Tag: deck belt wont engage

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Riding Lawn Mower Deck Belt Keeps Breaking

Are you mowing along and your deck belt starts squealing or smoking and then snap! Yeah….you just broke another one.

But why does this keep happening? In a lot of cases, it is the deck pulleys that are freezing up and causing the belt to slip. When they slip, the rubber burns off of them and before you know it, they break. There could also be some misalignment in the pulleys that is causing the problem or the belt could be routed incorrectly.

Remove the deck to check the pulleys for ease of rotation, proper alignment of the belt and proper routing. Do you have the correct belt for the riding lawn mower? Is it a good quality belt such as an OEM and not an aftermarket one? Some aftermarket belts are made from inferior materials and are not the exact same size as the original OEM one. Even a fraction of an inch can make a difference on some models.

If everything looks good, check the PTO pulley and make sure that it looks in good condition. Check the deck belt guides on the frame and near the PTO. They can come loose and cause the belt to rub. Are you installing the belt correctly around these guides?

If everything checks out and you still have a problem, visit our Locations page for a riding lawn mower repair shop near you.

 

Lawn Mower Repair Tips, Riding Lawn Mower Repair, Zero Turn Lawn Mower Repair

My Lawn Mower Deck Belt Won’t Engage

There are 2 types of engagement methods on a riding lawn mower. One is a manual lever and the other is a PTO or Power Take Off.

Depending on which one you have, they are completely different methods to engage your lawn mower blades.

The manual lever uses mechanical action to move a cable that is connected to a lever on the deck. This cable can break, bind or freeze up if it becomes rusted. The lever on the deck can also become stuck and not allow the deck belt to move to its taught position.

The PTO is an electrically activated device. You pull the knob and it provides power to the PTO assembly that is located at the bottom of the crankshaft. All of the safety devices must be in their proper positions for it to operate. For example, the operator must be seated, the mower must be in neutral or a forward gear. When the conditions are correct, the PTO engages a large magnet and then the belt will begin to spin the deck belt.

If either of these two systems are not working properly, contact a lawn mower repair technician in your area on our Locations page.