Troybilt Pony 13AN689G766

Ive been trying to get this up and running. It drives well. But the deck belt is burning and getting eaten away by the pulleys. They spin freely and i looked at the diagrams for this exact mower and it doesn't have a tensioner or idler pulley. So im not sure what to do next

From the picture it appears the engine pulley is burning the belt. So most likely the deck isn't moving fully forward when raised all the way up and not properly de-tensioning the belt, Or there are rough spots on the engine pulley that is basically filing the belt in that area.

This deck uses a spring connected between a J hook on the rear axle and the rear of that flat plate mounted on the rear of the deck to tension the belt when the deck is lowered to cutting position Items 36 and 60 on this diagram

To me it looks like something rubbing the backside of the belt.

And from this looks like the belt is stop at the engine pulley as this a burned belt.

Also, I see a missing bolt on one of the belt covers. You need to check those and make sure they're not free to rub the back of the belt.

StarTech said:

To me it looks like something rubbing the backside of the belt.
View attachment 74518
And from this looks like the belt is stop at the engine pulley as this a burned belt.
View attachment 74519

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Its a brand new belt. That just happened. That section was other engine pulley. Thats what I said was happening in my main post. I need to know how to stop this. The belt wont rotate but all the pulleys spin freely and in the manufacturer diagram there's no idler or tensioner.

Mark H_NO said:

Also, I see a missing bolt on one of the belt covers. You need to check those and make sure they're not free to rub the back of the belt.

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There's 2 bolts on both belt covers. Its held down tight

So that hole I see in the pictures has a bolt in it? Something is rubbing that belt. Can you move the belt by hand?

Ilengine said "This deck uses a spring connected between a J hook on the rear axle and the rear of that flat plate mounted on the rear of the deck to tension the belt when the deck is lowered to cutting position" It sounds like when you raise the deck, the belt slacks. I'd try doing that to make sure the belt can turn everything, then lower it and see if it gets tension so the engine could move it. If there's something wrong with that Jhook, it may never get the tension it needs.

CheatKicker said:

Its a brand new belt. That just happened. That section was other engine pulley. Thats what I said was happening in my main post. I need to know how to stop this. The belt wont rotate but all the pulleys spin freely and in the manufacturer diagram there's no idler or tensioner.

Click to expand...

5/8 x 74.

When you slowly turn the spindle is there any rough spots or are they noisy? If so then one of them could locking under load. I have had belts to break because of this at random times.

Looks like the front of the deck is too low. engage the blades and check the pitch on the blades font to rear. needs about 1/8 to1/4 inch pitch.

Keep a heads up when around that type machine when off the machine with it running.
It's the type that the blades will start turning with the deck lever all the way up. Why: As the belt sets in one place on the engine pulley it gets warm/hot and friction increases and the blades start turning. It's a common issue with that type, especially if it does not have any deck brakes and will even do so with deck pulley friction brakes as it only depends on the slack in the belt to not rotate the blades. The length of the belt is very critical for temporary dis-engaugement by just slacking the belt. operate the deck up down with the engine not running, as you raise the deck it should move forward and slack the belt and as you lower the deck it should move back and put tension on the belt. (You are playing with a poor design but they will cut grass good when all is correct. (just don't trust the deck blades remaining in neutral when they should)
As the deck is lowered the deck moves back and tightens the belt. You need to make sure the belt is correct length and then go through ALL the deck adjustments. The front of the deck is too low now. Typically the front of a deck should be 1/8-1/4 inch lower than the rear. Sometimes they have to be set level front and rear if the belt don't stay aligned with the pulley grooves as the deck is raised and lowered, so as to keep the belt from rubbing or jumping off.
If you check all the deck adjustments per specs and the belt is correct and it still has issues remove the deck and check the bearings and make sure a spindle leg is not broken or the deck rusted out or bent under a spindles.(that allows a spindle to lean forward under tension)
You can check the length of the belt using a $4 cloth upholstery tape measure. I've seen belts be off as much as 1inch in length vs what is stamped on a new belt.