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I recently bought a 2007 Pony and am going through it to get it going. The guy I bought it from said it slipped going up hills when he used it last (about a year ago). I started looking at the drive belts and they look OK. The top belt is loose no matter what position I put the gear selector in. I can see the bracket the variable speed pulley is attached to move when I change the selector and the bottom belt seems tight. The top belt is so loose you can easily slip it out of the variable speed pulley and the idler pulley. When I hold the top of the variable speed pulley the center sheave rotates freely. It does not seem like there is much movement of the idler brackets or springs when I move the shift selector from the brake position to 7th "gear". Is there something I should be looking for that is seized up or damaged?

https://www.troybilt.com/equipment/troybilt/troy-bilt-riding-mower-13an77tg766

i would take another look at upper drive belt making sure it is Troy Bilt OEM part, check for wear, idler pulley bearings, hardware etc. let us know how it goes, thanks, Mark

thanks SCguy, was stationed at Shaw AFB 1976-1979, beautiful state & good fishing.

Thanks Mark. You are correct. I removed the belt and it is not the correct one. Not even close. It is 1/2" by 36" . Also the small idler is hard to move. It appears it is rusted where it rides on the larger idler. Next is to clean and lubricate and get a new set of belts. I will post again after that.

SCguy said:

Thanks Mark. You are correct. I removed the belt and it is not the correct one. Not even close. It is 1/2" by 36" . Also the small idler is hard to move. It appears it is rusted where it rides on the larger idler. Next is to clean and lubricate and get a new set of belts. I will post again after that.

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And replace the idler.
If it has got to the point of being stiff to turn then it is toast.
Check the other idlers while you are there.

There was not much rust on the small idler when I took it off. Mostly crud from mowing. It cleaned up easy and I put a small amount of grease on the moving surfaces. The larger idler looked like new where it rides on the mounting bracket. Both shoulder washers looked good. I put those back together and added the new belts and it seems to work fine. There is a little "jump" when I let off the clutch/brake. I guess that is normal for these? From what I have read there is no adjustment on these so I should be good to go. Thanks for all your help.