Replacing Trans drive belt on Horse XP

[bucknbass]

I'm trying to replace the drive belt on my Horse XP. I have the battery out and can see the inout shaft nut I need to remove so I can get the pulley out and ultimately the belt (I hope...) but the pulley turns freely and I can't get the nut loose.

What's the trick?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mechanic mark]

http://service.mtdproducts.com/Training_Education/769_06667_700_series_riders.pdf

Check drive belt idler pulley bearings for wear so you can eliminate them as a possible problem in the near future.

 

[bucknbass]

Thanks Mark! My Horse looks different underneath as it has a cooling fan type of deal on top of the input shaft pulley. The nut that sits on top of that fan is the one I'm having difficulty getting off. I can take a picture of it tomorrow and post.

 

[bertsmobile1]

mark's response was assuming you had a varidrive.
If you have a fan then you have a hydro drive
Put the brake on then slip the belt off the engine pully followed by the tranny pulley.
You may need to remove the engine pulley or engine pulley belt keepers and on some models you need to remove a keeper on tranny.

 

[BlazNT]

Take pictures first.

 

[bucknbass]

mark's response was assuming you had a varidrive.
If you have a fan then you have a hydro drive
Put the brake on then slip the belt off the engine pully followed by the tranny pulley.
You may need to remove the engine pulley or engine pulley belt keepers and on some models you need to remove a keeper on tranny.

Exactly - thank you! Is there a service PDF for the Hydro Drive as there is the one above in Mark's post for the Vari Drive?

I set the parking brake but the input shaft pulley still spins and I unfortunately still can;t get the nut loose to get the pulley off and ultimately free the belt.

 

[bertsmobile1]

OK.
I stand the mowers up on their bums after dropping the deck, draining the tank & removing the battery.
It makes things a lot easier when you can see everything in front of your face without geting a face full of dead grass.
Set the parking brake and slip the belt off the drive pulley.
you can leave it between the drive & Deck pulleys for the time being.
This will give you enpugh slack to slip the belt off the tranny.
I generally slip the belt between two fan blades and rotate the input pulley the remove the belt.

You can now release the brake to take spring pressure off the clutch pulleys as you will have to remove them to get the belt past the belt keeper.
There will now be enough slack to remove the belt from the engine pulley completely.
Check the two idler pulleys for wear, particularly for thinning of the flange and of course the bearings for smooth & quiet rotation.
On some Troy builts you will also have to remove the gear from the bottom of the steering stem and push it up if the belt runs either side of it.
These modls typically hav a snap ring holding the gear on.
While it is out lubricate the bush.

 

[bucknbass]

Hey Berts - Great information. I've attached a picture of my setup. The issue I'm having is getting the belt past the belt support bracket (#57). Should I be able to use your method to do this? Seems too tight and not enough space without removing the fan and pulley but I'll be glad to give your method another try if you've used it on this setup before.

Sorry to be so much trouble and greatly appreciate the help!

 

[bertsmobile1]

As per the diagram slip the belt through a pair of blades on the right hand side then rotate the fan counter clockwise

 

[bucknbass]

Bert - I wish it was that simple. Tries and there is almost zero clearance between the pulley and the 3 sided housing the pulley sits in. No way the belt is coming out that way.

Only way I see it coming out is to remove the fan/pulley and to do that, I have to remove the 3 sided lock around the nut that holds it all down. Any idea how I can remove that lock washer so the nut will come off?

They couldn't have made it too much harder!