Export thread

Hi guys hope ya'll can help. I have a 2007 Fastrak and has recently been throwing the deck belt when engaging the solenoid/clutch. I re-install the belt and set the spring to the correct length and might be able to disengage and engage 3 times before it does it again. I noticed the deck idler pulley was alittle worn in the groove and slighty loose on the pedestal. I just today got a new idler pulley and new belt and installed them. Engaged and disengaged 3 times and tried another time and the damn thing threw the belt again..Any ideas/suggestions as to why this is happening?? Blades appear to spin evenly under the deck. Can the idler under the engine (Kohler 17) be a problem?? Thanks in advance.

Check all your pulleys to make sure they are not bent. Make sure you have no play in them....check spindle wear by grabbing blade and wiggling to see if there’s any play. Check all pulleys the blade belt runs around. If your idler pulley is on a arm of some sort make sure there no play in it either. Engage and disengage blades at about 3/4 throttle. You have a new belt so you can rule that out. Many people don’t realize that V belts wear on the sides and can ride deep in a pulley and throw belts when wedged.

Thanks MowLife for giving me something to look at..I will check that stuff out at my next opportunity!!!!

OK bypassed the seat switch and was able to be able to see the belts/pulleys move and engage the clutch. What I noticed was on the tensioner pulley, which is on the sliding pedestal, had a lot of vertical movement. I shut it down and it seems like there is a lot of play between the steel plate and the two plastic/Teflon (?) retainers. Do those ever wear out? What about the sliding plate? The actual pulley on the tensioner feels tight. Also noticed a groove on the upper half of the clutch idler pulley. Is this normal or is it worn? It did come off one time I wasn't able to see it. I put it together again and pushed the button 5 times and it did not come off but did notice the movement in the tensioner pulley assy. Any thoughts??

The parts I'm talking about are the UH Idler Slides and the Deck Idler--this from the parts diagram. Do these parts wear out???

Yes they are a wear point. High end models have bearings that last a bit longer than bushing type but always a wear point. You should have zero play in the tensioner arm. I would bet that’s the main culprit for throwing belt. Normally it’s a cheap easy fix as long as it didn’t wear out too much to damage the arm itself.

So if I'm reading correctly I should probably replace both of the slides and the deck idle? I mean, how can I know if something isn't worn out without knowing how they are new? BTW the deck idler pulley is a steel piece and appears to be fine. I am the second owner of this thing and the manual shows the same plastic pulley that is also on the deck in a stationary position to the right of the deck idler assy. I bet he changed it out with the metal one at some point.

boss351 said:

So if I'm reading correctly I should probably replace both of the slides and the deck idle? I mean, how can I know if something isn't worn out without knowing how they are new? BTW the deck idler pulley is a steel piece and appears to be fine. I am the second owner of this thing and the manual shows the same plastic pulley that is also on the deck in a stationary position to the right of the deck idler assy. I bet he changed it out with the metal one at some point.

Click to expand...

I have a nearly new Fastrak 54" SN 16046836 with about 10 hours. All the pulleys are steel. Here's a picture of the teflon or UHMW plastic slides. Not seemingly worn at all.

Thanks for the pic but yours is very different from mine. The more I think about it I don't see how the actual metal on the deck slide would get worn or bent. I'm guessing I would need the two plastic /teflon slides only..I'll have to drop the deck and disassemble them to get a better look at them.

Yes the 2 plastic slides is all should need. I’ve seen some where the slides are just loose and can just be tightened down. We have also bought some time by flipping them around if it’s a spot only that’s worn. Not sure if you are supposed to grease the tracks but we occasionally did....downfall was dirt sticking to it.

I remember putting grease on them a few years back and nothing more. I'll just order a set and put them on and see what happens!!! Gotta help if anything else!!!

Never grease that type of plastic. It is self lubricating. Grease or oil on it will retain grit and accelerate wear.

Could be what happened here..the original owner told me to do that so I did....so he must have done it too!!! Thanks a bunch guys and I will keep ya'll posted!

Please let us know the end result. It will help others.

If the spindles are not free, in other words the bearings are beginning to drag due to wear, this can also cause belts to come off and eventually burn belts. Will prematurely wear your pulleys also.

OK guys, major disappointing day regarding this issue..Went to the local Hustler dealer, got the two plastic slides and a new idler pulley which is next to the PTO. The replacement slides appear different from what was on it originally. They said it has gone through a few redesigns since 2007. Got home and removed the deck to to the installation. Everything went well with the exception of having to cut off two bolts that held the old slides in. Also of note was the right front pullbar ( the wishbone strut on the front of the deck with the swivel ball attachment on the end) was frozen solid and not allowing the deck to move up or down. The left one moves fine. Put everything back together and the damn thing is still throwing the belt. Could that frozen bar be causing the deck to be on an angle and could that be my problem??? I'm almost at the point of bringing it in....

Yes Sir! Make sure it is moving freely so that the deck pulleys and clutch pulleys are maintaining alignment.

Good luck,

Max

It's important to keep everything clean and properly lubricated, so nothing binds and causes problems. Such maintenance is doubly important before storage for an extended period, as in winter. I would spray some lube on that frozen part, then try to work it a bit to free it up. The deck may be tilted relative to the PTO pulley.

Looked at the diagram last night..it seems that the pullbar pin is stuck inside the pullbar. I'll have to remove the deck again to try to get the thing unstuck somehow. Worst case scenario is I'd have to cut it off and get another pin and pullbar. To be continued!!

Belts are remarkably tolerant of pulleys being out of alignment, on the same plane ( parallel to each other ) however the smallest twist can throw belts in an instant

boss351 said:

Hi guys hope ya'll can help. I have a 2007 Fastrak and has recently been throwing the deck belt when engaging the solenoid/clutch. I re-install the belt and set the spring to the correct length and might be able to disengage and engage 3 times before it does it again. I noticed the deck idler pulley was alittle worn in the groove and slighty loose on the pedestal. I just today got a new idler pulley and new belt and installed them. Engaged and disengaged 3 times and tried another time and the damn thing threw the belt again..Any ideas/suggestions as to why this is happening?? Blades appear to spin evenly under the deck. Can the idler under the engine (Kohler 17) be a problem?? Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Make sure all the deck pulleys have the edges on them. my pulleys wore off the bottom edge of the pulley and the belt would come off. The pulleys bearings seem to wear out quickly so take off the belt and make sure all the pulleys spin freely.

Ok decided to show some pics of what I have found so far..interesting thing that I found is that the plastic/teflon slides don't appear to be original in design. I wonder if it was for something else and possibly modified. I am not the original owner of this unit and I've had it 4 years now. Anyway the replacement slides appear to be what is shown in the factory diagram..the pulley shots show the deck idler fixed pulley and the idler puller next to the PTO under the engine...

For starters both of the idlers are shot and should have been replaced a long while ago.
With ZTRs I replace all plastic idlers with every belt replacement.
They are a lot cheaper than a belt.
Also by looking at them you can work out if there is a problem.
The pulley that is worn right at the edge needs the spacer modified to bring the belt closer to the center.
The other pulley looks like it is running against the inside of the belt in which case it should be a V idler and not a flat idler or it is set up on the wrong side of the belt.

Berts have you ever seen slides like these?? The pulley that is worn flat in the middle has the belt running on the flat side and appears to be just worn..the other smaller pulley with the wear on the edge does indeed need some kind of adjustment to the spacer. Thanks for the info!

No fast tracks in my service run

Either the factory quit using plastic pulleys since '07, or the original owner put them on. All the pulleys on my new Fastrak are steel.

'The originals were plastic and the replacements are plastic also...what year and model do you have there??? Oh never mind...you said new. I would hope they use steel now, especially considering the costs of these new units..

boss351,

Surely you could find some universal metal pulleys at a dealership that carries Stens and other brand parts on hand.

Take the pulleys with you and match them up.

Max

Next time I have to change pulleys I might do just that. No point in doing it now though. Waiting on parts for the pullbars in the front of the deck..

Plastic idler pulleys run cooler than metal ones. I would run plastic any day over metal.

OK got the new pullbar and pullbar pin installed on the deck and the deck moves up and down evenly now..Also put a plastic pulley on the idle slide where there was a metal one. The plastic one is wider than the metal one giving the belt more area to travel along its axis. Cranked it up and cycled the PTO 6 times with no problems. Grass too wet to cut so cannot give it a real life test at this time. Lets hope this takes care of this problem!!!!

boss,

Hope that takes care of the problems. Temps in LA may be getting to the point a person can actually be outside without the brain and skin boiling now? If so, good time to visit Lower Arkansas again. lol

Keep us all informed,

Max

LOL!!! Yes you are correct mhavanti, it is cooling and WET as all get out..Supposed to get to 34 tonight and maybe 30 tomorrow night here just below Baton Rouge. When we do our last cut, hopefully soon after a dry spell, we will be able to properly test it. Thanks to all and will post soon.!!

Boss,

Get that last cut in, analogy done and get ready to haul that rascal to Max's Garaj Mahal for a Hustler Mower Meet and Greet sometime this winter.

We should have a blast doing a Zero Turn Rodeo, show and tell and possibly even some class racing.

Y'all come see us up here in Upper Arkansas soon.

Max