Mower deck bogs down to easy. Attach-A-Matic belt tension wrong?

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

There's definitely something wrong with your mule drive.  Did you possibly hit something with it?

 

Note how on mine the belts come pretty much straight out of the pulleys.

 

 

Take a look at the rod and the threaded axle that the pulleys are on, inspect for bends.

Is the V pulley on the inside, and the flat idler on the outside as shown?

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Jeff-C175

[the jeep driver 29]

39 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Hi. I meant a picture of your actual installed belt where it enters and exits the front mule. I just want to be sure that the pulleys there are aligned. My other ideas were to check the rest of the belt's route for things that can cause damage.

Oh, sorry!  Here is the new belt installed.  Mows great.  But it did Tuesday too... 

6 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

Looking at your pics, it appears to me that you've got some sort of alignment issue with that belt.  It should come out of the PTO pulley in a much straighter fashion.

 

I think I see the same problem at the mule drive.

 

Is something bent at the mule drive?  Are the pulleys on the mule drive in the correct order?  There are two spacers between the pulleys on the mule drive, thdy are different sizes are they in the correct position?

I know what you mean; the pic with the frayed belt, the belt seemed to track in toward the engine.  I don't see anything wrong with the mule, but to be honest, I may not recognize a bend that's not supposed to be there, unless there's an indicator.... cracked paint or something... RE: pulleys, the V pulley is on the engine side.  I'd have to take the mule apart to check the spacers.  I haven't had them off, and didn't know they were different.  I'll  get a picture of the whole assemble, see if the new belt is aligned better.  I did notice space between the new belt and the clutch, and there was no fraying when I finished mowing.  

[the jeep driver 29]

2 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

I'll post pics of mine shortly, there's definitely something wrong with your mule drive.  Did you possibly hit something with it?

I didn't hit anything, maybe one of the POs?  Or... my daughter!  She just started mowing last year....   But I doubt it.  I only let her do the open area of the yards and she's gotten pretty good.  I'll compare with your picture, thanks.

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

9 minutes ago, the jeep driver said:

I may not recognize a bend that's not supposed to be there

 

Let me see if I can get a quick shot from this same angle.  It does look like yours it too 'straight'.  It may in fact be bent.

 

 

Not exactly the same angle, but it sure looks significantly different than mine.  Almost looks like your 'axle' is straight out where it should come back, and down.

 

 

Here's another from the top showing the distance between the inner pulley and the machine

 

 

 

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

I've got another mule drive that's not mounted,  I'll go out in a bit and see if I can get some pics that might help you determine if yours is bent.

 

It's almost certain that the COVER on yours is in fact bent, but can't really tell if the pulley axle is or not.

 

 

[Handy Don 12,174]

12 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

I've got another mule drive that's not mounted,  I'll go out in a bit and see if I can get some pics that might help you determine if yours is bent.

 

It's almost certain that the COVER on yours is in fact bent, but can't really tell if the pulley axle is or not.

 

 

Thanks for picking up on this, Jeff! 

Seeing that frayed and worn side of the belt made me think something had to be off.

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

@the jeep driver

 

OK, here's a couple shots that should help you determine if the drive is bent or not.

 

The LONGER spacer goes between the two pulleys, the shorter on the outside between the flat idler and the cover.

 

Once you get the drive off, you'll be able to see if the shaft is bent because that shaft continues straight through the drive to the other side.  It's a fairly extreme angle, down and toward the back.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Jeff-C175

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

What's this pin hanging down in one of your early pics?

 

 

 

 

[the jeep driver 29]

12 hours ago, peter lena said:

@the jeep driver   how did you make out on your  mule  drive problem ? when you are setting that belt drive up can you easily move it by hand and verify tracking and ease of motion ? did you ever pull off the pto outer drive cone and lubricate the needle bearing in there ? needs a hi temp anti sling grease , or it will scatter to your clutch face . I  simply wipe the bearing clean and use a small amount of lucas xtra heavy duty chassis grease , also use that in my mule bearings and deck spindles , don,t use the , clutch break , the cone spins with no effort , no problem . also notice your deck carriage  hanger needs to be firmed up for solid square lifting ease . lubricate all related linkage points . your belt spin up by hand will show you how your belt is tracking , and also the effort to make it move . pete 

The belts move freely, at least as freely as they always have.  I think it's all good, except for the "pull off the pto outer drive cone and lubricate the needle bearing" part.  That's likely going to require a "how-to" video or write-up for me.  
Oh, and I don't know what you mean by the "deck carriage  hanger needs to be firmed up for solid square lifting ease ."  

[peter lena 8,589]

@the jeep driver  no problem , that pto outer cone easily removes , if you don't have a brake pad close to the side face . loosen the two bolts and remove the pad , with outer swing rod out of the way , the pto cone just easily pulls off . exposing the large needle bearing in outer edge of cone , carefully wipe out existing grease , and use a small amount of hi temp lucas grease , x tra heavy duty grease . 560 deg rated . the picture showed a gap on the end of frame carriage to deck mount . I washer up and grease all those points , making for quiet easy operation . last picture from @Jeff-C175 shoes brake pad to remove , left corner of pto picture. having done this on a number of horses . the bearing lubrication detailing absolutely makes this , set up work with total ease . every time I  see the picture , I  know the fix , nothing offended at all . good luck with it , pete

[tunahead72 2,411]

2 minutes ago, peter lena said:

... that pto outer cone easily removes , if you don't have a brake pad close to the side face .... the pto cone just easily pulls off ...

 

@the jeep driver  True, but also be aware it's fairly heavy, so be careful.

 

[squonk 41,040]

Mule does look too straight. And aftermarket belts work fine on these. I have a Napa green 4L belt on mine. I got a chunk of a stick wedged inside the pulley. It even got pressed into the shape of the pulley. Didn't even mark up the belt! 

 

 

 

 

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

16 minutes ago, squonk said:

aftermarket belts work fine on these

 

I've had no more trouble with aftermarket belts from Napa or TSC than I have had with genuine OEM.

 

Right now I think it's a TSC blue that I'm running and it's been on there for quite a few years now, still just fine.

 

 

[Bostman67 54]

I now have a WH 520H with a 60" deck. I got the deck attached but the belt seems to be much longer than expected. Is there a manual of belt routing. Is there a specific size belt I can purchase? Does anyone know the part number?

[peter lena 8,589]

@Jeff-C175  agree with that TSC blue belt , mine also years now , with no issues . smooth and solid , pete

[the jeep driver 29]

On 5/20/2022 at 10:04 PM, Jeff-C175 said:

What's this pin hanging down in one of your early pics?

 

 

 

 

That's holding the trunnion to the plate.

My mower is still working better than ever.  I still need to pull the mule off and compare to yours.  TBH, it's mowing so well now, I'm afraid of taking it apart.  LOL!  After 8 yards mowed after my last post, the belt is still tracking true.  

[the jeep driver 29]

 @Jeff-C175 Mower broke down, different issue, so I finally got the mule off and took some pictures.  Posted up next to yours, nothing is jumping out at me as being bent. Maybe the shaft that the two pulleys attach to... in the first picture here as I'm looking at in on my screen, it looks as though it's slightly bent up... but I went out and put a straight edge on it, the shaft seemed true.  (I may have to post an edited picture to explain what I mean, not sure I'm being clear...) 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by the jeep driver

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

32 minutes ago, the jeep driver said:

Mower broke down, different issue

 

Wha hap'd?

 

Looks pretty straight to me with the exception of what appears to be a possible manufacturing defect.  The 'stop collar' on the shaft looks as if it might have been welded on crooked, or maybe they missed a weld.  You can see that mine has what appear to be two welds opposed to each other.  I only see one weld on yours.

 

 

But... that shouldn't make any difference really.  

 

I would say that if it's working well now, don't sweat it.

 

 

 

[the jeep driver 29]

3 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

Wha hap'd?

 

 

I'm not sure... clutch froze is the best way I can explain it.  I'll post the whole story in another Thread.  Peter did tell me to lube that bearing, I was waiting for Fall or Winter... guess I'll do it now... if it's not ruined.  Anyway, I'll post in the appropriate place.  
Thank you for all of your help.