82 Series Mule Drive for 44C
 

Hello Friends,

Been a long summer cutting grass and the 680 has done a great job. Saturday I had was almost cutting the yard when PTO/Deck Drive belt fell off. Simple fix, adjust the belt tension... Not so simple. Kept fling the belt off and I realized that my center spindle (the double pulley one) was shot. I greased the zerks a few times over the season and keep an eye on the belt tension, but it is a 30+ year old mower deck...:bash2:

So, I am working on replacing that. My question arose when taking the mule drive off: the idler/mule pulleys look tweaked. They are not "square" to the front of the mule drive. Is this normal? The arms holding the pulleys look tweaked/twisted, but the paint isn't flaked so I am assuming they are not and I'm just paranoid. Anyone have any insight?


Thanks!

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That's exactly how they are supposed to be. Take the time to actually look at your tractor before freaking out. The center deck pulley is off-center from the machine.

A worn center pulley won't cause the belt to fling off. Just slip. Either the tension is too loose, or you have an alignment issue.

Jonathan, the center pulley was loose. I could move it all around. The three bolts holding the spindle to the deck were tight. If I had play on the spindle shaft wouldn't that mean the bearings are bad? Play on the pulley would allow the belt to pull off as the pulley is not maintaining alignment.

My mistake in describing the issue may have been using the words "pulley" when I should have said "bearing." My pulleys are in good shape on the deck, but I suspect the bearing/spindle is bad.

The grooves in the mule drive pulleys need to be "aimed" at their respective side of the mower deck center pulley.

Yes, if the bearings in center spindle are worn badly enough it can cause the belt to come off and should be repaired/replaced.

Probably best to find out for sure if the bearings are bad or if the pulley is loose on the spindle shaft.

It has been my experience that just as often as anything else, the angle of the deck pulley (as viewed from the side of the tractor) varies too much in relationship to the belt as it comes off the mule pulleys. That should be about as clear as mud...

In other words, once everything is put back together, step back a little from the side of the tractor and look at the belt, if there is a big angle change in the belt where it meets the deck pulley (front or back of deck pulley too high or low) it can also cause the belt to come off. The front or back of the deck may need to be adjusted up or down to correct the problem.

Good Luck

Thank you Sam and Jonathan.