HELP...My Cub Eats PTO Belts!
- Thread starter tincup703
- Start date
Be careful when you do this. Have someone you trust sit on the mower with the parking brake on and engage the mower PTO while you set in front of the mower and watch how the belts are tracking in the front hanger assembly. Does the belt center the pulleys? Are there any rough spots on the pulleys? Does one of the pulleys on the front hanger assembly or the center pulley on the deck have a gouge or cut mark on the edge of the pulley. How is the belt tension? Have you ever adjusted the belt tension. Refer to owners manual on how to check tension and tighten.
Leo Rabon
Bronze Member
I have a 2011 GT 2000 (42" deck) bought in June 2011. The PTO belt broke after the first 6 hours of use. I went to the dealer and he was out of stock on my belt but gave me a belt the same length (belt sold for $15.95) brand name "Rotary" made on Taiwan. The cheap belt now has 78 hours of use on it. What I found when the belt broke. I picked up the belt and received a pretty bad burn on my hand (talk about hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) After a cool off period for the old belt and inspection, I found that the belt had received some wear that should not have been there (at the top side of the vee). Only 6 hours of use (should not have happened).
When I installed the new belt, obviously having a neighbor use a 1/2" breaker bar to hold the spring tension back and carefully threading the belt around the PTO, then the mule drive and finally around the mower deck drive pully I thought I had done a great job but then remembered the wear on the 6 hour belt. After doning my "reading glasses" (can't see clearly any more without them), I grabbed a flashlight and followed the belt from the PTO all the way to the deck. You will have to be "flat on the ground to do this" to see and inspect everything unless you are a lot younger than me. Well the &@% belt had twisted ever so slightly in the mule drive when the tension was returned to the belt. Since I was not an octopus and was trying real hard not to get my fingers pinched, obviously I did not keep enough tension on the belt to keep it tight in the mule drive when I had my neighbor release the breaker bar. After having my neighbor release the tension slightly, I was able to get the belt back "straight in the groove". Honestly, I did not thinkt the $15.95 belt would last long so I did order a new CUB OEM belt and have not had to use it yet.
Two things came to mind. 1. The Cub dealer tech did the same thing I did during installation of the deck and caused the overheating and belt break. 2. I remember hitting a tree root with the front roller deck (new mower) and did not know how the deck would react to my landscape. I did not hit it hard but the deck did jump a little when I hit it and possibly?????? caused the deck to vibrate enough for the belt to slip slightly sideways on the mule drive????????
The Cub OEM belts have Kelvlar in them and are a much stiffer belt than the cheap belt I have on my GT at the present time so I suspect there will be a better chance for the belt to twist slightly in the mule drive during installation than my cheap belt. I also suggest not engaging the PTO on the deck until you have adjusted the deck to cutting position and also cut the PTO off before raising the mower deck to the top position. There is a lot of twists and turns in the belt that are just not the best of curcumstances for the belt but it does do a good job. So far, there is no excessive wear on the cheap belt and I did stop and inspect the belt if I hit anything with the deck while cutting and have not found any twists on the belt.
When I installed the new belt, obviously having a neighbor use a 1/2" breaker bar to hold the spring tension back and carefully threading the belt around the PTO, then the mule drive and finally around the mower deck drive pully I thought I had done a great job but then remembered the wear on the 6 hour belt. After doning my "reading glasses" (can't see clearly any more without them), I grabbed a flashlight and followed the belt from the PTO all the way to the deck. You will have to be "flat on the ground to do this" to see and inspect everything unless you are a lot younger than me. Well the &@% belt had twisted ever so slightly in the mule drive when the tension was returned to the belt. Since I was not an octopus and was trying real hard not to get my fingers pinched, obviously I did not keep enough tension on the belt to keep it tight in the mule drive when I had my neighbor release the breaker bar. After having my neighbor release the tension slightly, I was able to get the belt back "straight in the groove". Honestly, I did not thinkt the $15.95 belt would last long so I did order a new CUB OEM belt and have not had to use it yet.
Two things came to mind. 1. The Cub dealer tech did the same thing I did during installation of the deck and caused the overheating and belt break. 2. I remember hitting a tree root with the front roller deck (new mower) and did not know how the deck would react to my landscape. I did not hit it hard but the deck did jump a little when I hit it and possibly?????? caused the deck to vibrate enough for the belt to slip slightly sideways on the mule drive????????
The Cub OEM belts have Kelvlar in them and are a much stiffer belt than the cheap belt I have on my GT at the present time so I suspect there will be a better chance for the belt to twist slightly in the mule drive during installation than my cheap belt. I also suggest not engaging the PTO on the deck until you have adjusted the deck to cutting position and also cut the PTO off before raising the mower deck to the top position. There is a lot of twists and turns in the belt that are just not the best of curcumstances for the belt but it does do a good job. So far, there is no excessive wear on the cheap belt and I did stop and inspect the belt if I hit anything with the deck while cutting and have not found any twists on the belt.
savageactor7
Platinum Member
hummm ordinarily I'd suggest the deck PTO drive pulley bearing is in need of replacement. But that usually just throws off the belt.
Maybe the quick disconnect bracket requires some attention. Here's ours that you can see two areas that I ground down so the belt wouldn't rub against it. Also consult the manual and double check to make sure the belt goes through the quick disconnect properly. If you do it the wrong way the the belt will rub and wear out prematurely.
Maybe the quick disconnect bracket requires some attention. Here's ours that you can see two areas that I ground down so the belt wouldn't rub against it. Also consult the manual and double check to make sure the belt goes through the quick disconnect properly. If you do it the wrong way the the belt will rub and wear out prematurely.