new 54 inch deck belt rubbing (B7500)

[texblonigan]

I just put my new RCK54-75B (54") deck on my B7500 yesterday. Everything went well, and the deck is leveled both font-to-back and side-to-side. When I engaged the mid PTO, though, I notice that the single belt seems to be sloppy and "bounces" enough to rub the deck near the brackets that hold the removable covers on top. Also, it seems to have enough play that the belt rubs itself at the tension pulley. At normal mowing PTO speed, it seems better, but it still seems to rub in spots. The belt appears to be tight when it is not running, and from what I can see, the only real adjustment for tension would be the spring on the tension pulley, which appears fine. After just a few minutes of running it on the driveway, I can see "rubber dust" on the deck from the belt rubbing. Has anybody run into this? Is this normal? Should something be changed or adjusted? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[sandyc]

The belt should not be rubbing at all. Are you sure the belt is on right?
I think the dealer ought to fix/check it out

 

[popeye]

Sounds to me like the belt is improperly installed. Like it missed a tensioner pulley. There should be a diagram of how the belt goes on when the cover is removed or somewhere on the mower or in the owners manual. Make sure the belt is routed and tensioned correctly.
Mike

 

[texblonigan]

It looks like the belt is installed and tensioned properly. I searched the posts and found similar issues regarding BX2200 mower belts "wobbling". I wonder if this is just the same thing. The belt wobbles at low RPM, but seems better at higher RPMs.

 

[sandyc]

Been thinking about the belt issue and wonder if the mower was left out in the sun at the dealers for a while with the tension pulley engaged. If this were the case then there might be a distortion that is taking place. The mower guide says to release the tension over winter. What do the belts look like when you take them off. Maybe they are deformed and that is causing the wobble and the apparant binding....just a thought!

 

[theboman]

I think there's still something going on. Have the dealer check it out. Why ruin a belt, or bearing assembly...

 

[cchoate]

i had the same thing happen on a riding mower and it turned out to be a pulley out of alignment. By the time I figured it out, I had 2 broken bearings also. After I replaced the whole assembly, everything was fine.