38" deck identification help

[CC129]

Just a little update.
The belts I bought don't work..
The deck is actually a 38" deck.. I did the rope measurement on the PTO belt but never bothered double checking the measurement on blade to blade..
Since I knew I had to take one belt back for an exchange I figured I should make sure the Mule Drive belt fit. It does but it doesn't..
I'm not sure if it's original or another PO mod but the 129 has the idler ratchet that came with the 44" and 50" decks vs the spring measurement.
So while I was able to get the belt on, I could not make any adjustments to the idler ratchet at all. It stayed snug against the front axle.
I'm going to exchange that belt for the next size up which is the 81" but that still seems like it might be too snug for any adjustments.
Thoughts?

[CC129]

Looking for some insight please.
I exchanged the 80" belt for the 81" as I posted above.
The 81" seemed too loose compared to the 80" which is too tight.

With the 80" I can't adjust the tension on the belt enough to get the ratchet pulley away from the axle so it doesn't rub and the same with the belt.
With the 81" I can't seem to adjust it tight enough with the threaded bolt entirely through the frame and it still seems sloppy.
Could their be a problem with the ratchet tension pulley?
Or am I experiencing operator error?
Feeling kind of stupid about now since I have now exchanged the 80 for the 81 and now back to the 80" belt and looking like I might be going back for the 81 yet again?

[_DX3_]

No reason for feeling that way. I am thinking because it has been so heavily modified by a PO, you may have a very hard time getting a belt to work at all with it. Your best bet may be to locate another deck made to fit your 129. A pic of mule drive with your belt mounted and what it is doing would be helpful too.

[CC1450]

Originally Posted by _DX3_

A pic of mule drive with your belt mounted and what it is doing would be helpful too.

agreed, get pics of everything from the PTO down to the deck and in between for us. Something is not right. Does yours have the illustration of the slack adjustment on the front? When I changed decks on my 1450 I had to study the tensioner setup for a bit myself to understand how it works.

[CC129]

Here are some pics but it was kind of hard to get any kind of decent pic for that area.
CC1450 to answer your question, the label is there for the slack adjustment but painted over. I just can't adjust it to where the manual says it needs to be. Where it is currently it's just shy of the 1st notch on that bar (not shown) yet as you can see I am out of thread on the other pulley and can't adjust it anymore. Is that one pulley supposed to be bent in that far?
When I tried the 80" belt the pulley on the left was up against the axle and no adjusting was moving it. That is an 81" belt on there and it works. I let the pto run for
a little bit. mowed a small 3' path and nothing jumped or shows sign of rubbing yet. I'm just concerned now that after it runs more, it's going to start jumping and I won't be able to tighten the belt anymore.

[_DX3_]

Two things that I see.
First the pulley on the right should be straight up and down as the one on the left should be also. It should not be bent inwards like that.

Second: I think you are going the wrong way with your adjustment. To tighten the belt up, you should be tightening the nut to make more threads pull thru. Not loosen it to push the pulley back.

[CC129]

I had a feeling they should be straighter than they are.
That is what I thought also on tightening the bolt. Yet when I do that what is happening is the opposite. When I start to pull the threads thru, The pulley on the left starts to pull back towards the axle and it pulls even further away from the 2 notches where it needs to be. Batteries died on the camera again.. Yet if you look close enough in this pic you can see one of the adjusting notches now and how that pulley pulled back more when I pulled those threads thru the frame.

[_DX3_]

That is what it is supposed to do. You are tightening the belt when doing that and it causes the right pulley to pull back. You look to be about right if the belt isn't too tight. That style of mule drive is really found more on the 44 and 50 sized decks with the QL series and 82 series tractors. Normally on the 129's there would be a spring in place where the lever is. That big notch is supposed to allow you to push it in and up and lock it in place releasing enough tension to remove the belt. Give it a try and see how the belt and deck sound and mows.

[_DX3_]

Here is a pic of my 1250 and 128. You will notice the lever on the right and look how far I had to get my threads to get it right, LOL. You will notice on the 128 the different style mule drive. No lever, just a spring on the left pulley.