X320 mower belt keeps breaking.

[Pibster]

Most of the times I have a belt break before it痴 time it was caused by a sloppy tensioner mount that痴 letting the pulley run at a misaligned angle. I also run after market belts. The 160 long belt on my Grasshopper cost about $50 but the shorter belts are less than $20. I paid $12 for the pump drive belt on my Grasshopper. The belts on my Dixie chopper were about $15. Are you letting the belt guards fill up with trash? That痴 another leading cause of bent failure IMO.

I have noticed some grass debris around the spindle with the plastic cover but nothing too large. I'll have another look at the idler wheel to make sure it's lined up. The end of the spring on the idler wheel arm wore a groove into the metal so I switched it to the hole on the top of the idler arm bracket. Same result, broken belt.

 

[jgayman]

Make a friend. Tell him all he has to do is pull a switch and hit the reverse pedal and he wouldn't go through that reengaging nonsense.

Or... show him how to stick on a jumper like I have on my X500 and become a GOD.

 

[jgayman]

I have noticed some grass debris around the spindle with the plastic cover but nothing too large. I'll have another look at the idler wheel to make sure it's lined up. The end of the spring on the idler wheel arm wore a groove into the metal so I switched it to the hole on the top of the idler arm bracket. Same result, broken belt.

I have the 48" deck on my X500 and have completely given up on those plastic spindle covers. I would blow them out with the leaf blower after every mow and they would still get packed full of debris. I've had them off now for 3 seasons and the spindle area stays clean as a whistle.

 

[jgayman]

The JD fan boys don't understand that green isn't perfect.

Nothing is perfect. A machine is a machine and green machines use the same cheap parts in certain areas as do other machines.

 

[tomplum]

Yep, a worn idler bracket can contribute to a belt breaking if it allows the belt to get pinched. Question is, has this done this since new and possibly was there also a bend from something before you had gotten the deck. A weird thing that happens on the vee idler is that the bearing comes loose in the bore allowing the pulley to wander on the bearing.

 

[radios1]

Yep, a worn idler bracket can contribute to a belt breaking if it allows the belt to get pinched. Question is, has this done this since new and possibly was there also a bend from something before you had gotten the deck. A weird thing that happens on the vee idler is that the bearing comes loose in the bore allowing the pulley to wander on the bearing.

that wouldn't cause a clean break, though, you'd see signs of extreme wear..

 

[Pibster]

I have been breaking 1-2 belts a year since the 2nd year. It’s gotten worse this year (4). I replaced the idler wheel 3 years ago but I believe the rest of the bearings are original.

 

[rloeb]

For anyone following this thread: there's a known problem with the Edge 42" deck used on the X300 series. On the right hand ("passenger") side the height adjustment bolt is too close to the belt. On my mower, the belt actually touches the adjustment nut (when not running) if the mowing height is set to anything 3" or above. There's a service bulletin from years ago that instructs the service person to cut 1/2" off that bolt, which won't do any good on my machine. There's a YouTube video showing a fix that requires some complex welding. I have recently spoken to an attorney who intends to file a class action lawsuit against JD for what is obviously a design flaw that has cost owners thousands of dollars in replacement belts, but most of these mowers will be in the junkyard well before that can get past discovery.

 

[Diggin It]

Oh goody, millions for the attorneys, pennies for the users.

 

[radios1]

For anyone following this thread: there's a known problem with the Edge 42" deck used on the X300 series. On the right hand ("passenger") side the height adjustment bolt is too close to the belt. On my mower, the belt actually touches the adjustment nut (when not running) if the mowing height is set to anything 3" or above. There's a service bulletin from years ago that instructs the service person to cut 1/2" off that bolt, which won't do any good on my machine. There's a YouTube video showing a fix that requires some complex welding. I have recently spoken to an attorney who intends to file a class action lawsuit against JD for what is obviously a design flaw that has cost owners thousands of dollars in replacement belts, but most of these mowers will be in the junkyard well before that can get past discovery.

Please post that link, there's probably an easier/cheaper way to fix this, maybe adding an additional idler pulley to keep the belt away!..