Greasing a Woods/JohnDeere/Frontier GM1072R

logan70389 · Jul 17, 2013

Hey,
I have a Woods/John Deere/Frontier GM1072R grooming mower I got used. It seemed the unit had never been greased - so I carefully pumped in grease until it just barely started coming out the top (none at the bottom). After mowing a couple times the drive belt broke. Upon inspection I discovered that the entire area under the belt covers was covered in a light coating of grease and belt dust. It seems that after I started mowing, more grease oozed out and the pulleys slung it everywhere. Then the belt started slipping some (as it was now slightly greased) and eventually destroyed itself. Has anyone else had any similar problem? I cleaned it up and even cleaned the pulley 'v' with paint thinner - no grease there now. I'm almost scared to grease it now - especially considering I was so careful not to get too much grease in there the first time.
Thanks
Tom

YesDeere · Jul 17, 2013

I've got the rear discharge model. There is a big difference in belts. They sell a $20 one and a $60 one. Guess which one doesn't last a whole season. I can't remember if it is gates or not. Will look at the extra I put on the shelf when I get home. I doubt the greasing did it.

YesDeere · Jul 18, 2013

I was wrong. I have an extra for my 112L.

Do you think that belt was original? How old is the mower?

logan70389 · Jul 18, 2013

I know the belt was not original - as the unit it pretty old and the belt was pretty new. The belt looked in A-1 condition when I started.
I bought a PIX belt off of Ebay for $40. The quality looks good. I tried to find a Gates belt - but it seems the length I need (133.5 in) is not made

logan70389 · Oct 2, 2013

I thought I should post the resolution to the belt problem as others may run into the same problem - drive belt turning to dust and disintegrating. The mower had not been used in a long time and there was some rust pitting on the pulleys. I had smoothed this out with a file to the point I thought was more than adequate. My brother suggested mounting the pulleys on my drill press and smoothing the surface even more - which is a fairly large hassle. Without any other ideas - I did this and sanded the pulleys with 400 grit paper. This solved the problem - no more pulley dust. I would never have guessed this would have any affect as I had already smoothed the surfaces beyond what I considered adequate and they felt fine to the finger touch.