John Deere Proprietary Belts?

[Suburban Plowboy]

I have a JD 430 yard tractor, and it seems like I have to work on it 5 times a year. Every time, I learn something new about John Deere abusing customers by making things hard to work on or more expensive than they have to be.

This tractor ate its alternator belt, and in order to replace it, you have to drop the mower, remove the seat, remove the upper sheet metal, disconnect the taillights, disconnect the driveshaft from the engine, loosen the U-joint at the rear, dislodge the pulley from the engine, thread the belt through the gap and put it on the pulleys, and then do it all again in reverse. You can do it with the mower attached, but it's better to have the access, and removing the mower is a job that can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on how stubborn it is that day. I am half a day's work into an alternator belt change, and I don't even have the belt yet.

I was just told that I shouldn't use a v belt from Tractor Supply, because they are made for 35-degree pulleys, and John Deere deliberately makes its pulleys different (40 degrees) so it can sell fan belts to customers who are basically hostages. Does anyone here have any info on this? Is it true that a standard belt will not last? The factory part number is M800313, if anyone cares.

 

[MTGreen]

Gates (and competitors) make V belts in 30 degree, 37 degree, 38 degree, and 40 degree for many OEMs and angle is dependent on application and engineering principles. Deere is not in the belt manufacturing business (nor is any tractor manufacturer afaik) and so doesn't have proprietary belts.

Not to defend Deere's [recently generally crappy] business practices here, but what makes you certain belt angle selection was a business decision instead of an engineering one?

It would seem to me that if Tractor Supply is trying to cross reference a 30-something degree belt for a 40 degree application, the fault is with Tractor Supply here.

Did you look up cross reference belts from competing manufacturers Gates/Delco/Bando/etc. with the correct angle and length?
Then did you compare prices versus the Deere part number?

If it were my tractor and the replacement chore is as onerous as you describe, I would want the best quality belt I could buy so it would last as long as possible. I've had good luck with the Gates FleetRunner line that is designed for extended hard use in fleet maintained vehicles and that's likely the route I would go.

 

[tomplum]

Well, it certainly isn't an even sized belt nor is it pricey. John Deere Fan Belt - M800313

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

The belt's price is not the problem. It's cheap. Not sure why, given that Deere's parts are generally obscenely expensive. Maybe sellers just want to clear out NOS belts for a 31-year-old machine. It's apparently an ordinary plastic and rubber belt, not something fancy like Kevlar, so it was not expensive to make.

There are two problems. One is that after spending half a day taking the tractor apart, I have to wait for a package or run a one-hour errand and burn about $9 worth of gas. The second problem is that the tractor has other belts I may need to change eventually.

Tractor Supply's cross-referencing is not to blame here. Their site doesn't offer cross-referencing. I didn't find any useful reference when I went to the store. I have to go in and buy by size.

I think it was a business decision because I've had many vehicles, and their alternator belts held up fine in spite of having a different profile from John Deere belts. I can only recall having one other v belt fail during my long life. I don't think John Deere has discovered the secret to belt longevity. If 35-degree belts work in cars that rack up six figures in mileage, they ought to work in lawnmowers that run two hours a week.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't help being suspicious of a company that spends millions fighting Right to Repair and seriously expects people to spend $250 for a lawnmower muffler. They also make sealed hydraulic cylinders that can't be repaired without machine tools and welding. No excuse for that.

I paid nearly nothing for this thing, and I don't want to have to spring for another diesel mower, but it seems like something goes wrong with it about one in five times I try to use it. It was built to be sold, not worked on, so it has been a source of frustration.

 

[beenthere]

I don't find JD parts "obscenely" expensive. It's a myth that gets carried along.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

A $250 muffler is obscenely expensive. Plenty of other parts could be added to the list. Not a myth. Reality.

 

[oldtimer 66]

Here is a suggestion, but I don't know it it would work in your application. On one of the machine tools at the shop they would tie a new belt over the particular device as a backup belt. That is, they would replace the broken belt with a new one and also place a second new belt over the spindle arrangement but not engaged on the pulleys. It would be tied back out of the way but over the critical shaft so that the next time the belt belt broke the gear box and main shaft did not need to be removed to replace the belt. Just a thought to lessen your repair time.

 

[BravoXray]

My 1991 430 still has the original alternator belt as far as I know. I've owned it since 1993 and have put on about 900 of the 1100 hours it has on it.

 

[MTGreen]

A $250 muffler is obscenely expensive. Plenty of other parts could be added to the list. Not a myth. Reality.

On the other hand, the part for a tractor discontinued 31 years ago is still available for purchase. How many other brands can say the same?

 

[mrmikey]

That is, they would replace the broken belt with a new one and also place a second new belt over the spindle arrangement but not engaged on the pulleys

That is a very slick idea for a hard to replace belt.