Cadet 1220 losing power to wheels

[grahamk]

I bought a used 1220 that runs really well. When I first bought it there was plenty of power to the wheels (I recall telling my wife that I thought I could pop a wheelie on it). Over a few days of fairly hard use it has started to lose power to the drive wheels. The engine purrs right along, but the hydrostatic transmission has to be brought back to nuetral and moved slowly forward to coax it up even the smallest hill. I checked the belt and frankly it seems loose, but I could only find one place to adjust the tension (a wheel at the rear of the unit, right next to the hydro). I moved that as far as it would go to tighten the belt but it made no difference.

Is there an easy way to tell if my belt is slipping or the transmission needs work? There is no squeal like the belt is slipping, but this thing sure lost power fast, something is up....

Any tips greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Graham

 

[Fordlords]

There are quite a few threads on this forum regarding the problem you are having with the belt driven hydro slippage, many involve adjusting or replacing the belt tensioner components. There have been a few with problems within the hydro drive itself.

On the 1120 there looks to be a fixed idler up front and a spring loaded idler pulley that is just in front of the hydro in back. I would check that rear idler to make sure it is free and moving, and replace the tension spring part number 732-0429A to assure you have proper belt tension. A belt stretched beyond what the tension mechanism can give it for tension should be changed too, part number 754-3037. These inexpensive parts should eliminate the problem if it is caused by belt slippage.

Working on the hydro is much more of an issue, so let's hope its the tensioner.

-Fordlords-

 

[DmansPadge]

Like Fordloads mentioned.. it could be a belt that has stretched too much or a weak tensioner. My neighbor has an older Hydro Poulan that he doesn't even use anymore... but it has a problem with the tranny. If you ease into the pedal... it hardly works... but if you "jam" on it... it works just fine. He's never bothered finding the problem because it did work if you knew how to use it and he recently bought a new ZTR and doesn't use the Poulan any longer. Hopefully you just need a new belt.