Blade turning when not engaged

[AonyxDO262]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum, so I hope this is in the right place and an appropriate question.

We just bought a house with a sizeable yard and I wanted a riding mower and the budget was a little tight after closing so I bought a used LTX 1040 (2010 supposedly). It seems to be in pretty good shape, and most of the maintenance except blades and belts had been recently performed. For back ground I have some minor small engine experience.

When I started using it, it seemed like everything worked appropriately (blade spins when engaged with the lever). The cut seemed pretty poor and I found the blade was very dull.

I purchased new blades (oregon/mulching), a new belt, and new spindles. I had a terrible time getting the old blades off, the retaining nut was 1-1/8 or 29mm and I had to get a new socket to fit it because neither 1" or 1 1/4" would fit and everything I read online seemed to be wrong about the size for my particular tractor and it took some "experimenting" to find the right size.

The old blades did not have a star pattern and seemed have a washer underneath it, and spindle "bolt" that the blade goes over was larger than the ones on the new spindles (which have a start pattern that fits the blades). I don't know if the last person that did it used the wrong parts or if that's the original blade and spindle combination.

I managed to replace both the blades and spindles. The belt I got seemed to be the wrong size because it was considerably larger than the old one, so I put the old one back on.

The blades and spindles cut so much better, however now the blade spins regardless of whether the handle is engaged. One exception being if the deck is in the lowest position. The tension cable seems to be loose, and tightens when the handle is engaged appropriately. I noticed that when I raise the deck up the belt seems to tighten and the blades turn. I have tried trouble shooting it and messing with the deck height multiple different times but I can't seem to fix the issue. I put on the new (larger) beld which did stop the blades from turning, but when engaging they don't fully engage and it makes a loud rattling noise.

Any thoughts of what I should try next? I have searched youtube but come up with nothing.

TL/DR
- bought a used 2010 LTX 1040, replaced the blades and spindles (but not the belt) and now the blades won't stop turning regardless of the handle position, unless the deck is all the way down. upon raising it, the blades engage regardless of what the blade handle is doing.

Thanks!

Jon P

[R Bedell]

Welcome to OCC..........

[guyina4x4]

Belt should be a 954-04060c
1/2" wide x 96 1/2" long
It's crazy what people do to "fix" things.

[ironman]

Do you have a 42 inch "timed" mower deck?
(i.e. the spindle pulleys have teeth to match slots in the belt)

[AonyxDO262]

I do not see any teeth on the spindle pulleys...

[AonyxDO262]

Originally Posted by guyina4x4

Belt should be a 954-04060c
1/2" wide x 96 1/2" long
It's crazy what people do to "fix" things.

Believe me I am an ER doctor. I see what people do to "fix" themselves.