Craftsman belt slipping

[Jimh64]

Hello!

I have a Craftsman LT 1000 model # 917.258572

The belt was slipping so I purchased a new one. I installed it and now the blades are engaged all the time and also, the blades still slip when hitting thick grass. The deck is not even lowered half way and the throttle is all the way up.

I checked and it appears that I put everything back together ok.

Any ideas why the blades would still slip?

Thank you!!

 

[bertsmobile1]

Pull the deck off and put it on some saw horses so it is a convienant height to work on.
Remove the belt
spin all the blades by hand spin all the bearings by hand.
They all should spin freely and smoothly.
Work the engagement by hand
Check that it moves smoothly and fully dissengages the blades.
FInally check the belt for damage to the back of the belt.
This would signify you had not installed the belt properly.
Hold the belt in each pully and make sure it does not touch the bottom of the V grooves.
If this happens the pulleys need replacing.
Do the same with the pulley on the engine.

 

[reynoldston]

Did you install a OEM belt?

 

[Jimh64]

Thanks for the help! I will pull the deck back off and check it over. I assume it was an Oem belt. I went to the local mower shop and he looked up the belt on the Sears parts direct website and said he had it.

 

[DaveP]

Thanks for the help! I will pull the deck back off and check it over. I assume it was an Oem belt. I went to the local mower shop and he looked up the belt on the Sears parts direct website and said he had it.

Until recently I owned an LT1000 and used it for about 16 years. I've always had good service from the belts I ordered from Sears parts, but not so much with the parts I ordered from Ebay or Amazon. These belts should be Kevlar reinforced or they won't last long. The tip off is that a Kevlar belt will be grey or tan in color instead of black. Some of the vendors on Amazon or Ebay will sell you approximate sizes instead of exact matches and you have to watch for belt composition. Sometimes the picture looks right, but what you receive is different.

Since you bought it from a yard products business, I'd hope they sold you an OEM belt. After all, if they install it for a customer they have to stand by it. I do know that there's two ways to install it and only the right way will work! Been there!

Compare the diagrams to the actual install just to make sure you have it over the pulleys and through the guides per the diagram. If it's slipping it's loose or one of the guides is dragging on the belt instead of letting it pass through without restriction. You should have noticeable pressure when you engage it. If you do and it still slips, suspect something dragging against the belt when it's engaged or it's outside of a guide instead of running through it. There are some loop guides in the path. If the belt passes outside of the loop it will drag instead of running freely.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Until recently I owned an LT1000 and used it for about 16 years. I've always had good service from the belts I ordered from Sears parts, but not so much with the parts I ordered from Ebay or Amazon. These belts should be Kevlar reinforced or they won't last long. The tip off is that a Kevlar belt will be grey or tan in color instead of black. Some of the vendors on Amazon or Ebay will sell you approximate sizes instead of exact matches and you have to watch for belt composition. Sometimes the picture looks right, but what you receive is different.

Since you bought it from a yard products business, I'd hope they sold you an OEM belt. After all, if they install it for a customer they have to stand by it. I do know that there's two ways to install it and only the right way will work! Been there!

Compare the diagrams to the actual install just to make sure you have it over the pulleys and through the guides per the diagram. If it's slipping it's loose or one of the guides is dragging on the belt instead of letting it pass through without restriction. You should have noticeable pressure when you engage it. If you do and it still slips, suspect something dragging against the belt when it's engaged or it's outside of a guide instead of running through it. There are some loop guides in the path. If the belt passes outside of the loop it will drag instead of running freely.

You can not tell a book from it's cover nd the same applies to mower belts.
Kevlar belts can have any colour cover including black.
But there is more to it than kevlar fiber.
There is the size of the cord, the twist on the cord and the position of the cord.
Then there are things like correct storeage which can make a massive difference to the life of the belt.

However you are doing well by avoiding Evilbay & Amazon.
Best way to offlaod garbage is on a sie where the customer has next to no rights.