D110 how to tension mower belt?

babatsetse · Aug 13, 2018

Hello!

After a year of use of my JD D110, I ran into a large rock and the belt snapped. I went out to Lowe's and bought a new belt that clearly says it is for a D110. I installed it (pretty simple) but the new belt looks loose and it falls off after a few minutes of use. I looked for info online and it seems like most JD mowers have two bolts you can unscrew to adjust the tension of the cable. However, my D110 has a static metal piece welded onto the deck and I see no way to tension the cable properly. How does one do this? I have looked and looked... Thanks!!

P.S. I should say I purchased the D110 new from Lowes in 2017.

shiftsuper175607 · Aug 13, 2018

babatsetse said:
Hello!

After a year of use of my JD D110, I ran into a large rock and the belt snapped. I went out to Lowe's and bought a new belt that clearly says it is for a D110. I installed it (pretty simple) but the new belt looks loose and it falls off after a few minutes of use. I looked for info online and it seems like most JD mowers have two bolts you can unscrew to adjust the tension of the cable. However, my D110 has a static metal piece welded onto the deck and I see no way to tension the cable properly. How does one do this? I have looked and looked... Thanks!!

P.S. I should say I purchased the D110 new from Lowes in 2017.

Most likely you have the belt routed wrong.
probably ...93% If the correct belt...
You have two belts I would think...

They are probably different...make sure you got the right one.

deck belt....drive belt.
I am not sure which one you broke.
probably 53% the wrong belt.

since the belt broke...you did not see how it was routed before you replaced it.

shiftsuper175607 · Aug 13, 2018

shiftsuper175607 said:
Most likely you have the belt routed wrong.
probably ...93% If the correct belt...
You have two belts I would think...

They are probably different...make sure you got the right one.

deck belt....drive belt.
I am not sure which one you broke.
probably 53% the wrong belt.

since the belt broke...you did not see how it was routed before you replaced it.

Do you still have the tension springs? Are they connected?

https://www.green-parts-direct.com/...t87T3v8zpdapbBSUqvhoCjdoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

babatsetse · Aug 13, 2018

shiftsuper175607 said:
Most likely you have the belt routed wrong.
probably ...93% If the correct belt...
You have two belts I would think...

They are probably different...make sure you got the right one.

deck belt....drive belt.
I am not sure which one you broke.
probably 53% the wrong belt.

since the belt broke...you did not see how it was routed before you replaced it.

Hello, thank you for the reply! It is the deck belt (powering the blades). I followed the instructions to the "t" on the back of the mower belt package (and in the instruction manual, they are pretty much the same).

babatsetse · Aug 13, 2018

shiftsuper175607 said:
Do you still have the tension springs? Are they connected?

Yes, I have them, they are still there and attached.

bertsmobile1 · Aug 13, 2018

babatsetse said:
Hello!

After a year of use of my JD D110, I ran into a large rock and the belt snapped. I went out to Lowe's and bought a new belt that clearly says it is for a D110. I installed it (pretty simple) but the new belt looks loose and it falls off after a few minutes of use. I looked for info online and it seems like most JD mowers have two bolts you can unscrew to adjust the tension of the cable. However, my D110 has a static metal piece welded onto the deck and I see no way to tension the cable properly. How does one do this? I have looked and looked... Thanks!!

P.S. I should say I purchased the D110 new from Lowes in 2017.

The adjustment bolts you mention appear to have been deleted, which is no surprise as they did little other than change the effort required to swing the deck engagement lever on the dash.
IT was there to make adjustments to compensate for a worn belt so it was not much in the first place.

If it is not an original John Deere belt, measure the belt it should be 103.75" x .5" wide
Aftermarket belts must always be treated as suspect because they arrive in bulk tied together then the retailer / wholesaler fits the sleeve.
In many cases this job is done by retail repackaging companies ( usually sheltered workshops ) who have no knowledge of the product other than the belts in box A get folded & put into the sleeves from box 1 then tied together in 10's and put into box C

It is quite common to get a belt that is the wrong size, particularly if the belt is not branded or sized as is the case with most cheap belts from China.

Cheap aftermarket suppliers will sell you 103" or 104" as "fitting a D110" because standard length belts are made in higher volume so are cheaper.

The 103 will cause extra wear to the engine pulley as it will drag a bit when dissengaged
The 104 will cause extra wear to the deck pulleys as it will never be quite tight enough when engaged.

On mowers that have worn pulleys I fit the 103" belt to compensate for the wear.

After that check that hitting the rock did not break the spindle housing.
It is common for them to crack so when tension is applied the crack opens up & the belts slip
It is also common for the deck to bend a bit so the pulley is no longer in the correct position.
Let us know how you go.

babatsetse · Aug 14, 2018

bertsmobile1 said:
The adjustment bolts you mention appear to have been deleted, which is no surprise as they did little other than change the effort required to swing the deck engagement lever on the dash.
IT was there to make adjustments to compensate for a worn belt so it was not much in the first place.

If it is not an original John Deere belt, measure the belt it should be 103.75" x .5" wide
Aftermarket belts must always be treated as suspect because they arrive in bulk tied together then the retailer / wholesaler fits the sleeve.
In many cases this job is done by retail repackaging companies ( usually sheltered workshops ) who have no knowledge of the product other than the belts in box A get folded & put into the sleeves from box 1 then tied together in 10's and put into box C

It is quite common to get a belt that is the wrong size, particularly if the belt is not branded or sized as is the case with most cheap belts from China.

Cheap aftermarket suppliers will sell you 103" or 104" as "fitting a D110" because standard length belts are made in higher volume so are cheaper.

The 103 will cause extra wear to the engine pulley as it will drag a bit when dissengaged
The 104 will cause extra wear to the deck pulleys as it will never be quite tight enough when engaged.

On mowers that have worn pulleys I fit the 103" belt to compensate for the wear.

After that check that hitting the rock did not break the spindle housing.
It is common for them to crack so when tension is applied the crack opens up & the belts slip
It is also common for the deck to bend a bit so the pulley is no longer in the correct position.
Let us know how you go.

Hello, thanks for the thorough reply (and for not putting probabilities in it

)

I re-did the belt and it is tight, esp. when I engage the mower, a bit on the loose side unengaged but not falling off. It almost seems like the D110 is almost designed to have a somewhat looser belt when disengaged? It, however, pops off at the pulley that is the one that moves when you engage the mower blades, always in the same place (at the inside of the pulley). I think the arm/pulley looks somewhat tilted by only a few degrees, not sure if this is by design - no cracks, however. I think the tilt is allowing the belt to slide off. I ordered a new arm and pulley and will report back to say whether that fixed it. In the meantime I may try a smaller belt but I am not sure if this will make a difference as I can clearly see the pulleys spinning and belt tight and in when I install it and engage it. Thanks!

babatsetse · Aug 14, 2018

bertsmobile1 said:
The adjustment bolts you mention appear to have been deleted, which is no surprise as they did little other than change the effort required to swing the deck engagement lever on the dash.
IT was there to make adjustments to compensate for a worn belt so it was not much in the first place.

If it is not an original John Deere belt, measure the belt it should be 103.75" x .5" wide
Aftermarket belts must always be treated as suspect because they arrive in bulk tied together then the retailer / wholesaler fits the sleeve.
In many cases this job is done by retail repackaging companies ( usually sheltered workshops ) who have no knowledge of the product other than the belts in box A get folded & put into the sleeves from box 1 then tied together in 10's and put into box C

It is quite common to get a belt that is the wrong size, particularly if the belt is not branded or sized as is the case with most cheap belts from China.

Cheap aftermarket suppliers will sell you 103" or 104" as "fitting a D110" because standard length belts are made in higher volume so are cheaper.

The 103 will cause extra wear to the engine pulley as it will drag a bit when dissengaged
The 104 will cause extra wear to the deck pulleys as it will never be quite tight enough when engaged.

On mowers that have worn pulleys I fit the 103" belt to compensate for the wear.

After that check that hitting the rock did not break the spindle housing.
It is common for them to crack so when tension is applied the crack opens up & the belts slip
It is also common for the deck to bend a bit so the pulley is no longer in the correct position.
Let us know how you go.

Oddly enough, I was walking near where I lost the belt and I found this spring lying a few feet away. The interesting (to me) part is that all D110 diagrams that I have found show only two springs on top of the deck and I have both already there. Does anyone recognize what this third one may be? Thanks!

bertsmobile1 · Aug 14, 2018

When you dissengage the blades then belt is supposed to go loose.
The pulleys have keepers on them to stop the belt jumping off.
these keepers must be be square on to the pulleys and no further off than 1/2 the depth of the belt.
On the edge decks both of the pulley guards double as belt keepers and eventually the belt cuts through them so they need to be replaced.
The front ( engine pulley ) has the wire loops and the tension pulley has a steel finger in the tensioning arm.
You might need to bend this tab a little closer to the pulley.
The pulley itself could be worn badly and turning the belt side on.
If the pulley does not spin freely and quietly, replace it.

Once a belt has jumped off a pulley a few times the belt is ruined.
Also check the belt carefully as little imperfections in the belt can also cause it to twist and slide off.

Roughly speaking the two idlers on edge decks get replaced with the second new belt.

IF the hole in the tensioning arm has flogged out oval allowing the arm to twist belts will also tend to jump off at that location.

Counter to expectations, belts that are too tight tend to jump off and belts that are too loose tend to slip & burn.

The holes that the spring and the engagement cable locate into tand to flog out oval and in really bad cases will actually cut right through.
So they need either to be welded or the tension arm replaced.

If you took the pulley off, did you replace it right way round with the spacers in the correct places.

babatsetse · Aug 15, 2018

bertsmobile1 said:
When you dissengage the blades then belt is supposed to go loose.
The pulleys have keepers on them to stop the belt jumping off.
these keepers must be be square on to the pulleys and no further off than 1/2 the depth of the belt.
On the edge decks both of the pulley guards double as belt keepers and eventually the belt cuts through them so they need to be replaced.
The front ( engine pulley ) has the wire loops and the tension pulley has a steel finger in the tensioning arm.
You might need to bend this tab a little closer to the pulley.
The pulley itself could be worn badly and turning the belt side on.
If the pulley does not spin freely and quietly, replace it.

Once a belt has jumped off a pulley a few times the belt is ruined.
Also check the belt carefully as little imperfections in the belt can also cause it to twist and slide off.

Roughly speaking the two idlers on edge decks get replaced with the second new belt.

IF the hole in the tensioning arm has flogged out oval allowing the arm to twist belts will also tend to jump off at that location.

Counter to expectations, belts that are too tight tend to jump off and belts that are too loose tend to slip & burn.

The holes that the spring and the engagement cable locate into tand to flog out oval and in really bad cases will actually cut right through.
So they need either to be welded or the tension arm replaced.

If you took the pulley off, did you replace it right way round with the spacers in the correct places.

Hello. Thanks for all the suggestions - questions - I am still working through them and ruminating. Will report back!

D110 how to tension mower belt?

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