Mustang RZT Zero Turn PTO moves only slightly

[gammawen]

My wife was mowing with our Mustang RZT when it stopped moving. When you engage forward or backward it moves slightly but not even a foot. The belt is okay and on it's pulleys. When you push the levers forward/backward you don't hear that engagement noise very much. It's almost as if the bypass rods are pulled out but they are not. What should I be looking for? Thank you.

 

[BlazNT]

Check the belt tension pulley. Sounds like the spring came off or belt slipper over the pulley. Mine did the belt slip over pulley 2 weeks ago.

 

[Carscw]

I will also say look at the spring and check the belt at each pulley.

 

[gammawen]

First of all thank you for your response. I put the mower on blocks and checked the tensioner pulley and it looks "okay". I started the mower and engaged the levers and the wheels move but very slowly. Even thought the tensioner pulley is completely engaged the belt seems loose. It is wrapped around the pulleys correctly. I put a new belt on about a month or two ago and it's been working fine up to now. The dealer didn't have the Troy Built belt # but said he had a Cub one that was the same size. When I installed it seemed too small/tight but now it seems loose. In looking at the tensioner spring it appears the spring cannot pull any tighter. Is this belt stretched or something? This is hard to explain but should the belt be loose enough that I can pull and make it move across the pulleys without the pulleys moving or stated another way; should there be about an inch or more of play when you push on it at a point equidistant between 2 pulleys? When I installed it this was not the case. I hope one of those makes sense. It seems to me this could be the issue but I don't understand how it could stretch suddenly. I would think you'd notice slippage over time. Thanks again.

 

[BlazNT]

No the belt should have very little to no play. If you pull hard enough the spring should move with you pulling the belt.

 

[gammawen]

Ok, thank you. I thought that would be the case. I will look for a new belt. This has been very helpful. Thank you again!!

 

[gammawen]

Many thanks for your comments. It's so cool when you can get on a site like this, get some insights, and save a bunch of $$. I wanted to get the mower going for the weekend so I stopped at tractor supply. They had a generic one that was 57" (specs say 57.5 or 57.75) and it says it's made with Kevlar. That 1/2 or 3/4 inches means a lot; I had a devil of a time pulling it over the last pulley. The tensioner is now doing it's job and hopefully will for a while. I was really taken back by my newfound knowledge about Troy-built and Cub really being MTDs but I shouldn't be surprised based on the price. I've been mowing over 2 acres with mine for 5 years so I guess I'm on borrowed time. So I'll just keep on truckin' as long as I can.
Thanks again everyone and have a great weekend!

 

[BlazNT]

What always amazes me is that there is very little warning on this problem. Everything is working then its not. You would think it would slowly start changing speed as the belt wares down.