I have a 5 year old 20hp Craftsman tractor with 46" mowing deck (please keep the Crapsman jokes to a min ;-)
I replaced the primary belt about 1/2 season ago. This season I have been getting a lot of slippage in thicker grass. The belt seems too loose and the blades can maintain speed in the thicker grass (even going real slow with the deck raised to an unreasonable height). I never had this problem in the past. Is it possible that the belt has stretched already? Is there some kind of adjustment that can be made to tighten the belt?
The replacement belt was from Sears and is the correct one.
Belts are not all that pricey. For a first attempt at correcting the problem, (assuming that there are indeed no tension adjustments) get an exact measurement of your present belt. Buy a replacement at a farm supply store that is 1" shorter. Install and run it. Odds are it will work fine and you now have a better source for future replacements. HTH
Check the idler pulley. It is spring loaded and it's purpose is to maintain an even tension on the belt. While you are under there, check all the pulleys for wobble. After 5 years it is likely that one or more need replacing.
Correct and WAAAAY overpriced. Do yourself a favor and start buying them at an auto/farm store where they are about 1/4 Sears' price. The Sears belts are often an oddball size - like 83 1/2" - to assure Sears of never ending cash cows. Just buy one in an even size 1/2" smaller if necessary.
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I always had the impression that Sears was a ripoff on parts but when replacing a garbage disposal and pricing all the little add-ons with prices at Home Depot discovered Sears prices were half or less. I'm talking about the little nozzle where the dishwasher hooks in.... that kind of thing.
Slipping belts after a belt change aren 't unusual. Most of the other suggestions I see seem reasonable. I'd like to add that it might also be the surface of the belt, or the pulleys, allowing it to slip. A few drops of oil, lots of thngs can make a belt slip. I can 't think of the name of it right now, but stop by your local automotive or small engine shop and ask for the stuff to make belts "sticky". The tube I have right now had a really unique name: NoSlip Belt Treatment For Longer Belt Life and Ultra Reliable Performance. Can't read the brande, though; it's old. It's cheap and works wonders. I use it all the time; lawn tractors, drill press, grinder, etc.. It comes in a couple of forms; sometimes a "stick" you rub on the business surfaces of the belts, and also in a tube that you can "drip" onto the running belts. Some places will try to give you "belt dressing", the stuff to make belts run quieter; that's NOT what you want. That stuff will actually make them slip worse!
HTH Pop
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