Attempting to mow with 127
 

For a while i had just a belt going from the pto to the center blade which seem to work alright sometimes stop in thicker grass but still mowed alright. Then i came across a belt for the other two blade spindles on it. Now it seems like it struggles to keep them turning.

For example I would have the deck all the way up and they will seem to start spinning at normal speed then i would lower it and try it. It would work for a little but then slow way down. Any ideas what is the problem?

Also note i have checked the spindles and seem to be free except on but i greased it up and now it is freed up alot and the belt tension-er on the deck seems to be working all right. My made guess is probably the pto but im not sure if there is something to try and see if it is it or what.

Help??

First you need to figure out where it's slowing down. Is the belt slipping, PTO clutch slipping, or engine bogging down? I suspect the PTO clutch is slipping, but a tight spindle will also give you a lot of trouble.

Sounds like the pto clutch just needs a good rebuild.

And it looks like Matt is quicker at typing than I am

You may also want to check your tension on the mule drive belt as well to make sure that it has enough and/or not too much.

Cub Cadet 123

Yea I'm Gonna check all that tomorrow kinda late now. I may also check the lever that pushes away from the pto to engage it and make sure it is going all the way out to make it spin.

Thanks for the help everyone though. To answer matts question the belt don't seem to slip the pto itself seems to slow down and the motor sounds like its working hard but if i let it go for just a couple seconds it will seem to loosen up and speed up but once it hits grass it slows down.

To test PTO, I use : another person, red paint, and my brain. Paint a line on the PTO belt. Walk beside the machine while it is working (someone else driving) and watch the belt speed as the grass height differs. You should be able to determine if thePTO is your problem that way. Also use your nose to smell burning clutch disk...

I've checked for smell of burning clutch don't seem to have that. Or burning belts or anything. I can see them spinning (the spindles) but like i said you can see them start off slow but after a couple of seconds they speed up the motor sounds alright runs at about normal speed but once i lower the desk and mover barely an inch they slow way down.

It's a bit weird. For a bit i ran it with just the center blade never had this problem now i got all three it seems alot harder but all of the spindles are loose you can spin them by hand with the belt off and they will spin for a bit.

Once again thanks for the nice quick helpful responses.

Sound to me like you have belt tension issues. If it has a spring loaded tensioner
make sure it is not froze up or if it is the older style with the idler pulley in the slot try adding more tension. What condition is the belt in and is it the right size? One other thing to check is that the pto is adjusted correctly. If the linkage is not letting the pto engage all the way it will slip also.:bigthink:

Figured it all out. The pto was slipping badly on it so after a bit of swearing and anger i got the set screws out and got it off and tighted the loose bolts and nuts that are in the front to the back for the engage and disgage things. And it works fine now it cuts alot now and spins way faster now.

Thanks everyone.