I'm so needy. Pleas help me changed the drive belt on my 1993 320 lawn tractor

[nate81]

So I'm back....it seems I have to removed the PTO clutch to change the drive belt on my mower.....i went to Lowes today to buy an air wrench, but it requires 7cfm....but my air compressor only pushes 4cfm...so i didnt buy it. How in the heck can i remove the pto clutch to get my new belt on without jamming a rope down into my spark plug hole? I tried using a strap wrench on the upper pulley, but i just broke it. I'm starting to think i need to take it to my local JD dealer.

 

[beenthere]

Out of my territory of limited knowledge, but sure wouldn't think the clutch would need to be removed to put on the new drive belt.
Interested to hear more from others.

 

[4570Man]

Your air compressor can supply 7 CFM for a brief period. Once the tank is depleted you will have to stop and let it catch up. My cordless impact is one of the most useful tools I own although it's a lot more expensive than a cheap air one. Can you post a picture? I agree that the clutch shouldn't have to be removed. At least on any mower I've ever dealt with.

 

[nate81]

Out of my territory of limited knowledge, but sure wouldn't think the clutch would need to be removed to put on the new drive belt.
Interested to hear more from others.

Your air compressor can supply 7 CFM for a brief period. Once the tank is depleted you will have to stop and let it catch up. My cordless impact is one of the most useful tools I own although it's a lot more expensive than a cheap air one. Can you post a picture? I agree that the clutch shouldn't have to be removed. At least on any mower I've ever dealt with.

I don't have a fancy lift, so i'm doing this on my garage floor. Pics were hard to get at a good angle but here are a few...






If I hook one end of the belt over the pulley at the transmission (over the fan) the other end won't reach around the PTO cluch to get on the drive pulley (engine shaft pulley or whatever)....same goes if i reverse it. If i try to put it on the engine side first, it wont reach over the fan in the back.

I took a pic of the belt.....i bought it on ebay and the lister claims it fits my 320. Here is a link to the ebay page. John Deere Genuine Transmission Drive Belt M71135 245 265 285 32 Hydro | eBay

 

[JMER817]

I have a craftsman which I recently replaced the drive belt on. No way around it, pto clutch has to come off. Pretty simple just one bolt. Impact gun worked flawless. If you take it in remove the deck to save on some labor. I'm guessing the dealer would charge 1 hr rate. $90? Should only take 20 min though.

 

[nate81]

I have Shop Kobalt 1.8-Hp 8-Gallon 15-PSI 12-Volt Horizontal Portable Electric Air Compressor at Lowes.com for an air compressor....

Is it possible to buy Shop Kobalt 1.5-in 35-ft-lbs Air Impact Wrench at Lowes.com and use it to get off one bolt? $90 seems crazy to spend....

 

[Zebrafive]

I would remove the fan from the trans axle. I know this requires pulling the fender pan and fuel tank.
To go from the engine requires removing the PTO clutch. Even if you can get it off with an air wrench, you still need to be able to torque the PTO clutch bolt at reassemblely.
When I replaced mine (JD 285) I had the engine out for cam gear replacement. So I replaced the belt at the same time. Since I had my engine out, I also had the radiator off. I was able to hold the crank from turning by gripping the square piece the cooling fan (top of engine) bolts to.

I think you would rather pull the fender pan and fuel tank, than drain the cooling system and pull the radiator.

 

[Gator6x4]

Look for a electric impact wrench, or a battery powered one. https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n:228013,k:battery powered impact wrench

 

[nate81]

I would remove the fan from the trans axle. I know this requires pulling the fender pan and fuel tank.
To go from the engine requires removing the PTO clutch. Even if you can get it off with an air wrench, you still need to be able to torque the PTO clutch bolt at reassemblely.
When I replaced mine (JD 285) I had the engine out for cam gear replacement. So I replaced the belt at the same time. Since I had my engine out, I also had the radiator off. I was able to hold the crank from turning by gripping the square piece the cooling fan (top of engine) bolts to.

I think you would rather pull the fender pan and fuel tank, than drain the cooling system and pull the radiator.

I'll admit, i was a little concerned with my ability to retighten the pto clutch after removing it. I do have many years experience using air wrenchs but it was for building furniture in a factory....not really the same with metal, i'm sure.

So I'm taking your advice and i've somehow managed to remove the entire rear fender (including removing the pins on the hydraulic deck lever...i hope i remember how to put them back in lol) and gained access to the fan. I'm attempting to remove the fan without removing the gas tank, i think i've got a full 2.5 to 3 gallons in that piggy.

One of the 3 nuts is being a pain on the fan, so its soaking with a bit of pb blaster. As you can see i'm using my tiny little socket....i gave my good set to my brother and i'm only left with random sockets, and of course i dont have the right size. So i have to use my lil guy there.

pics are fun

 

[nate81]

Its a beautiful thing!~ So the fan came off, the belt slipped right on. Can someone help me with the routing now? I got it hooked around the engine pulley and the transmission....my owners manual is really lacking information.