Repairs Drive Belt - LX289

I am new to this forum and seeking information on the replacement of a Drive Belt on a John Deere LX289.
I have owned this Lawn Tractor since buying it new in 2004 and never had to replace the Drive Belt.

I have searched on line and U-Tube for description of the process but found nothing.
If any members have replaced a Drive Belt on a John Deere LX289 unit I would love to discuss the process.

Thanks
George

Fairly strait foreward
Pull the deck off.
Remove the battery and either drain the fuel tank or put some gladwrap over the filler hole and screw the cap down tight.
put the brake on
put a rope around the front cross member
stand the mower upright this will make thing a lot easier to work on.
Take some photos now so you will know everything is back in the correct place.
It is a good idea to photograph each part as you take it off and then take another photo or the entire mower again.
Thus you have a step by step photo guide how to put it back together again and which bits go on what bolts.

The two pulleys on the clutch will need to be loosened to get enough play to get the belt past the belt keeper.
Usually both of them will need replacing so check them while it is up in the air.
The only "trick" is to undo the clutch plug and then undo one of the steering linkages as the belt is between them and the mower.
I like to pull the two clutch pulleys off first then there is enough slack to shift the belt around.
At the back of the gear box pulley there is a bolt that stops the belt from falling off when it goes slack. This will have to be undone
JD being a bit better than the rest of the mowers use captive coach bolts on all the pulleys but you might need to pop your finger on the back of them to keep the head in the square hole.

DO NOT TOUCH ANY SPRING

There are a couple of different set ups used over the years .
If yours has the tensioning pulley near the engine pulley the you adjust that so the belt will slip around the engine pulley when you push the belt with one hand & pull it with the other.
If you get this wrong, it is an easy adjustment with the mower on the ground.

Thanks; I appreciate your help and the detailed explanation.

If you want to get the best from your mower and intend to do the servicing yourself then go to the JD site and buy the maintenance manual for you mower.
It is around $ 40 as a download & $ 100 as paper.
It will pay for itself 300 times over.
Very detailed , step by step instructions , no jargon, no special tools , details on how to test every thing then how to fix what you find is wrong.
These are excellent mowers that die because owners think maintenance is no more than changing the oil & filters