jritsen 0 #1 Posted August 8 Hello all, Ive recently gotten a 518-h model with around ~400ish hours, after a little tinkering with the carb the motor runs and starts beautifully and my issues occur when mowing. I have gone through and greased everything and made adjustments to the belt tensioner and the trunnion accordingly, while mowing "regular" height grass I have no issues, when I get to some thicker stuff I hear a bit of squealing (sounds like from the deck) and notice the rpm of the blades drop and sometimes completely stop, may also be worth noting that sometimes some of the blades stop spinning and others keep spinning or other times they all just stop, if I wait a minute or so after sitting still they will all kick back on. The pto to deck belt continues to spin like normal and the motor is still running completely fine, and all the belts are in good shape so I am at a lost on what to do next. I know these have the self tensioning belt pulley system on the deck itself but I havent heard of any way to adjust this before. I have another deck I use on my 414 that works fine I was thinking about swapping over to see if the same issue occurs but I was wondering what advice I could get from here first before I dig deeper into the deck/spindles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adsm08 2,056 #2 Posted August 8 What kind of shape are the blades in? What about the spindles? Dull blades or any excessive play or drag in the spindle bearings can both cause this set of symptoms. Swapping the decks between the two tractors would be a very effective way to narrow it down to deck or tractor, problem should follow the part, but I'll be it's in the deck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TractorEd 633 #3 Posted August 8 Yeah, what ^^^ @adsm08 said. Sharpen blades and check spindles for drag. May need to grease them up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daveoman1966 3,751 #4 Posted August 8 The 'belt tensioner' you refer to. The tension idler --- the FLAT BAR --- MUST be free to 'float' to keep correct belt tension on all 3 spindle pulleys. My guess...there is dirt debris built up UNDER that flat bar---restricting its 'free floating' nature. Take the deck off the tractor...remove the belt cover(s) and inspect. Clean out any and all debris....Use a high pressure blow gun under the flat bar to clean all the sh__ out. DO NOT lube afterward.... Any kind of lube is a DIRT MAGNET. Silicone is prolly OK to use. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,170 #5 Posted August 8 (edited) If the two outside blades stop and the center keeps turning, the deck belt tensioner is not keeping the deck belt tight. Clean the slider and/or get a new spring. If they all stop and the PTO drive belt is still moving, the belt is slipping on the center deck pulley. Adjust the mule drive to tighten the belt. Oh, to the Edited August 8 by Ed Kennell 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jritsen 0 #6 Posted August 9 Thanks for the quick replies everyone, I will look into cleaning that area and potentially replacing the spring (do they still make them or does anyone know of an easy to get replacement?). The spindles dont seem to have any excessive drag and spin fine when I turn them by hand, they are pretty quiet when the deck does work so I do not think anything is wrong with them, however, I will sharpen the blades as they are getting dull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skwerl58 704 #7 Posted August 9 My deck had a similar issue and the deck idler pulley bearing was shot. Replaced the pulley, new belt, cleaned and lubed the bar and been good since. You will figure it out and learn a lot while doing it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peter lena 8,625 #8 Posted August 9 @jritsen personally think , with that hydro unit , you are over running the deck with GROUND SPEED and very possible , deck discharge clogging , cut at highest setting ? also when sharpening blades , try to MINIMISE METAL REMOVAL . personally like a fine flat file , lubricant , on the other hand if blades are rough , might have to replace . that spindle set up , requires regular maintenance, every movement point , should be smooth / quiet / easy . that TENSION IDLER bar will tell you of related movement hang ups , with buzzing movement , any related drag will make the spring slide action , react , thats a low hr unit , experiment with ground speed / effect for use . slow it down , highest setting , will ENHANCE DISCHARGE / CUTTING , pete Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,170 #9 Posted August 9 In addition to all the suggestions above, it would be a good tie to check the front to rear deck level. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
