do you have to remove any of the actual pulleys in order to get the belts on and off? I'm pretty good with home repairs when I can see a video of the work. Not so much when working off of just a schematic. And I can't find a video of this belt replacement anywhere.

Actually I think this schematic might be more helpful to the way my brain works. It shows the actual path of the belt in place:

Where the belt shows with little bump out, that's where it's going around the top of the engine pulley - right? It looks like I need to remove or loosen the engine pulley to get the belt around it, and I also need to loosen the V idler pulley to get it past the guard there. Replacing the other belt is a breeze comparatively.

Yes, I can see it going around the top of the engine pulley in this image:

You shouldn’t hav e to remove any pulleys, just loosen the assembly I talked about. You are not looking at the engine, just the tranny assembly.

I loosened that assembly and got the belt through there. How do I get it around the top of the engine pulley? (part 39 in the last diagram). And [past the guard on the idler pulley (part 36)?

4Corners said:

I loosened that assembly and got the belt through there. How do I get it around the top of the engine pulley? (part 39 in the last diagram). And [past the guard on the idler pulley (part 36)?

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It's all bolted together and will come apart if enough bolts are taken out, just put it back the same way (unless it was screwed up to begin with)......left to loosen, right to tighten!

mower king said:

It's all bolted together and will come apart if enough bolts are taken out, just put it back the same way (unless it was screwed up to begin with)......left to loosen, right to tighten!

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Haha! Lefty loosey is ingrained in my psyche by my Dad! Which bolts in the attached schematics loosen the unit as a whole?

Once you have it off the variable assembly it should come from both pulleys easily.

FYI the old belt is off. It was broken. I’m just trying to get the new one on.

Well I don’t see any way to get the new belt past the guides on the engine pulley so that baby’s coming off tomorrow with an impact wrench.

hate to revive this thread but does one attack these belts from underneath or from disassembling the top?

davetaylor said:

hate to revive this thread but does one attack these belts from underneath or from disassembling the top?

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I did it from underneath. I put the mower up on chairs so I could work under it. Stay safe!

Underneath, unless you remove the engine, which doesn’t help much.

I'm in the middle of doing the same belt on the same mower. Will let you know how I make out.

smithmiller said:

I'm in the middle of doing the same belt on the same mower. Will let you know how I make out.

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I got the belt on but the brake won't depress enough to start it. The belt is wrong. It's a 35 inch and I need a 35.38 belt. I ordered one from advanced auto this afternoon and it will be in in the morning. I'm hoping that little bit will do the trick. I wish they had an adjustment on one of the pulleys so I wouldn't have to do this all over again. Calls for belt number 954-04331. That's whats coming tomorrow morning.

I just finished putting the lower drive belt on a Troy Belt TB30R I bought a 1/2"X 34" belt and it was too loose. Then I tried a 1/2"X32" belt and it was too tight. A 1/2"X33" belt works just right.

Rural King has sells the belts in graduations of an inch for about $6 each.

It can be a pain the first time, but after doing it three times it makes sense.

By the way, the main pulley on the engine shaft has to be loosened and pulled down low enough to clear the belt guards. There's no way to either get the old belt off or the new one on without removing the nut that holds the pulley on and pulling it down enough for the belt to clear the guards.