Thought Jacey was talking about me....

jwstewar

Senior Member
Staff member
On Jacey's thread about complications from extreme mowing, I thought he was talking about me.
The grass had gotten really high because of all of the rain we've had here lately. So I used the MMM on the TC24 and mowed it last weekend. The cut looked like crap because it was so tall. Monica went down to here Mom & Dad's house on Friday to spend the night for a viewing and funeral and Saturday. I start to mow Friday night. Made it about 20'. The belt came off the mower deck. I assumed I had stretched it the prior week. I took the deck apart and put it back on - of course, that is easier said then done. I start mowing again. Made it about 10' this time, the belt broke. I immediately call Monica and tell her to pick me up a belt the next morning - she was in Jackson and that is where the dealer is located. So since I'm done mowing with the tractor I get my new push mower out that I bought last year because the wheel on the old one broke and I can't find one to fit it. I start mowing around my pine trees. Then all of a sudden the mower starts smoking. One of the tree limbs knocked the oil filler cap off. Bent the dip stick and slung oil every where. Figured at that point, I after breaking 2 pieces of equipment, I wasn't moving on to the Echo string trimmer and break it too - errr three. Next morning I loaded up the tractor and went into Mom's to do a little bit of clean up where I took down so dog kennels and till the ground from an taking down an above ground pool. As I was unloading the tractor. I also noticed the belt took out the tensioning spring on the mower deck. It went from about 4" long to about 10". Had to make another quick call as it was then 11:20 for the FIL to run to the dealer to get the spring before they closed at 12:00. Great dealer, I called them and they had the spring ready for him to pick up when he got there. All-in-all $68 for the belt and $2X something for the spring, almost $100 and now I get to take the mower deck off the tractor and put the new belt on it. Guess while I have it apart, I'll change the oil in the gear box.:bonk:
 
I wonder if you have bearing (s) going out on the deck? That will sure make belts come off and also tear them up.When I replaced them on the JD, they were pretty simple to replace. See if they wobble any when you put the new belt on. bordercollie
 
I wonder if you have bearing (s) going out on the deck? That will sure make belts come off and also tear them up.When I replaced them on the JD, they were pretty simple to replace. See if they wobble any when you put the new belt on. bordercollie

Obviously, I'll check them when I put it back together, but I don't think so. I think it was just the age of the belt (3 years) and the fact I work it so hard last time mowing. Then once I slung it the first time, I think it actually slit the belt. I saw a snag on it, but thought I could nurse it until I made it to the dealership. Guess not. Can't complain a whole lot. Tractor is 8 years old and I can't remember if this is the 2nd or 3rd belt I've put on it. I'm thinking 3rd, seems like about every 2 - 3 years or every 200 or so hours mowing time.
 
Well BC, I am afraid you might be right. I ran it last night for probably 90 minutes and then it threw the belt again. On a field trip w/ 4-H today, so I'll tear into it again tomorrow.
 
The JD332 also has a nylon bushing on the tension arm which will gradually wear out and allow for slackness in the belt. but not sure about your machine. bordercollie
 
I think I found the problem. The idler pulley that is used to adjust the tension on the belt must have taken a "hit" when the belt broke. It had a slight bend in it. Not sure if it would have let the belt come off, but I used a hammer to beat it back into shape. You can see the before and after pics. Before I took this pulley off I spun it by hand. It spun very freely and smooth except for the bend. I also notice just a bit of play in the tension arm. So When I put it back together I tightened that up a bit. Then I also put just a bit more tension on the belt as I think it may have been just a tad loose. Then lastly, if you read the other thread where I said I "sheared some bolts" I did some measuring on the pulley on the gear box. That pulley was riding a bit low. It was about 7/8" vs. everything else right at 1 1/16". So I took the gear box off and read adjusted the pully up a little bit. Put it all back together and then proceeded to mow some very tall grass (between breakdowns and the rain, this was only the second time mowing it this year), and it ran fine for probably 3 hours or so. I'm feeling pretty good about it, but I'll feel better after the next complete mow.

The first 2 pictures show the pulley before straightening and the second 2 are after.
 

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Just wanted to say, I'm happy to report, once I got everything back together, I've had no more issues with the mower deck. Looks like my fixes all worked.
 
Boy it did take a hit. :eek:
Congrats on your fixes all working. :clap: :clap: :clap: Way to go!!!!
 
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