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W07VH5 |
Belt drives three mower blades from a blade clutch in the rear. 5/8 v belt. It cracks at the seams and then fails spectacularly with chunks of belt missing all around. | |||
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| His diet consists of black coffee, and sarcasm.  |
If there is no sign of oil contamination, it sounds like poor quality belts. Misalignment of pulleys causes shredding, seized pulleys cause the snapping in two. | |||
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| Victim of Life's Circumstances  |
In 2008 I bought a brand new Grasshopper 226 ztr and mine was one of the early production new models. I had trouble with belts from day one, mostly throwing them but I broke a couple or three. Dealer was a personal friend and was trying hard. Turns out GH had gone with a kevlar idler pulley and when it got hot it would flex enough to throw the belt. Factory recall replaced kevlar pulley with a heavy steel one and my problem was solved. ________________________ God spelled backwards is dog | |||
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| W07VH5 |
I've used Stens for years and have never had an issue. I can see a poor quality belt only lasting a year but 3 belts only lasting between 1 and 3 weeks has to be something else. | |||
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Too clever by half |
Have you been using belts reinforced with Aramid or Kevlar? Any change in belt composition? Does your deck have a blade brake to check? Any belt guides bent or missing? Tried working the belt back and forth with mower off feeling for resistance, particularly under simulated clutch tension? "We have a system that increasingly taxes work, and increasingly subsidizes non-work" - Milton Friedman | |||
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| Member |
Only use belts for the mower the maker uses. A few years ago a belt broke on the snow blower and used the number belt in the manual for car and other use it broke after one use. Contact the maker for their belt. | |||
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| Muzzle flash aficionado  |
That mower is not the merrier.  flashguy Texan by choice, not accident of birth | |||
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| I made it so far, now I'll go for more  |
The first time I tried to cut the grass after we moved the belt burned up on my Deere. One quick call to the dealer and a couple days later it was as good as new. I didn't figure it was worth dicking around with it. Bob I am no expert, but think I am sometimes. | |||
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| W07VH5 |
I was trying to avoid this because all the local shops are two weeks out. The season will be over by then and I'm backed up already. However, it looks like I have no choice. I really, really don't want to buy a $10,000 mower for 2 weeks of work. They won't stick them this late in the season anyway and it would be 2-3 weeks before I get it. I ran the backup yesterday but it takes 3.5 hours to do a 1 hour job. I'll never get done before the snow starts. | |||
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Nullus Anxietas |
Is it possible the idler tension has grown too weak? That might result in constant micro-slippage of the belt under load, increasing heat significantly, thus premature failure. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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Member |
If your belts last three weeks, just go buy a couple of extra belts and keep replacing them until the season is over. Even if they only last a couple of days it will still be worth it. | |||
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| Member |
This is what I'd do, for now try a different brand and just replace them for the next 3 weeks. Then take it to the dealer when the season is over...... I don't know your budget or how busy your business is, but it might makes sense to sell the back up, keep this one for a backup and replace it with a new one for next season. | |||
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| W07VH5 |
It's crazy tight right near the end of the idler action. The dealer called today. They can't find anything wrong with it. I pick it up on Monday and I'll just put it back in service. I'll pick up a Toro brand belt while I'm there. In the meanwhile I've been using the backup. It's a walk-behind with a sulky. I'm using long forgotten muscles. | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
Are you saying the belt is crazy tight and the idler arm is nearly fully-compressed (for lack of a better term)? If so: That does not sound right to me. Belts should not be "crazy tight" and the idler arm should have a degree of freedom. Is it possible you picked up the wrong replacement belt at some point and have been repeating the mistake?
They're not looking hard enough or they're not putting the right guy on it. There has to be a reason this thing has all-of-a-sudden started chewing up belts. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| W07VH5 |
I cross checked the part number and had the shop do it, too. It's technically the correct belt but I did get them from Amazon. Who knows, they could be counterfeit or irregular or b-stock. My bill is probably already $300. I'm not sure I want to trust another guy on it. | |||
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| Dances With Tornados |
^^^^^^^ Did the belt come from Amazon directly or from someone else selling through Amazon? If it’s someone else selling through Amazon I’d bet it’s a counterfeit part. | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
Is there a reason you don't just order an OEM belt from an authorized dealer? I mean, hell, Mark, I don't even use my commercial mower for a lawn service, but I wouldn't be buying replacement parts for it off Amazon. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| W07VH5 |
The locals don't stock them. Never had a problem before this. I order a new one as soon as I use the spare. | |||
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| W07VH5 |
Depends on the order. I go to my history and click buy again and it's never come from the same place. | |||
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| Power is nothing without control |
This might seem silly, but we actually have more luck buying mower parts from eBay rather than Amazon. It has been easier to avoid questionable sellers for some reason. - Bret | |||
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