Kubota L245DT Fan Belt Problems

[IHDiesel73L]

I'm trying to help my 81 year old neighbor with his old Kubota L245DT. It's a '78 or '79. The tractor itself runs great and has no issues except for the fact that apparently for only one or two years, Kubota built the tractor such that in order to change the fan belt (driven from the crank pulley it drives the water pump and the alternator) you need to take the front hydraulic pump off and disassemble the entire front end. Inconvenient, but doable. However in this case, the local Kubota dealer advised him that there is some kind of brass coupling on the crank pulley between it and the front pump. Apparently it is very common to break it when attempting to remove the pump on a tractor this old and Kubota no longer makes the part. The fan belt broke about a year ago and we've been trying different types of adjustable belts with limited success-they all seem to break after about 4-5 hours of use. Has anyone run into this problem before and either found a reproduction source for the coupling or found an adjustable belt that will last?

 

[ptsg]

That must be a hydraulic pump for an aftermarket loader, right? They don't come from factory with a pump mounted on the crank pulley.

On the other hand, an adjustable belt should last longer than that. Is the water pump and alternator rotating nice and free? No binding or weird noises.