Belt Question
 

Ok, so I've been getting my *new* 102 ready to mow. The other day I decided to give it go and the belt came off the mower deck (The belt from the front PTO) No biggie, I climb down and realize that the blades probably havent been sharpened since Nixon was in office. While the belt is off I drop the deck and do the whole blade thing. Fast forward a few days of rain and I'm out to reinstall everything. Goes on easily enough (previous owners had used nails as opposed to key pins, fixed that while I was down there) belt is back on, tension is set...engage the mower deck and hmmm threw belt. Start over, same thing. Realize the speed nut holding the tension on the mule drive (I think thats what its called) is old and just vibrates loose. Easy fix, new nut and....belt pops off. I have tried everything from low tension to high tension and the belt keeps coming of at the mower deck. The belt is new-ish but won't be that way much longer if I keep throwing it.

The pulley on the deck is good (no lip damage, turns freely) the from pullys are good (turn freely as well)

So I thought I'd replace the belt to be safe BUT how do you get the belt off the front of the tractor (the front PTO clutch is in the way)?

Do I need to remove the whole thing?

Thanks!

Check your pulley alignment..it is possible someone bent the mule pulleys to fit something else and the belts aren't aiming at the deck anymore...


You have to pull the pto lever away from the PTO clutch to change belts....On mine I usually loosen up the turnbuckle until it has enough room.

you might be on to something there. I found that if I ran the deck at one notch higher then the belt wouldnt jump. I tightened the hanger bolts up a bit and then lowered it down a notch and voila! Worked! This victory was short lived though, the belt kept flipping itself over on the mower pulley and then jumping again. I finnaly installed the darn thing backwards and it works! Not sure why, or how long the belt will last that way but I got to mow.

I could be mistaken but shouldn't the belt V go into the mower pulley? Could not get mine to stay that way though, and does work really well the other way.

Ohh well learning as I go I suppose.

All that floppin around might have ruined the belt, you might want to try a nice new Green Gates or Cub cadet belt once the lawn has been mowed and ya got time to fiddle... Somewhere here is a mule drive adjustment diagram that shows that the pulleys need to be adjusted to approximately the same relative position....and the belt coming off the bottom of the mule pulleys should be aiming directly at your center pulley on the mower deck..... BTW check your deck spindles and make sure everything is running smoothly there, and the tensioner is free to tension the belt adequately.

And yes, the Vee goes into the pulley, your belt is upside down for some reason...

Must have posted this in the wrong place (got moved)...thats what I get for working from my black berry in the yard!

Ok, I will look for that pulley diagram tonight. I'm also going to be getting a new belt because a failure is surely imminent. I noticed that the mule pulley could be moved to a different mounting hole (down about 1/2" and front about an inch) but I'm not sure if the pulleys would clear cross beam. Something just isn't "right" with the current setup...it works, but not as intended.


The mower deck pulleys all move freely, took grease, and have no wobble. The only thing that chatters is the tension pulley on the deck. It turns but does not move at all (I'm comparing to my modern tractors whose tension pulley flexes a lot) Not sure how these old ones worked. The deck belt isn't slipping and is working well (could probably be a scosh tighter maybe).

Brings up a good question, how tight is too tight on the belt tension?

On the plus side, it cuts my lawn nicely.

been looking but i havent had any luck finding the afore mentioned diagram. In my searching I did come up with a few questions about the mule drive.

1) Mine is a 102, so I assume I *should* have the mule that has only one tension bolt on it? As a side, should there be a spring on it anywhere because currently there is not.

2) The mule pulleys seem to angle in (the brackets that is) slightly. Seems what Im reading this is correct for the mower setup?

3) My belt doesnt come flat out to the deck pulley, the mule drive sets the belt slightly higher than the mower deck pulley (slight angle, but nothing severe). Is this my area of concern?

4) Where do you find the information on the mower decks? Mine is the older style (heavy cast and triangular with 3 blades, 1 master and 2 smaller) and measures 42" tip to tip.

:bigthink:

i just had the same problem on my 128. i thought the belt looked new so i tried adjusting everything finally i broke down and bought a new belt hasn't kicked the belt in five mowings.

I went ahead and ordered new belts today and a new wear button while I was at it. Hoping this cures my problems.

New belt is here, going to put it on first thing in he morning and give it a go. Wish me luck!

So the place I got my belts from isn't going to be getting anymore of my business. I need the part Number for the belt that comes off the front PTO and down to the mower deck. Seems simple, but instead they tell me "I don't think cub made a 102 or a front PTO"

3/8's belt that is 81" long. I found a belt listing online...sure is echo'ey in here

didn't see your reply! 3 blades, 42" cut solid deck (If memory serves two outer blades sit slightly forward of the main)

the P/N I came up with was IH-473462-R4
(3/8 x 81) The setup had a 1/2 x 80 on it when I got it.

So I still can't keep the belt on. New belt of proper size, everything is adjusted where it should be. Pulleys are all in good shape with no bends, and free turning. there is no reason it should keep throwing the belt.

this is the only reason I bought this specific one a few weeks ago because it had the mower deck with it. Really regretting this purchase at the moment.

if I can't get it this weekend then I'm just going to have to sell it.

more playing around with it has created some interesting results. if I keep the deck no lower than one notch from raised, the belt stays on. Lower it any more and there she goes.

Does anyone know how I should adjust the front deck hanger bolts? They are pretty much ran all the way in (ie raised) now. The line of belt sight is straight and clear.

The only thing that could be replaced would be one of the pulleys on the mule drive, its not as smooth spinning as its counterpart but by no means bad.

I'D really rather not push mow my yard again this week!:beatdeadhorse:

Thanks!

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5


Go to the technical library forum, implements, and take a look at the belt post I linked above...also the manual for your deck.

If there is no mule tensioning spring, I don't understand how you are getting proper tension on the belt....I am assuming you have the mule drive with one spring tensioned pulley and one with the bolt type adjuster. The diagram above shows a double bolt style adjuster but the end result of adjusting should be the same..

Your deck belt tensioner should pivot freely... is the deck belt coming off as well or just the PTO belt?

I had that problemand I adjusted the front of the deck all the way up and it has stopped throwing belts. Normally once a belt throws it WILL do it again, it damages the belt and it is time to replace it.

Something else to check it weither the belt is wearing more on the top or the bottom, if it is the top the front of the deck is to low. I found out on mine that way.

On my mule drive the only adjustment I can make is in the 5/16 bolt that has a 90 degree bend in it to come out the front of the tractor, thats where the nut pulls the mule drive forward. There's no spring on it, and from what I have seen there shouldnt be on the older ones. that parts seems to be functioning correctly.

The belt only comes off the main pulley on the deck from the PTO. The deck tensioner spins freely but the arm doesn't flex any.


However, I did finally get somewhere on the deck. I replaced the front deck hanger bolts last week (when I still had the wrong belt on) I mentioned earlier that I had them all the way up, which was true but not quite right. I was able to inch it up another 1/4 inch. Once I did that no belt slips! I managed to mow quite a bit!

Thanks to everyone for your help plus it can be very helpful to document processes and look back on your own progress for further inspiration!

so yet again I'm back to the belt! Got half my yard mowed and the belt just broke on me! looked like it had been rubbing against something but I've not found anything yet. my next (and final) step will be to replace both mule drive pulleys since one was stiffer than the other. Perhaps under highspeed/tension this variable is causing more problems.

so I replaced the pulleys and belt tonight (too late to test run). Noted 2 things.

1) the old pulleys had an odd rust build up in them...not noticeable when installed but it looks like perhaps a belt had been left on too long (years) and caused a build up. The spot was only 3 inches in length (same as the amount of belt contact would be)

2) The tensioner bolt (90 degree bolt thing) was replace a few weeks ago after the old one was showing thread stripping. My reproduction wasn't spot on I guess, allowing the belt to rub against it every so slightly.

So after replacing the pulleys and bending the bolt just enough I've reasonable clearance (about 1/4 inch) and everything looks good!

If this doesn't work though I'm going to get creative. Might be interesting to install a single DC motor to the center pulley and bypass the PTO all together. Of course this requires just the right motor (as to prevent an explosion), extra battery, etc, etc.

Lets all hope this works!:biggrin2.gif: