Dakota 70 #1 Posted July 20, 2018 Hello everyone, I just went and picked a snow blower (it’s in great shape) and a deck for $150 for the both of them! The guy even threw in a mule drive and pto belt! I’m planning on using them on my 1973 8hp 8 speed short frame but I’ve come across a few issues. The first problem is that the pto belt that the guy gave me is to long, I’m assuming because mine is short frame and he used the deck on a b100 which i think is a medium frame. Do any of you know what size pto belt I would need and if the same belt could be used on both the deck and blower? The second problem is that I put on larger than stock tires so they don’t clear the deck when I try to turn very sharp, would smaller tires fix that issue? My last problem is that end of the snow blower bar that connect under neath the flap that connects to the lift lever broke off right after the screw holes that connected it to the flag. Could I simply drill new holes and bolt the flag back on? The last picture is the price that broke off Incase my explanation wasn’t very good. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,022 #3 Posted July 21, 2018 That is a great buy...congrats. Others will be here to help with belt length, but I like to use a longer belt to get a measurement for the belt needed. I buy mine locally from TSC where they can be returned if the belt and sleeve are kept clean. The deck belt will be longer than the blower. The blower is missing one of the tensioning pulleys. It appears the forked plate on the deck mounting rod may not be hooked on the rod. This may be causing the deck to ride too far forward. The flag does not appear to be broken. I think the collar on the shaft is just a spacer to adjust the lift rod length. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #4 Posted July 21, 2018 Thanks for the help @Ed Kennell! The pto belt that I have is WAY to long so I’m not sure how I would use that to get measurements for a new pto belt. And it’s not the deck belt that I’m needing, its the belt that goes from the pto through the mule drive and then to the deck. The guy did tell me it was missing a pulley so I am aware of that but after furth research I have figured out that I also need the tension spring as well. And yes your correct on the deck, shortly after I made this post I figured that out and gave me a lot more steering however it still contacts the deck when I turn really sharp. It shouldn’t be that much of an issue but if it is then I guess Ill just put on smaller tires. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #5 Posted July 21, 2018 @Ed Kennell I did find a belt that kind of works however it’s not put on correctly. Would hurt the blower or my tractor to run it like this? I took of the 2 tensioner pulleys and ran the belt straight to the main pulley and the belt isn’t quite long enough to reach the pulley but it sits on the outside fine. I engaged and disengaged the pto a few times and it seemed to actually work fine but I want to check with someone more knowledgeable than me first to make sure it won’t damage anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,022 #6 Posted July 21, 2018 Please do not run the blower with this arrangement. The two pulley tensioner system is there to keep a constant tension on the belt. The solid system you have could overload the bearings in the PTO and the blower. V belts are designed to make contact on the sides of the belt, not on the bottom. In addition of the possibility of destroying the belt and the bearings, the blower will only be running at about half of its design RPM with the belt on this smaller diameter drive pulley. The blower will not throw snow very well at this lower RPM. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,033 #7 Posted July 21, 2018 Is that a 4-speed tractor that has had a 8-speed installed? I thought all 8-speeds in 1973 were a long frame. Garry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #8 Posted July 21, 2018 Ok, thanks @Ed Kennell that makes sense! I aucally got a rough estimate on the belt length for the blower mule drive belt. I used a piece of rope and wrapped it around the correct pulleys and then measured the rope. For the blower I got 66in which actually matched up with the belt length for long frame tractors so apparently that belt is the same regardless of frame size. For the mule drive belt I got 80-81 so it will be trial and error but at least I have a pretty close estimate to work with. And yes @gwest_ca I traded for a raider 9 parts tractor that had a 8 speed unidrive trans in it. I wanted the option of hi-lo range so I swapped it in. I took the larger tires from the raider and put them on as well. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,033 #10 Posted July 21, 2018 Long frame tractors use a 69" belt for the snowthrower Medium frame tractors use a 66" belt. Click on the picture Mower belts are on this page. Click on the picture Garry 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #11 Posted July 21, 2018 @gwest_ca thank you very much! Is the spindle belt the one that goes from the engine pto, through the mule drive and then to the deck? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjbaldwin51 4 #12 Posted July 21, 2018 Great Buy. I see it has the wings on, you might find that will cause a little to much snow for an 8 HP tractor. I have a c105 with that blower and it worked better without the wings. When mounted it on the 520H the wings worked out fine. Good luck. Bob 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #13 Posted July 21, 2018 @rjbaldwin51 yah I plan on taking them off, how did the c105 do? Do you think the 8hp on mine could handle very much? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,033 #14 Posted July 21, 2018 56 minutes ago, Dakota said: @gwest_ca thank you very much! Is the spindle belt the one that goes from the engine pto, through the mule drive and then to the deck? The belt from the engine to the deck is the drive belt. The belt on the deck around the mower spindles is the spindle belt. Garry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #15 Posted July 21, 2018 (edited) @gwest_ca it says that those lengths are for medium frames. Is mine a short or medium frame? Edited July 21, 2018 by Dakota Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #16 Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) So I got the deck put on and a new belt put on, when I first started mowing I wasn’t to impressed because it bogged down at everything even in first gear. After around 15min of mowing I realized the belt was smoking a little bit. I started playing with the tension adjustment on the mule drive and got perfect to were I can mow in 3rd gear and it barely hogging down. It only mows good when the belt is fairly loose, when ever it’s tight it starts to burn the belt and bog down. I also figured out that the belt guard was coming in contact with the belt on the mule drive so I took it off. I also put on smaller front tires because the ones I had on before came in contact with the deck. Edited July 22, 2018 by Dakota Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,033 #17 Posted July 22, 2018 16 hours ago, Dakota said: @gwest_ca it says that those lengths are for medium frames. Is mine a short or medium frame? Yours will be a medium frame. I think the last short frame was the 1968 Commando model. Garry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #18 Posted July 22, 2018 Thanks @gwest_ca, I just went yesterday and got a belt and it fits perfect. How well can I expect my little 8hp to mow 5-6in grass? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,033 #19 Posted July 22, 2018 It might complain but you can always take a narrower swath to reduce the load. The grass won't always be 5-6" high. Garry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #20 Posted July 22, 2018 @gwest_ca I went and mowed my sisters yard a few hours ago and the grass was pretty high and it just rained earlier today. I was very happy with how it mowed. I was in 2nd gear the whole time and it didn’t bog down the entire time. The only problem I’m having is the mule drive tensioner keeps loosening up after about 10min so I had to constantly get off and retighten it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #21 Posted July 23, 2018 (edited) Also does anyone happen to have the front tension pulley and tension spring for a early model 32in snow blower for sale? Edited July 23, 2018 by Dakota Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjg854 11,350 #22 Posted July 23, 2018 Put an ad in the Classified section in the Wanted section, you should get more respones that way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #23 Posted July 23, 2018 Ok thanks @rjg854 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota 70 #24 Posted July 23, 2018 @rjg854 I just went to the wanted section and there is no option for me to add a post? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,033 #25 Posted July 23, 2018 9 hours ago, Dakota said: The only problem I’m having is the mule drive tensioner keeps loosening up after about 10 min so I had to constantly get off and retighten it. Don't see a knob to adjust the tension. The parts list I looked at shows what I assume is a wave washer on the front side under the knob and a flat washer on the rear of the plate. That may keep enough tension on the adjustment bolt to keep it from turning on it's own. Glen has reproduced the knob but at present is recuperating from a medical issue. I am sure an announcement will be made when he is back up to speed. Third page down Is that a serial number on your snowthrower? That may date the unit. What is the width of the blower housing and the width of the extensions? Will look for the correct parts list. Garry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
