RZT Transmission Belt Replacement...HELP!

[RZT50 Rider]

I have a 2008 Cub RZT50. The tranmission drive belt came off and got pretty chewed up. Cut belt to easily remove, went down to CC dealer shop to get replacement. Followed manual instructions for replacing and installing. Problem: There is a anti-rotation bracket that is bolted and spot welded, extending off the botton of the frame that has a notched out groove that recesses into the Engine pully housing. One must loop belt over engine pully to the transmission drive pully however, there seems to be no way of getting pass this bracket. Even if you remove the bolts, the bracket is spot welded.

Anybody have any suggestions??? Grass getting higher and higher.

I hate to have to haul this thing in just for a belt change.

Thanks

 

[OldMachinist]

I looked at the service manual and it says you just put the belt around the pulley but I see the bracket your talking about and I think the only way your going to get the belt up there is to drop the PTO down. Using a impact wrench take out the PTO mounting bolt and drop it down on the shaft and then you should be able to get the belt on the engine pulley.

 

[RZT50 Rider]

Thanks Much Machinist...I'll give it a try. If anybody else has any ideas, I'd like to hear from you. Otherwise, I wil gvie Machinist's suggestion a try.

 

[RZT50 Rider]

Machinist,

I don't have an impact wrench so I tried a 5/8th socket with 1/2" drive. Bolt is 5/8ths hex. Real hard to break. A couple of questions....

1. It appears you have to brace the fly wheel to keep from turning when trying to break the PTO bolt. Is this correct?? If so I guess one would have to remove the flywheel cover and find some way to brace flywheel from turning.

2. Is the PTO bolt a right had thread? In other words, do you turn left to loosen bolt and right to tighten. On occasion, I have found some to be left hand threaded.


Thanks,

Rider

 

[OldMachinist]

There's no good way to hold the flywheel without removing the cover and having someone or something hold the flywheel that's why it says to use an impact, the blows from the impact loosen the bolt without spinning the engine too much. It should be a right handed thread. You might want to invest in a electric impact if you don't have an air compressor for a pneumatic one or ask around if a freind or neighbor has one you can borrow.

 

[RZT50 Rider]

That's what I thought about the impact wrench, will not spin the flywheel. Harbor Freight/Northern Tools, here I come....

Oh Well.....Departing for vacation this morning, grass will have to wait.

Thanks again Machinist!
Rider

 

[RZT50 Rider]

By the way folks, attached is a pic of the bracket (not mentioned in manual) giving me so much grief....just to change a belt. Hope you don't run into the same problem.

Wishing all a blessed day.
Rider

 

[OldMachinist]

Northern Tool has a 120v impact on sale right now for $67 with free shipping that would do the job.
FREE SHIPPING Northern Industrial Impact Wrench 120 Volt, 2100 RPM, 1/2in. Size, 235ft.-Lbs. Torque | Impact Wrenches | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[mokanman]

Rider,

I'm sorry I didn't see your post until just now. I just replaced my belt and though I went through **** I did not have to remove the flywheel. Please read my entire post, even if you do not have the same problem I had I think you will find this information useful and will probably not have to buy an impact wrench. My gut feeling is that you may not have read the fine details found in the owner's manual concerning the belt removal/replacement procedure. I've included a copy of that page from my manual at the end of this post.

It could be that your idler arm is "stuck" like mine was. That actually can be good if the square hole they cut for the breaker bar overlaps the pulley like mine does (no way can you get a breaker bar in mine without damaging the pulley). Because of that I had to remove the spring from the idler arm first (not fun). Then I had to pound the arm with a hammer to get it to move to a position where the belt was loose.

I later determined that the idler arm pivot bolt was too tight from the factory and a slight loosening allowed it to move like it should. Also, my idler pivot bolt is a regular bolt and does not have the grease fitting like the one shown in the pictures you displayed. I had to move the idler arm until the pulley was just touching the left transmission breather tube before the belt was loose enough to remove (it was still a b@tch 'cause the belt was still so tight).

The MOWER manual provides the finer details about this procedure not found in the repair manual. You have to first pull the belt UP over the engine pulley (counter intuitive, huh) that loosens the belt enough for you to pull it UP from the idler pulley and then up over each of the transmission pulleys. Then the belt is loose enough that you can pull it down from around the engine pulley. Some kind of wrong engineering went into this design, at least for maintenance purposes!

If the square hole on you idler arm is cut properly then you should be able to use a breaker bar to leverage the idler arm so that the pulley touches (or almost touches) that transmission breather tube. If you find you can't move the idler arm then you might check your pivot bolt and if it does not have a grease fitting then try barely loosening it from the lock nut, no more than a 16th or 32nd of a turn.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do next time, since my idler arm is now functioning properly and I can't get a breaker bar in there 'cause they cut the hole inside the pulley's diameter.

Mine is a 2006 model but I imagine yours is not that different. Here is the page from my manual that covers the removal/replacement of the drive belt:

 

[RZT50 Rider]

Mokaman,

Thanks for your post and suggestions. Yes, I did read all the fine and small print as indicated in your attachment. Still was unable to get around, over, under or through the PTO electric clutch anti-rotation bracket. I followed OldMachinist suggestion and removed the PTO bolt using a impact wrench and was able to drop and then install belt on PTO Transmission Pulley. One suggestion....after breaking the bolt loose, I would then suggest using a ratchet drive and slowing back out bolt. The clutch will drop slowly and you may be able to get the belt over the electric clutch without completely removing bolt. Makes it a lot easier to reinstall the electric clutch by simply retightening the bolt.

Reference the transmission tension idler arm... I too had difficulty getting a breaker bar in the square hole as the pulley partially covered the hole, same as you indicated in your post. My answer...I threaded a small diameter steel cable through the hole, wound slack around a piece of 2"x2" wood block approx 10" long and had my wife pull the idler arm in the direction away from the frame allowing me enough slack to get over the final transmission pulley. I found that treading the belt around the PTO pulley, then the right transmission pulley and last, the left pulley was easier then routing around both transmission pulleys and last the PTO pulley.

Worked for me and got the grass cut today.

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions to you and Old Machinist..

A blessed day to you both!!
Rider