Unfortunately, I've thrown out the old belt as it was frayed and, in order to verify the amount of length I need it to be, I cut it so I could measure it easily, before disposing of it.
Ariens states it's the proper belt but even without the tension spring, it is impossible for me to put it on. The dealer is useless as they keep falling back onto Arien's recommendation and part numbers instead of acknowledging the fact that it just plainly isn't long enough to fit.
I was hoping for a miracle but at this point, I think I'll have to bite the bullet and bring to a reputable lawnmower repair shop and have them deal with it. However, I'm dreading hearing "This isn't the right belt!" from the man behind the counter. And after that, the conversation could go any number of ways.
This has been an incredibly frustrating couple of weeks as I've had to change the spark plug which was a huge saga of its own with it being quite difficult to thread in for some reason and its seemingly ambiguous availability. The old blade was almost useless as well. So counting the spark plug, the blade, and now the belt, I've spent a serious (to me) amount of money for the benefit of continuing to use what was previously working and I keep hitting walls all the way through.
But I'm a defeated man. I dread needing to eventually replace the belt again, however this saga ends. If I weren't between jobs, I'd seriously consider selling it at a loss and buying a different brand lawnmower. The amount of hours I've spent researching and driving to and from many many stores could have been better spent doing loads of other more interesting and fun things. Life's too short for this sort of nonsense. Rant over.
I thank you for your reply nevertheless.