20
Changing the Transmission Drive Belt
WARNING:
Be sure to shut the engine off,
remove ignition key, disconnect the spark
plug wire(s) and ground against the engine to
prevent unintended starting before removing
the belt(s)
All belts on your tractor are subject to wear and should
be replaced if any signs of cracking, shredding or
rotting are present.
IMPORTANT:
The V-belts found on your tractor are
specially designed to engage and disengage safely. A
substitute (non-OEM) V-belt can be dangerous by not
disengaging completely. For a proper working machine,
use factory approved belts.
To change or replace the drive belt on your tractor,
proceed as follows:
NOTE:
It’s recommended that both drive belts be
replaced at the same time.
•
Remove the cutting deck as instructed earlier in this
section.
•
After disconnecting the battery cables, remove the
battery and battery tray from beneath the seat.
IMPORTANT:
When removing the battery, disconnect
the NEGATIVE (Black) wire from it’s terminal first,
followed by the POSITIVE (Red) wire. Re-install in
reverse order.
Upper Drive Belt
•
Locate the transmission idler pulley on the upper
drive belt by looking through the battery tray
opening. See Figure 16.
•
Grasp the bracket and pivot the transmission idler
pulley toward the rear of the tractor to release
tension on the upper drive belt.
•
Remove the belt from around the transmission idler
pulley.
•
Remove the upper drive belt from around the
transmission pulley and the variable-speed pulley.
NOTE:
Slowly rotate the pulley counterclockwise to
roll the belt off of it.
•
Remove the upper drive belt by pulling it up through
the battery tray opening.
•
Reroute the new upper drive belt as shown in
Figure 16.
Lower Drive Belt
NOTE:
Proper removal of the lower drive belt requires
the removal of several tractor components. Read
through the following procedure prior to attempting it to
determine if you feel you could successfully complete it.
If you don’t, see an authorized MTD Service Dealer to
have the belt changed.
IMPORTANT:
Note the routing of the lower drive belt
around both the pulleys and the belt keepers BEFORE
performing the following steps.
•
Locate the variable-speed pulley through the
battery tray opening. See Figure 16.
•
Remove the variable-speed pulley by loosening the
hex bolt that secures it to the transmission. Use a
second wrench to hold the hex nut on the bottom
side of the pulley.
•
Slide the belt off of the variable-speed pulley as you
lift the pulley up and out through the battery tray
opening.
•
Remove the rear idler pulley from the double- idler
bracket while unrouting the belt from around both
the rear and the front idler pulley. Refer to Figure
16.
•
Remove the hex bolt from the center of the engine
pulley and gently lower it off of the engine
crankshaft. Be careful not to lose any washers or
spacers which may be found on top of the engine
pulley.
IMPORTANT:
When remounting the engine pulley,
torque the center hex bolt to between 38 foot-pounds
and 50 foot-pounds.
•
Remove the drive belt by feeding it from both ends
toward the front idler pulley on the double-idler
bracket. See Figure 16.
•
Reassemble by following the above steps in
reverse order.
•
Reroute the new belt around the pulleys, belt
keepers and keeper pins EXACTLY as the old one
was routed. Refer to Figure 16.
The drive pedal is properly adjusted when the hole
found in the double-idler bracket has approximately
1-3/8" of travel with ten pounds of pressure applied to
the drive pedal. See Figure 15.
Figure 15
Front of Tractor
NOTE:
View shown from above tractor.
Double-idler
Bracket
Idler
Adjuster Rod
Hole
1-3/8
”
