D170 Mower Deck

[doxford jim]

Hi Guys,

I have a 2011 D170 rider mower I bought in August 2011. Today I was mowing when the belt tensioning pulley went flying out of the side of the deck and into the bushes beside where I was mowing. The tensioning pulley bracket failed at 85 hours without any warning
I spoke with the local dealer and of course they do not have the part in stock and have ordered one for me. It will probably be Wednesday or Thursday before I get it

While talking with the guy in parts today, he did mention that there have been quite a few of these brackets fail this year, so it is beginning to look as if this is a common failure (manufacturing defect). I was also told the parts were not too expensive at around $20 for the bracket and the same for the pulley (it got destroyed as well when the bracket broke).

Just thought any owners might be interested as it would be worth while carrying a spare bracket and pulley at those prices.

Thanks

Jim

 

[jinman]

I think the larger decks on these economy mowers are rife with problems. I seem to hear few problems with the 2-blade decks, but the 3-blade 48" deck and 54" deck have severe loads applied and the components break. I've replaced every idler pulley twice on my LA145's 48" deck because they were screeching or wobbling and also replaced one spindle because it broke. I bought 3rd party idlers off of eBay and they seem to be better because I've had no failures with them. The decks are just high maintenance. I'd recommend keeping at least a small idler pulley and the larger tensioner pulley in your spares. As you stated, they aren't expensive, but the wait is a pain. Having spares makes the repair go very quickly.

 

[Voyager6]

Hi Guys,

I have a 2011 D170 rider mower I bought in August 2011. Today I was mowing when the belt tensioning pulley went flying out of the side of the deck and into the bushes beside where I was mowing. The tensioning pulley bracket failed at 85 hours without any warning
I spoke with the local dealer and of course they do not have the part in stock and have ordered one for me. It will probably be Wednesday or Thursday before I get it

While talking with the guy in parts today, he did mention that there have been quite a few of these brackets fail this year, so it is beginning to look as if this is a common failure (manufacturing defect). I was also told the parts were not too expensive at around $20 for the bracket and the same for the pulley (it got destroyed as well when the bracket broke).

Just thought any owners might be interested as it would be worth while carrying a spare bracket and pulley at those prices.

Thanks

Jim

D-series parts must be a bit cheaper than X series. I just replaced the tensioner bar, bushings, screw, and assorted washers on a 42C deck and it cost me over $80. The hole in the tensioner for the bushing had worn to the point it was 25 percent bigger than the bushing and it allowed the bar to tilt and dig into the idler pulley below it. Replacement parts were a tight fit. Now, this deck had high hours (1600), so it was probably due. I had replaced every other moving part on the deck, except the tensioner.

 

[doxford jim]

Just an update to my "failed" belt tensioner pulley bracket.
I went to the local JD Dealer after talking on the telephone over the weekend. I was able to get both the bracket and pulley replaced under warranty (two years or 120 hours for the D170). The new bracket is slightly different design - being 50% bigger on the bent section where the failure occurred. This tells me that there have been quite a number of failures for JD to redesign a part. So, anyone who has a new 100 series rider mower, be sure to check out the mower belt tensioning pulley bracket if it is still the original part.
An aside to this, the parts cost just $50 including tax, for the three items ( new bracket, new pulley and new nut). At that price I bought an extra of all three items as it costs me $33 a round trip in fuel alone. I don't want to be held up for the sake of a simple part again. I doubt that this part will fail again and if it does, I will have a replacement on hand - cheap insurance for me.
Thanks
Jim

PS - When at the dealers I also asked about the K46 TuffTorq transmissions. The dealer said they had one in that failed after 160 hours and that the oil change with 5W50 synthetic oil is very much needed. Especially given that JD try to say that the transmission is maintenance free - NOT
(see TuffTorq Repairs by Lotsagreengrass " http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/164892-tufftorq-k46-repair-guide-pictures.html").