First off, if I'm breaking any protocol for the message board I apologize in advance. I'm hoping to get some help as a new home + mower owner. I have a 746 SRL Yard Machines 46" deck mower (Model # 13RL771H). I needed to replace the very highest belt (closest to the seat) which I believe is the PTO belt. The one I had broke and then the blades would not engage when I moved the PTO switch. It is the belt that goes through the forward most pulley.
After some confusion on which belt I needed (I bought one that was far too short), I ended up buying the Stens belt on Amazon which is listed as MTD 954-04142 and is 91.5". I found the routing for the belt in the manual and the image I used can be found below. I got the belt routed properly, at least as far as I can tell, and the PTO would engage.
However, I got the mower out into the yard and tried to drop the deck/blade length into setting "3". I could feel the PTO disengage and the blades stop spinning. I turned off the PTO, put the setting back in "5" and re-engaged PTO...the blades started back up. I decided to go one level at a time and the PTO/blades stopped running as soon as I went from "5" to "4". I had someone do that process while I watched underneath and kept an eye on the belt, but I couldn't see anything happen to cause the stop. Is it losing tension somehow? Is that even the right belt? Any ideas on other causes?
I was able to mow the entire yard in the "5" setting and it really never acted funny...but as soon as I got done I tried dropping it into "4" again and the blades stopped. I've never owned a riding mower so I have no clue what I'm doing, so any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
After some confusion on which belt I needed (I bought one that was far too short), I ended up buying the Stens belt on Amazon which is listed as MTD 954-04142 and is 91.5". I found the routing for the belt in the manual and the image I used can be found below. I got the belt routed properly, at least as far as I can tell, and the PTO would engage.
However, I got the mower out into the yard and tried to drop the deck/blade length into setting "3". I could feel the PTO disengage and the blades stop spinning. I turned off the PTO, put the setting back in "5" and re-engaged PTO...the blades started back up. I decided to go one level at a time and the PTO/blades stopped running as soon as I went from "5" to "4". I had someone do that process while I watched underneath and kept an eye on the belt, but I couldn't see anything happen to cause the stop. Is it losing tension somehow? Is that even the right belt? Any ideas on other causes?
I was able to mow the entire yard in the "5" setting and it really never acted funny...but as soon as I got done I tried dropping it into "4" again and the blades stopped. I've never owned a riding mower so I have no clue what I'm doing, so any help would be appreciated. Thank you!