1517 Mower Deck questions

[R Bedell]

Mr. Bedell, that deck would be a 190-295-100 deck for the 3000 series

Thanks Mr. Oak

[dbuck]

Originally Posted by ol'George

I agree unless you get the right aftermarket belts,
and I ain't going into the belt debate.
That said, looking @ the pulleys condition as mentioned, run a cheap belt to help smooth them up and when it goes kerflooey, go to a good belt.
The condition of those pulleys will shorten any belts life.
On the idler pulley on the deck:
Do not let the bolt pivot in the deck, if you do, it will waller da hole out like a woodpecker in a rotten willer tree.
Get the nut off and free up the shoulder bolt in idler arm or replace it, and be sure to lube it with thick chassis grease when reassembling it.
No offence here, I'm looking out for your benefit.

:Morning I with you on not going into the great belt debate. I learned the hard way on not using OEM belts. Werther it be on CC equipment, or other model brands. Seems like the after market belts have a different pitch than the OEM belts.

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by dbuck

:Morning I with you on not going into the great belt debate. I learned the hard way on not using OEM belts. Werther it be on CC equipment, or other model brands. Seems like the after market belts have a different pitch than the OEM belts.

Actually the degree of belt "V"angle is the same among same specified belts, it is the composition thats makes the difference.
Belts that are required to make 1/4 twists like mule drives and or have idlers on the back side, require a different make up to withstand that abuse.
An FHP Belt, (fractional horsepower) is not designed or up to that job.
It will however perform well stretched between two sheaves running say like a furnace blower or other similar.
One belt I found that will hold up to the twists and back side idlers is
"Goodyear instapower" series.
It is designed for that application, and I'm sure there are others but the cost is about the same usually as factory specified belts so it is a moot point unless you have a non stock length/width.

Now there are different belt angles associated with Variable sheaves.
like 14 and 22 degree angle just to mention a couple.
they do not mix well and fail quite rapidly when the sheave angle does not match the belt angle.

[Saluki]

Hi, All, Thanks for all the replies / info. Have been terribly tied up with my elderly parents (care for, etc.)

I finally got the new aftermarket belt on & the idler freed up. Seems to work ok. But, there is a problem with the PTO. It keeps cutting out, almost seemingly at random times. It does seem worse in heavier / longer grass, but then again, it's almost as likely to drop out if the mowing load is light to none (just sitting with blades whirling.) I've read that this can be an electrical problem at the switch, but I need to get my wife ON the mower while it's dark, and I can observe "under the hood" for any arcing. Or, so I've read.

If the problem is the PTO, egad, that's pretty pricey. Gotta narrow this down before I even think about committing that kind of money. Any suggestions?

I'll also have to re-examine that idler and bolt. I suspect parts were replaced incorrectly and the hole may get enlarged, as mentioned above. Hope I can see it without having to take the deck off again. But at least when I put it back on, I didn't twist the cotter pins so much it'll take me 10 minutes to get each off, next time!

[Saluki]

Hmmm... Looks like everyone must be out... mowing...