Belt Cracking? After only 50 hours

Hi All, Eh...

I have a new Hustler Fastrac SD that I purchased this year. I only have 50.8 hr., the belt came of. So while looking on how it goes back on, I noted on how many cracks the belt had. My question to you all is how long should the belt last? What Causes it to Crack? I know the unit was sitting in a crate for up to 3 year prior to me getting the unit, could it be old? Since this is not my fault, any chance this is a warranty issue? I know it comes with a 600 hr. Warranty.

I have only washed the deck once, and found out at this forum " that is not what you should be doing."

Thank you in Advance.

Cheers,

Neetan

I would be of the opinion that 3 years of sitting (especially if outside) would not be good for the life of the belt. Heck alot of oem tires weathercrack in 4 to 5yrs nowadays. As for the warranty hopefully your dealer can slide one through for you.
Technically it's probably really not a defective part...... at the very least he should be willing to sell it to you at cost if he can't get a warranty through?

Assuming you are referring to the deck drive V belt. Usually belts are not a warranty item and sometimes excessive heat will cause a belt to harden and crack.
All of the pulleys that the belt travels around are suspect as there may be a bearing problem. Also a slipping clutch will buildup heat and high temps causing the belt to overheat. The belt itself may not be warranted, but the cause of it's premature failure could be a warranty repair if correctly diagnosed.