50C Mower Deck Repair...NEED HELP
 

This is my first time posting on here, so I apologize if I put it in the wrong spot or if this question has been previously answered.

However, I have a Cub Cadet 1872 with a 359 50C mower deck. A couple weeks ago my PTO Drive belt shredded into a thousand pieces. Although the belt was 2 or 3 years old it went with no warning. I got a new one and when I put it on the belt was chattering from side to side rather violently. Figuring it was a different issue, I started looking into the deck and possible things it could be. As it turns out the tension pulley was completely seized up and not moving at all. I took that off and found that not only was it rusted together but the spring was broken. I also realized that the deck drive belt was old and cracked in a couple spots. I proceeded to get the parts I needed, which included, a New Shoulder Bolt, Spring, Deck drive belt as well as replaced the washers and nuts. I put it back together last night and when I got it all hooked up and turned it on the belt was still violently shaking back and forth on the long run from the front Mule Drive pulleys to the top spindle on the deck.

Now I have no idea what is causing this. I did have a front belt guide on the deck that broke off and I have yet to replace but I really don't think that would cause the issue as a lot of cubs don't have that guide.(Maybe I am wrong) The other thing I think it may be is that the deck is out of wack and tilted to far forward and the front hangers need to be adjusted.

Any help you all could give would be greatly appreciated as I am running out of things to try.

I do have a video but for some reason I am having trouble getting it to upload.

Thanks again,

Matt

Can't upload a video to this site. Have to host it on another, like YouTube, then post a link here. Make sure to make the video "public" or no one will be able to see it.

We are going to need some pics or a video to help you out.

Do you have the tension correct on the drive belt?

Thanks for the information regarding the video. Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJvx...ature=youtu.be

As far as the tension, Yes I have it where it is suppose to be and it seems to be comparable to the tension it was when the deck was running without an issue.

Watching the Video myself it seems as only the one side is really the one bouncing. That is the side the little guide arm was sticking up on, which makes me think that maybe that is the issue although, I believe the reason it broke off was that the chatter allowed the belt to get on the wrong side of it which caused it to snap.

Could you post another video and include the mule drive. The front view of the mule drive.

I don't Have one at the moment, but I will take a video tonight and upload it sometime tomorrow.

I worked on it a little Wednesday night and moved the front hangers up to try and level the deck out. The belt doesn't seem to chattering as much but it is still moving side to side quite a bit.

Here is the video with a view from the front of the mule drive.

https://youtu.be/7X0tnwbtla0

On the side that is flopping, when the pto is disengaged, it there tension on the belt between the mule pulley and the deck pulley? Did the current belt get ate up by the frozen pulley? TB

Hey TB,

Yes there is tension from the mule pulley and the top spindle of the deck pulley. I really don't think it is a tension problem. The old belt shredded when I was cutting which led me to looki into the pulleys to see what was going on. That is when I realized it was seized up.

I am not even sure how much chatter or flopping around is normal. I am just concerned because it doesn't look right and I am afraid of destroying a new $70 belt.

If you lower the deck to its normal cutting height, step back a little, crouch down and look at the belt where it comes to the deck pulley, it is normally obvious if there is an alignment issue. There will be an abrupt angle change between the area where the belt is in the pulley groove and the area of the belt where it spans from the mule pulley to the deck pulley.

You may also want to check the rotation of each of the spindles for a spot that may not be as smooth as it could be.

It has been my experience that the deck belts do flop around quite a bit, especially on the slack side.

Might also check the idler pulley on the deck and check the pulleys to make sure there are no bends in them. Sometimes foreign objects will also get into the pulley grooves and cause the belts to bounce violently.

Looks to me like the spring loaded tensioners on the mule drive are not moving like they should.

Take the belt off. The one on the left side (standing in front, facing the machine) should be spring loaded and fairly stiff to push toward the rear with the handle, but should spring back all the way to the front if it's not locked in the groove on the handle. The one on the right, should be free to move. Take the "J" bolt off of it, and you should be able to move it forward and back easily.