LT1045 throws deck belt

[Cubster]

My 60 hours old 2004 LT1045 constantly throws the deck belt. I've tried several "tricks" to stop this but nothing works. It will throw it before I start mowing. There's no pulley play, debris in the way, loose idler spiring (yeah I've spent some time laying on the ground checking it out).
The newer LTs have a new idler pulley arrangment (there's now 2 pulleys) and it looks like a quick fix rather than a redesign. I'd be happy to try it if I could find the assembly. My local supplier doesn't even show this new part in his parts diagrams. Any clues?

 

[art]

They did have an update on them.

 

[JTKub]

Does the belt jump off only under the same exact conditions or is it random? I know on vert shaft engines, engaging the PTO with the deck set low can cause the belt to jump. From a side view, the pullies are lined up like this with a low deck: __ --- Higher up keeps them more: --- --- .

Joel

 

[D-Rail]

Make sure you are engaging the deck at full throttle. Since the machine has an electric PTO you need full power to put tension on the belt.

 

[xmitterengineer]

My 60 hours old 2004 LT1045 constantly throws the deck belt. I've tried several "tricks" to stop this but nothing works. It will throw it before I start mowing. There's no pulley play, debris in the way, loose idler spiring (yeah I've spent some time laying on the ground checking it out).
The newer LTs have a new idler pulley arrangment (there's now 2 pulleys) and it looks like a quick fix rather than a redesign. I'd be happy to try it if I could find the assembly. My local supplier doesn't even show this new part in his parts diagrams. Any clues?

My 2006 LT 1045 was also throwing the mower belt, especially at lower deck settings.Throttle position did not seem to have any effect.
The thrown belt problem would occur under most any operating condition.

What is working on mine is the addition of "helper springs" on the deck.
This consists of two suitable length springs that I added to the regular springs. Some existing holes in the mower deck gave additional attachment options for the added springs.
I purchased an assortment of springs from the local hardware store to facilitate this.
My belt problems first cropped up last spring and haven't returned since the modification. I am still on the original belt. The mower now has about 75 hours on it.

It is my belief that the original springs loose some of their original tension through fatigue and thrown belts are the result.

Good luck sir.

Rickey.

 

[dqdave1]

I would not tighten the springs; if you think they have lost tension, replace the spring. Too much force from the spring will destroy the spindle shafts. If you are reuseing the belt that got twisted and thrown; replace it; belts tend to have "memory" and will continue to fall off.

 

[xmitterengineer]

I would not tighten the springs; if you think they have lost tension, replace the spring. Too much force from the spring will destroy the spindle shafts. If you are reuseing the belt that got twisted and thrown; replace it; belts tend to have "memory" and will continue to fall off.

Well you know how crazy engineers are. We tend to try to eliminate repeat problems by effecting repairs that improve on the original... maybe this is a fault.
If the spindles cant stand a little extra spring pressure then how the heck will they ever survive really tall grass at WOT?
In my instance adding spring tension absolutely eliminated the thrown belt problem at about 35 hours IIRC. Now at about 75 hours there are still no problems with the mower belt.

What could this mean???
Maybe the tension was marginal to begin with.
Maybe the springs have a lack of quality to begin with.

With the number of reports of repeated thrown belts after replacement its obvious that something other than a bad belt is going on.

It makes perfect sense to me that having proper belt functioning for a few tens of hours followed by belt throwing indicates the possibility of weakened springs. This suspicion is reinforced by the successful addition of extra tension.
And if Cub is supplying springs identical to the originals... they can keep them!

By the way the same problem existed on the drive belt springs on mine.
This limited hill climbing ability and forward speed.

Good Day.

Rickey

 

[Cubster]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I'm most bothered by the obvious fact that MTD knows of this problem (evident in the redesigned idler pulley arrangement. There are now 2 idler pulleys) yet offers no fix. My local dealer couldn't even determine whether the new parts would retrofit to my machine nor is there anything about this on the Cub Cadet web site.

The springs sound like a viable fix - and cheap enough to experiment with. I'm also toying with the idea of adding my own second idler pulley. If MTD can do it so can I.

 

[Bruce-4310TX]

Hey there is a fix for this problem, on You tube search Lt1045 a fella has a how to video on this problem. The fix from what ive heard works perfect my cub only has ten hrs so havent tryed it yet.

 

[OhioGuy]

They did a similar upgrade on the deck on my 5252, another idler pulley on the longest stretch of the belt. Mine has jumped twice in three years.

Curt