The idler pulley assembly on cutting deck of a Craftsman 830 is not lining up straight with the the blade shaft pulley causing belts to be eaten. Do I need to tighten something? Replace something?

SOURCE: Ariens sierra 1440G belt configuration

Hi, you may have more than one problem. There should be one belt from the mower deck going to the electric clutch pulley which is on the engine shaft. On the shaft there are two pulleys, one belt comes from the mower deck, and the other comes from the transaxle pulley. check to see if your belts are in the right areas.

If this doesn’t work for you, please write back. Thanks,

SOURCE: The mower deck drive belt slipped off the idler

Get the model number off the tractor, go to:

www.murray.com

enter the model number and you will find a manual with pictures of how to route the belts along with a lot of other good information

SOURCE: tractor belt slips so blade doesn't cut

There is an electrical clutch that drives the belts. This clutch may be worn. Some will have adjustments that will allow it to tighten them up and not slip. Now when your tractor is running and you turn on your blades there is power sent to this clutch, it is mounted on the engine shaft and has flexible metal plate that is pulled into a pulley buy an electro magnet this plate is worn or could be full of grass/dirt. You need a good strong light, with the tractor OFF, get under and look at this clutch, look for grass/dirt or if the metal has changed colors meaning it has gotten very hot. If it has gotten very hot it is time for a new clutch... Sorry if this is the case. Good hunting.

SOURCE: Craftsman circular saw. The

Depending on your budget, I suggest replacing the item. It sounds like your bearings are bad, which means tearing apart the case and replacing them (which don't cost much). There are two bearing encasements so you would need to replace both. If you're up for the challenge, give it a try! The bearings can typically be found on the manufacturers website.

SOURCE: drive belt is too loose, already replaced belt and

I had the same problem with my Craftsman Lawn Tractor. The Drive Belt (which is not adjustable) is only engaged when the Brake Pedal is released (the Brake Pedal is located on the left side of the tractor, near the foot rest on my Tractor).

The Symptoms: My Tractor lacked driving power, and would not go up an incline, but the mower deck was powerful and working fine, even though the Tractor seemed to lack power and moved slower than usual, and would not travel up an incline.

I too, changed the Drive Belt, which initially seemed to help somewhat for a very short period of time, and then the same, lack of power problem, re-appeared again. The belt was not the problem, but only seemed to work somewhat due to the rougher texture of the belt's surface against the pulleys.

I also changed the Plastic Clutch Pulleys that engage the Drive Belt, thinking that they may have been worn down to a point that the Drive Belt could not fully engage with these Pulleys. No Luck.

NO ONE, NOT EVEN SEARS ON-LINE REPAIR ADVICE CENTER HAD A SOLUTION. THIS WAS VERY FRUSTRATING INDEED.

There had to be a solution: After much investigation, I eventually discovered the problem, which actually was easy to solve, and I would like to share this simple solution with others facing this same Frustrating Problem.

The Brake Pedal, when released, causes the Drive Belt Clutch Pulleys to move, and thus Tighten the Drive Belt. When you look under the Tractor, there is a Protective Metal Plate mounted to the Bottom of the Main Tractor Frame which covers the Brake Pedal Shaft and attached Mechanisms. Over time, Grass Builds up in between the Protective Metal Plate and the Tractor's Main Frame Deck, creating a very narrow space between these two pieces of metal.

This area is very difficult to get at, and almost impossible to clean out. Over time, Grass Clippings accumulate in this hidden area, and harden to an almost rock hard clump.

These Hardened Clippings accumulated between the Brake Pedal Mechanism and its fully released metal stop position. Thus, preventing the Brake Pedal Mechanism from moving to its fully engaged position.

I used a long screw driver to break up the compacted grass clippings, and an Air Compressor Blow Gun to break up the packed grass and blow the area clear. It takes awhile to do this cleanup, and is a bit messy, so do it outside, but be patient, and be sure to clean out all the grass that is lodged in this hidden area.

What was happening was that the Packed Grass was so dense that the Brake Pedal could not Fully Release, thus only Partially Engaging the Clutch Pulleys and the Drive Belt, hence the appearance of a loose Drive Belt even when the Brake Pedal was released.

Once the Packed Grass Debris was cleaned out, you will immediately notice the Drive Belt being tighter than it was previously when the Brake Pedal is released, and when you test drive the Tractor you'll find that everything works perfectly, like it was brand new.

Good Luck...
Rayko