[Bumzyman]

Last week after mowing the lawn my LA110 decided to not move forward or backwards any more.
I looked underneath with the engine running and the brake off and I could see that the fan/pulley on top of the hydro gear wasn't spinning.
I assumed that the drive belt had just stretched from age and wasn't tight enough anymore. :banghead:
So I removed the belt, a GX20006, checked the manual to confirm if that was the correct belt, then ordered a new one.

Received and installed the new one exactly the same way the old one was installed and to my surprise the new one is just as long as the old one and is too loose to drive the hydro gear when the brake is not set.

Checked online, found this site with detailed pictures of the routing, etc. and mine is set up identically.
http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/deere_110a_yellow_drive_belt.asp

There doesn't seem to be any physical damage to the plate where the idler pulleys mount and the brake lever moves it back and forth properly. The pulleys themselves look like they are in good shape, and the pulleys on the engine and hydro gear look in good shape. The only difference between the old belt and the new one is that the old one is worn a little at the top of the "V".

Does anyone have any idea why, after years of working fine, my drive belt would become too loose?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.:greentractorride:

 

[H-D dealer dude]

Last week after mowing the lawn my LA110 decided to not move forward or backwards any more.
I looked underneath with the engine running and the brake off and I could see that the fan/pulley on top of the hydro gear wasn't spinning.
I assumed that the drive belt had just stretched from age and wasn't tight enough anymore. :banghead:
So I removed the belt, a GX20006, checked the manual to confirm if that was the correct belt, then ordered a new one.

Received and installed the new one exactly the same way the old one was installed and to my surprise the new one is just as long as the old one and is too loose to drive the hydro gear when the brake is not set.

Checked online, found this site with detailed pictures of the routing, etc. and mine is set up identically.
http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/deere_110a_yellow_drive_belt.asp

There doesn't seem to be any physical damage to the plate where the idler pulleys mount and the brake lever moves it back and forth properly. The pulleys themselves look like they are in good shape, and the pulleys on the engine and hydro gear look in good shape. The only difference between the old belt and the new one is that the old one is worn a little at the top of the "V".

Does anyone have any idea why, after years of working fine, my drive belt would become too loose?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.:greentractorride:

Check the bracket and pivot bolt #'5&6. Otherwise it could have a problem with the spring #10 that moves the bracket to tighten the drive belt. Spring could be weak or broken. The spring can also cut a groove into moving parts.

 

[Bumzyman]

Check the bracket and pivot bolt #'5&6. Otherwise it could have a problem with the spring #10 that moves the bracket to tighten the drive belt. Spring could be weak or broken. The spring can also cut a groove into moving parts.

I took another look at the pivot bolt per your recommendation but it looks normal to me. There's no excessive play and the movement while pushing the brake looks good as well. The spring is nice and tight and you can feel good resistance when you press down on the brake to pull against it.

This is very strange because it's not even close, it's not like the belt is just slipping, its like the belt is an inch or two too long. The engine and rear-end are in fixed positions so neither of those could have slid towards each other leaving the only possible adjustment at that plate in #5&6 of those pictures. Even if I could extend the pivot of that plate all the way to the frame it still wouldn't be enough to take up all the slack.

 

[xcopterdoc]

Check at the rear of the mower where the transaxle bolts are. Where the transaxle mounts to the frame. 2 vertical bolts on each side behind the tire. This is a known crack area and the transaxle can move forward enough to cause an issue.

Sent from my LGL52VL using Tapatalk

 

[H-D dealer dude]

Check at the rear of the mower where the transaxle bolts are. Where the transaxle mounts to the frame. 2 vertical bolts on each side behind the tire. This is a known crack area and the transaxle can move forward enough to cause an issue.

Sent from my LGL52VL using Tapatalk

This sounds like it could be the problem.

On my L108 I kept hearing a metallic cracking noise intermittently. Didn't see anything wrong. Until I SEEN the problem. Looked to back up and the tire was missing. It had slid in toward the transmission. The metal spacer between the wheel and transmission rusted off. This allowed the wheel to slide on the axle/drive key. Used a piece of plastic flexible funnel to get it going so I could finish cutting.
The new JD replacement part was made out of plastic. Bought 2 to do both sides but the other side never rusted. Gave the spare one to the new owner.
So even though the rear tire was moving around I never noticed it.

 

[Bumzyman]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I did some more digging and found the culprit.
As you can see from the first picture; with the brake not pushed in there was way to much slack in the belt.
While trying to remove the plate that holds the idlers for inspection I heard something break free and rattle around.
Somehow a walnut got lodged in the brake linkage and wasn't letting the idlers fully engage. It was up in the back of the engine compartment area way out of sight. With the nut removed all is good.

:bigthumb:

 

[JimR]

DOH! That's nuts! :laugh:

Glad to hear you got if figured out!