variable speed assy. on a Troy Bilt super Bronco

[bigR1954]

I have a Troy Bilt Super Bronco, 2004 13at609g766 that the drive belt keeps giving slack and not pulling. Is the center spacer on the variable speed assy. supposed to movable? Mine keeps sliding up letting the main drive belt have too much slack.

 

[bertsmobile1]

That is exactly how it should work.
You foot applies more tension on the bottom belt which forces the sliding member up.
This changes the relative sizes of the pulleys which changes the speed.
So your foot has to stay on the speed pedal which is why they put cruise control on those models.

There is an adjustment to compensate for belt wear.
Apart from that wear in the belt, pulleys or tensioning arm pivot will cause a lack of sufficient tension in the front drive belt.