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That time of year again. Mowed 5 times to date. Late last year during the 3rd year of the mower, I noticed the deck belt was severely ripped in two areas, each rip about 1 1/2" long. Mower had about 80 hours on it. Thought I knew the cause but evidently not. My new belt has about 20 hours on it and today I noticed one rip about the same size. There might be another but I didn't inspect it. The best I can describe it is the rip is along the side of the belt, not top / bottom. Technically, it would include top/bottom. The missing chunk is on the larger flat side going toward the narrower flat side (V-belt). As though I took a knife and carved out a large chunk from one side going toward the opposite side. About 1/2 the thickness is gone. Any ideas? Thanks. Hope everyone's doing well.

https://www.toro.com/en/parts/partdetails/?id=40416

Remove all idler pulleys & inspect center bearings for being worn out, should spin without drag & no play, also inspect idler arms & bushings for sloppy play as well as bolt item 16 for being stretched & bent.

mechanic mark said:

https://www.toro.com/en/parts/partdetails/?id=40416

Remove all idler pulleys & inspect center bearings for being worn out, should spin without drag & no play, also inspect idler arms & bushings for sloppy play as well as bolt item 16 for being stretched & bent.

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Hey buddy. I'll do it. That's the only thing I could think of; idler, tensioner, etc. Believe it has 3 of those puppies. Thanks.

First a correction. The damage was on the inside, shorter surface of the belt. Along with the missing chunk, perhaps 3 ft away was a decent cut on top of the belt followed by same about another foot or so away. Tensioner pulley is nice and tight, no wobble at it or the tensioner arm. All pulleys were tight, spun freely and smoothly and none had burrs. Installed the new belt today. Ran it for about 10 minutes on concrete with belt guards removed. No signs of damage (yet). My yard is wide open with no trees, sticks, etc. Thank you.

logan01 said:

First a correction. The damage was on the inside, shorter surface of the belt. Along with the missing chunk, perhaps 3 ft away was a decent cut on top of the belt followed by same about another foot or so away. Tensioner pulley is nice and tight, no wobble at it or the tensioner arm. All pulleys were tight, spun freely and smoothly and none had burrs. Installed the new belt today. Ran it for about 10 minutes on concrete with belt guards removed. No signs of damage (yet). My yard is wide open with no trees, sticks, etc. Thank you.

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Update: Knock on wood. Same belt since the removal of the guards 3 years ago. Happy camper. I blow it off well with air compressor after each mowing. Evidently the build up of grass during mowing was enough to heat the belt up causing very early retirement.