Lawn Tractor Belt Problem Update

[Pavel314]

Last September I wrote about the mower belt slipping off the drive pulley on my Craftsman lawn tractor. I discovered the solution quite by accident while I had the mower off for the winter.

There are two brake pads that hit the blade pulleys when you disengage the drive; these stop the blades' rotation instead of allowing them to keep spinning after disengagement. Both pads had deep groves worn through them, down to the metal on which they were mounted. This was just enough extra play to let the belt slip. I replaced both pads and now the belt stays put.

Paul

[dr.kimdempsey]

Is this an issue that can be easily remedied or does it require the skills of a technician?

[Pavel314]

No special skills required. First, remove the mowing deck from the tractor, which is fairly easy and described step-by-step in the user manual. The pads are stuck on pivoting metal bracket thingies which can be removed with a socket wrench; you buy new bracket thingies and bolt them back on. Fairly obvious what goes where, but there's a connector rod between the two that complicates things slightly. I did it without blaspheming or throwing tools around the basement.

Paul