LT1045 Deck Pulley, PTO or Other Problem

[BrianFC911]

Yes Sir in my opinion they spin freely and without noise

[ironman]

Originally Posted by BrianFC911

Roland,

They all look aligned to me; the only thing that looks a little off is the tension/idle pulley it looks a little higher than the others, but there is no adjustments to that, its a flat faced pulley, bolted to the tension arm.

You might check that the idler pulley is not upside down. They tend to have a thicker collar on one side than the other. That could cause misalignment.

[BrianFC911]

Something I didn't think of, i will check that next! Thanks ironman

[Red Dave]

Originally Posted by BrianFC911

Dave,

Any suggestions for leveling? I used the way the manual says to use. Im running out of patience and ideas...

I took mine to the dealer at one point out of desperation. The dealer didn't really find anything specific, but did think that wear and tear had worn some of the brackets so that the front of the deck was lower than it should be, thereby causing the PTO belt driven pulley on the deck to be tilted down in the front. They made some adjustments and it was better for awhile.

It was better for awhile, but after a few months it went back to it's old tricks. I took the deck off and went over it with a fine tooth comb. I discovered that there was a plate on top of the deck, at the rear that the driven pulley mounts to that was supposed to hold it level and that the bracket that holds down the rear of that plate was broken. I replaced the bracket, then put some washers under the front of that plate to bring the front of the pulley up even more.

The pulley is still not level, but it is closer than it was. I think the dealer found a contributing problem, but not the whole problem. I had to spend a lot of time underneath the tractor with a 6 inch level and think "out of the box" to find what I did. I don't blame the dealer, if they had spent the time I did troubleshooting, it would have cost as much as a new lawn tractor.

Get everything level that is supposed to be level, line up all the pulleys as best you can, make sure the belt doesn't rub anything anywhere, be sure that all spindles and pulleys spin freely with no wobble or noise. Look for anything that might be bent, cracked or worn out. The little things could mean something.

I got so frustrated and pissed off at mine I had the urge to hit it with a sledge hammer and had to walk away from it and let it sit for a few days several times. It has been a time consuming process and I'm still not ready to declare victory, but I have made progress on it.

My wife thinks I'm crazy and should move on to a new mower, but I'm not defeated just yet.

[BrianFC911]

Ironman,

I checked the pulley and it appears to be installed correctly.

[BrianFC911]

Red Dave,

I will be taking the deck off and taking it to the car wash and cleaning it up real good and start looking for your suggestions next. I will keep you guys posted. I appreciate all of the comments and suggestions. By all means keep the suggestions coming.

[randallc]

pulley alignment, pulley alignment. Had to put a large washer under one of mine to raise it up to where it would center with the next pulley to keep from running it to the edge and cutting and running the belt off. Fixed a very, very frustrating problem. My LTX1045 was a Home depot buy. Of course I love my 125 and 1250 for belt wear. Not steering. Kohler Courage 20 just block cracked, got it patched to see how long it hold. When it is cutting right though, love the way it cuts. I believe the old 12 hp have more cutting power.

[Larry954]

On my LTX 1040, A friend took of the idler arm and put wheel bearing grease around the pivot point. I'm not sure if he wire brushed anything or not. That solved belts coming off. My mower is about 10 years old. I think I saw you used new parts, but... Good Luck. Edit to add I think there is a tension spring on the idler arm to keep it snug. Is that new or working well? Maybe a new one or stronger one from the hardware store. I had considered trying a slightly smaller belt, but never got to looking for one.