Belts

Unless you got a defective belt, which is pretty unlikely since it happened twice I would say look for one or more of the following:

Pulleys misaligned and the belt isn't tracking straight

Bad bearing on a spindle or tightener pulley

Belt rubbing against a bolt or other sharp object

Rough spot on pulley/ bad weld etc. on pulley

Debris hung up and flipping a belt off the pulley which is then mangled.

I'm sure there are other reasons but those come to mind first. Don't discount the debris issue- it doesn't take much of a stick to flip a belt off.

Treefarmer

 

Thank You

Thank you for your help. I will have all these things checked. I do not hit anything. I was just mowing my lawn and did not see any sticks. I look close for objects after it happened last time. It is really weird that two belts went in 5 hours of use don't you think? And totally in pieces.

 

Probably not a stick

Thank you for your help. I will have all these things checked. I do not hit anything. I was just mowing my lawn and did not see any sticks. I look close for objects after it happened last time. It is really weird that two belts went in 5 hours of use don't you think? And totally in pieces.

It's probably not a stick but I had to throw it in as a possibility. If I was guessing out of the list it would be a misalignment or a rough pulley. A little nick in a pulley will take a belt out in a hurry. You can look at a pulley and it will be fine, run your hand over it and start bleeding because it had a sharp shard. (I'm not recommending you risk your hand, if you check take an old T shirt or soft close and rub it around the pulley. If it's rough, it will snag.)

Other possibilities?- possibly the deck had a wrong size pulley or tightener installed, wrong size belt etc. The dealer should have checked all that stuff the first time but in a rush may have just slapped a new belt on and leter go.

Treefarmer

 

You are cutting your grass pretty high @3.5". That is only 1/2" from transport level. How much length are you chopping off every time you mow? Also how thick is the grass? Lastly how fast are you mowing/moving? How sharp are the blades? These 4 factors along with deck size will dictate how much load/stress is put on the belt drive. It's always possible to overload any type of drive system.

 

I cut at 3.75" in fertilized grass. I do not let it get too long. Maybe 4 inches as recommended by my lawn treatment guy. I mow at speeds at the low range of the indicator recommended speeds. I cannot believe this is above the capabilities of a $3,800 tractor. Thank you for responding. I would think the dealer would know what to do.

Best,

 

2 belts in 20 hours?

I would also check for free movement or misalignment of the spring loaded idler pulley. If it's not tensioned properely it can "bounce" on the belt allowing it to come off. Also a loose pulley arm pivot can cause the same problem.

What would I do with this new machine? I'd hand it to the dealer and tell him you don't want it back until he can guarantee they found the problem and it's "really repaired"... AND, have him GIVE you a spare deck belt for your annoying troubles.

 

Well, the tractor came back from the dealer last week and they replaced an idler wheel. Mowed once and all is fine. Mowed yesterday and it started smelling like something burning. When I engaged the deck it screams for 10 seconds. Called the dealer and they are coming for it again today. Maybe the third time is the cure. I can only hope.

The last comment suggested I was cutting the grass too high at 3.75". I don't get that as being a problem. Yes, I have nice fertile grass but I do not let it get too long. I would think that is well within the capabilities of a $3,700 tractor.

 

Here is my thought. The reasoning about cutting at too high of a HOC isn't that the lawn mower isn't capable of traveling across a yard with grass that is 4" deep but rather a matter of angles. When the deck is raised to a high level the drive belt and pulleys may not be in line very well. This could put additional stress on the belts. These belt systems work better when things are relatively in line. On my X585 it wouldn't really matter much because it is shaft drive from the tractor to a gear box on the mower deck. Then coming off the gear box on the mower deck is a drive belt. Then compare that to my ZTrak which is a commercial mower and that is all belt drive but it is rated to cut from 1"-5.5". H-D Dealer Dude mentioned you are only 1/2" from transport level. I don't know what your cutting range is but it isn't likely that it is as much as a commercial mower.

I guess I would ask the dealer what the recommended Height of Cut (HOC) range is for this machine. I tried to look it up on JD's website for you but the specs just took me over to a general info PDF with not enough info. For what it is worth, I cut at 3.25". However that doesn't mean much. There are lots of varieties of grass out there in different parts of the country. I would consider a X3xx machine heck even up to the X7xx machines to be residential which are more designed for typical HOC found in suburbia. For the most part I think people do closer to 3" than 4" for their setting. At least around here with the grass type that we have. The X7xx is more like my X585 in that it is a shaft drive deck so it would do better at cutting at those extreme limits. Again, I don't know that it is an issue with how much of a load unless you are cutting to 3.75" when the grass is 6" long but you stated this isn't the case. I would consider that a better job of a much bigger machine with a brush hog though.

 

Checking the deck drive belt alignment at the cutting height you are using sounds like a good idea. However you would think that the deck should work correctly at any height.

 

Finally an answer

My dealer finally has an answer to my belt problem on the mower deck. First I want to say their service and support has been wonderful. When I called they were there the next day to pick up my new tractor. It turns out that a small bracket was mounted backward on the deck belt guide by the factory. Hard to see because it looked normal. Boy, I hope this solves the problem because it is no good to doubt if you are going to be able to mow the lawn when it is needed. I should maybe have keep my old tractor as a backup. Oh well, hindsight. The dealer is Littles in Zieglerville, PA and they have been great. I also asked about cutting at 3.75" and the manager said that was not a problem.

 

Good to know and I wondered if it was something along those lines.

Mowing height should not affect the belt, hence the name mowing height, not mow only at this level adjustment.

I often mow with my deck completely up position. Wondering through high, unknown lawns or vacant lots, require that before I drop and grind. Never had an issue.

Sure is frustrating but you feel good when you find the problem and it is not an obvious one. Glad your dealer stuck with it.

isaac

 

If a mower deck will not mow at any deck level provided by the manufacturer, it would not be available. I mow at 4 inches on my tractor with RFM. I also attempted to mow at 4 inches on my recently acquired Z960R, but quickly determined the setting was not accurate. I measured the blade height with my height tool and discovered it was off at least a half inch, so now I mow at 4 1/2 inches according to the setting. I need to check it again as it may be off even more. As was previously mentioned, this is likely due to the specific blades on it and I have no idea what they are, but it is important to check blade height after changing blades.

Dave

 

There's a reason y'alls lawns look so much better than mine- you are much more meticulous. I might check the cut height by sticking a ruler into the lawn but it's mostly eyeball measurement.

Good on you for doing it right, I need to step up my game.

Treefarmer

 

In the 27 years I have had my 445 with the 54" deck i have replaced the deck belt once, might be due again, but as it is still working, I am not in any rush.

 

I mow at 3.5" - 3.75 most of the time with my X590 48". If the grass has had a lot of rain an I have to wait a few extra days to mow, I mow at 4" then mow again at 3.5" because with the taller grass there is a lot of lay over from the tires and the grass springs back up and makes the lawn look uneven. I discovered that leveling the deck at the HOC makes the best cut and still looks good if I mow up or down 1-click. Still playing with the gauge wheels because of my berm and a couple of hilly spots.....higher seems to be better.

 

This is the most active dead thread I've ever seen. 😂

 

Especially for one that included a follow-up post explaining the solution....

 

I love the replies to this thread that was 4+ years old!

 

On a deck, I'd think not, but are there any pinch points that the belt could have been pushed through during installation? I pinched the drive belt on the 14SB once when I was too lazy to loosen the engine enough to make it easy to put the new belt back on. Belt failed fairly quickly. Think next belt I put on was the one sold on it and had been there 2 or 3 seasons.

 

So if a person has a situation and wishes to get some help, should they start a new post or search the archives to see if the answer is already posted? If that person is unsure about the answers found in an old post, should they start a new post, or post on a similar post even though it may be an older post? If a person sees a post for the first time, it's a new post to him/her and may be relevant. If a person posts a question on a old post should we answer it or ignore it?