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Hey guys, a while ago my idler pulley bolt on my riding mower got loose and bent the other way which caused the idle pulley to wobble from side to side, which started to shred some belts. So I took the deck off, beat the bolt back straight with a hammer, and applied JB weld all around the seams. It worked at first, then when mowing the whole pulley fell off the deck, bolt included.

So now I'm looking at a hole where the bolt was and I'm not too sure what to do. Should I try to get a new bolt with a bushing since it has to slide into the pulley? Should I just try to spot weld the old bolt back on? I was also thinking just drill it out the next size up and thread a new bigger bolt in there. Only thing I'm not sure about is how to have a bushing on top the idler pulley rest on. If there's anything else I might be able to do without a welder please let me know since I would actually have to have someone weld it for me since I don't have one. Without further ado, the pics







Any replies would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

I can't see your pics....I don't know if others can.:frown:

WELCOME to LMF...

Post your pictures using the "Manage attachments" link below the reply to thread link...

Also include the JohnDeere model and deck size, you are working on... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

WELCOME to LMF...

Post your pictures using the "Manage attachments" link below the reply to thread link...

Also include the JohnDeere model and deck size, you are working on... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

Yes, you can click this button also to do it:

I hope you solve your problem!
-lmf

Chowder Head said:

Hey guys, a while ago my idler pulley bolt on my riding mower got loose and bent the other way which caused the idle pulley to wobble from side to side, which started to shred some belts. So I took the deck off, beat the bolt back straight with a hammer, and applied JB weld all around the seams. It worked at first, then when mowing the whole pulley fell off the deck, bolt included.

So now I'm looking at a hole where the bolt was and I'm not too sure what to do. Should I try to get a new bolt with a bushing since it has to slide into the pulley? Should I just try to spot weld the old bolt back on? I was also thinking just drill it out the next size up and thread a new bigger bolt in there. Only thing I'm not sure about is how to have a bushing on top the idler pulley rest on. If there's anything else I might be able to do without a welder please let me know since I would actually have to have someone weld it for me since I don't have one. Without further ado, the pics

Any replies would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

CAN'T SEE PICS:frown:

Hey guys sorry about that! I uploaded the pics via attachment, hopefully you can see them now.

The model I have is a Scotts manufactured by John Deer, with the Kohler 17.5 horsepower engine. Part number is L17.542, under Scotts I believe. The deck is 42in.

Thanks!

Chowder Head said:

Hey guys sorry about that! I uploaded the pics via attachment, hopefully you can see them now.

The model I have is a Scotts manufactured by John Deer, with the Kohler 17.5 horsepower engine. Part number is L17.542, under Scotts I believe. The deck is 42in.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

The way it looks you could get another bolt the same size and some bigger washers and fix it. Just make it like a metal sandwich (big washer deck big washer) then bolt eveything back the way it was.

slammed has outlined a good fix... other than that you need to weld a steel plate in there. :smile:KennyV

The only thing I'm not grasping is what do I do about the bearing the pulley rests on? The second pictures shows a good shot of it, it's the smaller bearing piece that's above the one covered in what looks like the brown goop located at the base of the bolt. The bolt itself is smaller than the pulley and the only way the pulley rests and can spin is because of that bearing. If I just have a bolt sticking straight up, it'll probably be too small in diameter anyway and even if it isn't, I'm guessing the threads spinning around the pulley would eventually cause some damage over time.

Any tips about that? Hopefully my explanation made sense ha. Thanks again everyone!

Chowder Head said:

The only thing I'm not grasping is what do I do about the bearing the pulley rests on? The second pictures shows a good shot of it, it's the smaller bearing piece that's above the one covered in what looks like the brown goop located at the base of the bolt. The bolt itself is smaller than the pulley and the only way the pulley rests and can spin is because of that bearing. If I just have a bolt sticking straight up, it'll probably be too small in diameter anyway and even if it isn't, I'm guessing the threads spinning around the pulley would eventually cause some damage over time.

Any tips about that? Hopefully my explanation made sense ha. Thanks again everyone!

Click to expand...

Well as I said before you get a new bolt and bigger washers but a washer on the bolt run it through the deck then put the other washer on top of the deck then put the bearings or bushings back in the order they are in in the pic back on the bolt.

you can get a flange bushing or flange bearing for your pulley if the bearing you have is damaged.
You can also get pulleys that have bearings already in them...
Post a picture of the pulley, lets see what else you have.
Slammed solution to give you a mounting stud will work... you just have to mount the correct hardware on that stud to end with a working piece.... :smile:KennyV

Appreciate it slammed and all. I can visualize the setup you're suggesting but what I'm still having trouble is how to attach the bearing to the bolt so it can ride on the bearing in the pulley. Hopefully these pics will help. The first one shows the bearing that is in the pulley already, second one shows how the bolt is supposed to look from the top, and the last two show how the bolt and its bearing fitting snug in the bearing on the pulley.

Thanks again all! I've spent so much time on this damn mower and finally have it running well mechanical so it's killing me that I'm not able to mow.

Chowder Head said:

Appreciate it slammed and all. I can visualize the setup you're suggesting but what I'm still having trouble is how to attach the bearing to the bolt so it can ride on the bearing in the pulley. Hopefully these pics will help. The first one shows the bearing that is in the pulley already, second one shows how the bolt is supposed to look from the top, and the last two show how the bolt and its bearing fitting snug in the bearing on the pulley.

Thanks again all! I've spent so much time on this damn mower and finally have it running well mechanical so it's killing me that I'm not able to mow.

Click to expand...

What you show does not look like a bearing on the bolt it is more like a spacer. It is there to keep the pulley off the deck it should come off. Put it in a vice and tap the end of the bolt threads and see if it will then reuse it on new bolt. If that don't work you can always find a bushing to go in the pulley and stack some washers the size of the bearing up against the new bushing to keep it off the deck. Just make sure it is the same height off the deck as it would be with the old stuff there.

Like he said... it's a bushing spacer... and you can use hardened washers to move the pulley up...
Most important when mounting that pulley, be sure that the inner race of the pulley bearing is captured by the mounting bolt. (inner race firmly attached to the deck, outer race firmly attached to the pulley).
If you can't remove the old bushing, you can get one at almost any hardware store... but keep it short enough so the inner bearing race is firmly attached to your new mounting stud.
you should be ready to mow once you mount the pulley. :smile:KennyV

Look here: find a bolt that the shoulder fits inside the bearing, run it down thru the top of the pully instead of up from the deck. This will put the threads down. Then use slams washer method with the nut on the under side of the deck. If bushings are needed, tractor supply sells small tubing you can cut to whatever size you need for either side of the bearing. It may end up being something like: bolt head, bushing, bearing, bushing, washer (big diameter) deck material, washer (also big diameter) nut.

KennyV said:

be sure that the inner race of the pulley bearing is captured by the mounting bolt. :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

Exactly. The inner race must be held by the shouldered bolt so it doesn't rotate . That's the purpose of the shouldered bolt and what ever came off of the threaded portion of the bolt we don't see . Any replacement must be like the shouldered bolt and its function .

The problem is on the bottom end where it broke out of the pitiful engineering design and if one could weld a threaded stub to the bottom end of the shouldered bolt and install it with a flat washer on each side to sandwich the tin it might work for awhile .

When using washers to capture bearing races And to make a new mounting surface, always use a grade 8, hardened washer... anything softer will fail either by bending or extruding out of shape. Grade 8 washers or machined hard spacers will hold up.
Ideally you would have a heavy plate welded back into the deck... but if you do the sandwich method using all grade 8 pieces, (bolt, washers & nuts)... it should work. :smile:KennyV

The information provided in the thread was very helpful. After trying to find a bushing that would fit within the pulley I broke down and contacted a machine shop to have them reproduce a piece that could be bolted on. A few minutes after I dropped the piece off to the shop I received a call back from the John Deere dealer indicating that they now have a replacement part for the idler pulley bolt. Apparently they had a lot of complaints from clients who had to replace the whole deck after breaking the bolt. The John Deere part number for the bolt on replacement piece is GY20718. It was about $89 with tax.

If you need more and your mower shop is closed.

New John Deere Mower Deck Idler Bracket Repair Kit L100 L110 L108 LA110 LA105 | eBay

Lindenca said:

The information provided in the thread was very helpful. After trying to find a bushing that would fit within the pulley I broke down and contacted a machine shop to have them reproduce a piece that could be bolted on. A few minutes after I dropped the piece off to the shop I received a call back from the John Deere dealer indicating that they now have a replacement part for the idler pulley bolt. Apparently they had a lot of complaints from clients who had to replace the whole deck after breaking the bolt. The John Deere part number for the bolt on replacement piece is GY20718. It was about $89 with tax.

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I get mine at tractor supply

That's even better.............. There's tractor supply's almost everywhere.

Carscw said:

I get mine at tractor supply

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