I broke my SLT 1554 PTO Drive Belt

dandy1554 · Apr 11, 2009

Yup, broke the darn drive belt

, would someone be so kind and tell me how this comes apart. seems you can't get the belt on without taking the pto off and all the pulleys down

. What can I expect. I have repaired tractors before, many, but this seems a bit much!!!!
Thanks in advance; Don

CubUser · Apr 13, 2009

Since the drive belt is under tension full time I don't know why they thought they need those silly tabs to hold it on.... so, here are your options...

1) Cut off the tabs... I actually did this on a neighbor's mower, they are just 12ga sheet metal that's bent downward from under the motor and at first I tried to bend them out of the way, but that proved less than useful so out came the angle grinder and off them come in about 60 seconds... slipped the new drive belt on and was back in operation in less than a minute... didn't replace the tabs with anything... I told him if the belt comes off we can take some 1" angle iron and sheet metal screw to recreate the tabs and make them removable! But so far that hasn't been needed and that was over 3 mowing seasons ago.

2) Loosen the motor mounting bolts and tip the motor forward... I heard that this will give you barely enough room to slip a new belt on. Still seems like a lot of rigmarole just to replace a belt!

3) Take the PTO off... my neighbor actually was going this route -- after all this is what's listed in the service manual -- but, after soaking the shaft in penetrating oil for days/weeks and putting enough pressure on it with a puller to start distorting it... mind you this was on a tractor that was roughly a year old... so, he thought better of himself and that's when he called me over to take a look at it.

I firmly believe that taking an angle grinder and removing those silly tabs is a perfectly good long-term solution... it certainly makes future drive belt replacements less painful!

BTW his tractor had a standard belt, but the replacement was a kevlar reinforced kind.... which is probably why the first one wore out so quickly... you might check to see if the kevlar variety is available for yours too.

.

JTKub · Apr 13, 2009

There's nothin' easy about drive belt replacement on vertical shaft engine driven tractors- Cub, 'deere or otherwise. Cutting the belt guides sounds like an option for you. I'd prolly loosen the engine up before I messed with yanking the PTO, then again, getting the PTO off and applying some never seize will help you down the road. That bites that the belt broke on you. A well designed belt drive like this should last years and years. I know we never had to replace the belt on our 1992 JD GT262. It lasted forever on our ~1970 JD110 as well. Last I knew, Simplicity still offered lifetime drive belt replacement on their units. Of course they rarely if ever break.

Joe

diesel_nut · Apr 13, 2009

Here's my 2-cent's worth. Doesn't it have to cost more to make a belt-driven system than a shaft-driven one anyway?
Pulleys, guides, belts, brackets, etc vs a cheap, metal rod...........
Why do the shaft-driven ones cost more other than being more desireable?

CubUser · Apr 13, 2009

diesel_nut said:
Doesn't it have to cost more to make a belt-driven system than a shaft-driven one anyway?

Shaft drive needs 2 universal joints and a spline of some kind to compensate for movement... cost wise it's probably pretty close to belt drive, but it's also better suited for horizontal shafted engines.... also it seems to be one of those things they keep for premium or upgraded models... very much like power-windows/door locks used to be a luxury car item.

dandy1554 · Apr 13, 2009

Thanks CubUser, that is exactly what I'm going to do,cut the **** ears off. I'm a retired toolmaker so should be no problem, just a hard place to work in. Also my belt is not kevlar, but my new one is, the old belt has 8 almost thru cracks and 225hrs on the machine!!!!
THanks; Don

diesel_nut · Apr 14, 2009

It didn't come with Kevlar belts?

JTKub · Apr 14, 2009

diesel_nut said:
Here's my 2-cent's worth. Doesn't it have to cost more to make a belt-driven system than a shaft-driven one anyway?
Pulleys, guides, belts, brackets, etc vs a cheap, metal rod...........
Why do the shaft-driven ones cost more other than being more desireable?

That's a good question. The shaft drive on Cub 2 and 3K series machines just uses rubber/metal couplers to absorb a minute amount of misalignment. There's no U-joints. Then on the flip side, the PTO/belt setup on the horizontal shaft engines of the 2 and 3K series is a bit more complex and probably more expensive than vertical shaft PTO's?!?! IMO, one good thing about vert. shaft is the exhaust tends to be pushed down low, under the frame, taking the brunt of the heat out from under the hood. There's gives and takes to both configurations. I've got no issues with a more $$$$ well designed belt driven tractor, but with today's MTD/Cub, I'll take the shaft. (no pun intended)

Joel

micman32 · Apr 14, 2009

I don't think those belt guides do much. I was always having to put the drive belt back on my Craftsman. Was a real PIA!
Long Live Shaft Drive!

Michael