Replacing deck belt

Is the belt overly tight? My mower was doing that to, turned out the belt called for was 1" longer then the belts i was buying for it, making the belt really tight and it kept over heating from rubbing and failing. I would run it for a while then shut everything off and see if the belt is hot, also check that the bearing are not hot, could be friction somewhere causing the belt to heat up and fail.

BlAde belt torque IS TOO HIGH It's reducing the engines running speed TO IDLE ALMOST check the blade brakes are releasing fully and the blade bearing are not tight or seem to move stiffly if the blade moved by hand ige ENIGINE OFF SPK LEAD TAKEN OFF PLUGS FOR SAFTEY AND IGNITION OFF TO AVOID ACCIDENTAL HAND CRANK ROUND START HALFWAY ENGAGE THE BLADE SYSTEM SO THE BRAKE SHOES RELEASE FROM THE PULLEYS AND THE DRIVE BELT IS LOSE NOT ENGADEGED FULY TURN THE BLADE AROUND BY HAND IF THECBLADEXOR PULLEY IS HARD TO TURN UNLESS ITS CLOGGEDUP BY GRASS DEPOSITS BUILT UP IN THE DECK OR BEARING HOUSINGS TO FIX IT WILL NEED DISASSEMBLING AND CLEANING OUT OF DEBRIS THEN PUTING BACK TOGETHER IF THE PULLEYS ECT ARE NOT CLOGGED UP THEN THE BEARINGS may need either lubricating with a race bearing grease compound or or if the blade is almost impossible to turn then the blade BEARINGS are worn out And WILL need REPLACING by mechanic the deck ajustment may also be to much and its over TIGHENING The drive BELTS slowing down the engine HOPE THIS HELP WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF FAULT CHECK THE DRIVE SYSTEM FOR THE BLADES FULY
INCLUDINGVANYVTENTIONING PULLEYS ETC UNDER THE MAIN BODY OF THE MOWER INVOLDED WITH THE BLADE SYSTEM IF ANY PULLEY ENGAEGERSXSEEM TO BE STIFF OR SEEMS TIGHT WHEN THE BELT IS LOSSEND THE PULLY BEARINGS NEED CHECKING OR LUBRICATING ETC THE BELT COULD ALSO HAVE SHRUNK TOO SMALL IF THE MOWERS BEEN STANING STILL A LONG TIME IF THE BELTS HAS DEGRADED AND SHRUNK IT WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED

Looking underneath the mower on top of the deck there should be a flat metal arm with a flat faced pulley on the end. This pulley pushes against the belt that drives the mower deck . The spring should be hooked on that arm and pulled tight over to a place on the deck and this is what keeps the belt tight enough to turn the blades when you engage the pto switch. My recommendations to put this back on is to remove the belt pulley cover on the deck right side roll the belt off at that pulley giving you a bunch of slack so you can hook up the spring and put the belt in the right position on everything else then go back to the deck right hand pulley start putting the belt back on that pulley and when it is to tight to get it all the way on reach under the deck and use the blade as leverage to finish turning the pulley and walk that belt on the rest of the way ,it will not hurt a thing, all you are doing is pulling that 7 inch spring over like it was intended to be, then replace the cover on the deck spindle.

Hope this helps. Serpentine Blade Drive Belt
1 Lower the mower deck to its lowest position.
2 Route the serpentine blade drive belt (part number 6109) onto the V-pulleys located on the mower deck. One double pulley is located at the front of the deck near the center. The other two pulleys are located near each side of the deck. Route the belt around the outside -- the side toward the outer edge of the mower deck -- of each pulley. For the double pulley near the front of the deck, route the belt around the lower pulley (part number 6058) only. If pulleys are fitted with belt guards, work the belt in between the pulley and shield.
3 Push the idler pulley toward the center of the deck with your hand. The idler pulley (part number 6059) is the fourth pulley on the deck and is located near the rear of the deck. It is the only movable pulley on the deck. Wrap the belt around the side of the pulley nearest the edge of the deck. Release the idler pulley to place tension on the belt. No adjustment is necessary because the serpentine idler spring (part number 6065), located on the idler pulley, adjusts the belt to the correct tension.

If the belt seems to short most of the time you only have to push the pedal in that makes the mower drive pulleys closer together.
This makes the belt slide over the pulleys and when you release the pedal the belt is tight and drives the mower.

Your deck should have a couple "idler" pulleys on them in addition to the main mandrell pulleys that have tension on them via springs to keep tension on your deck belt. Maybe you need to really examine the condition of those "idler" pulleys and also the main pulleys to find the problem.

No, the deck will have to be removed. You will also need to remove the stacked pulleys from the crankshaft of the engine. There are 2 idler pulleys in the middle of the belt path that will also need to be loosened in order to get the belt around them. You will need to put the new belt around the rear (transmission) pulley first, then work your way forward. Make sure to get the belt installed completely against the pulleys and not around the belt guides, as this will destroy a new belt very quickly. The 2 middle pulleys will be spring loaded. Mount the belt around them, then take the belt to the front. It may be helpful to engage the parking brake, as this will hold the tension off of the middle pulleys while you put the belt on the upper pulley of the front pulley stack. Reinstall the front stacked pulleys and release the parking brake. Carefully inspect the entire belt path. The belt should be tight, but movable. It should also not be touching anything except the pulleys. If all looks well, fire it up and test drive. If that goes well, reinstall the deck. The whole job should take an hour or two.
Good luck!

Sounds like the mower belt may not be routed correctly around the pulleys or may be running on the wrong side of a belt guard. Also check under the deck to make sure there are no obstructions to the turning of the blade or bent blades....you did not state where the hammering was coming from ( engine or deck ) I can only assume that it is on the deck....so these are the things I would check. Also check the tightness of the bolt on the main pulley sheave (the pulley on the bottom of the engine that drives the belt. the bolt is in the center hole of the pulley) if it is loose it can cause misalignment of the belt and juddering of the deck. If the bolt is tight, remove the belt from the engine pulley sheave and start the engine and look to see that the crankshaft is not bent causing the pulley to wobble....worst case scenario....will require new engine...hope this helps... ;-D

The deck drive belt makes an L shape looping to the the outside deck pulley that has 2 pulleys. The deck drive belt rides on the top set. X = pulley engine x
l l
l l
l l -
l l x x = outside deck pulley
back deck pulley =x
motor to idle to outside
motor to tension to outside back side of belt goes around idler
This is the most common belt to replace
idle pulley (x)
lx tension pulley
/ l_______
the deck running belt left deck (X ________________ ____ x)

If you disengage the Blades like you normally would, this will give you plenty of slack in the belt to put back on. There should be a pulley or lever that tensions the belt when it is engaged and that is what is causing it to be too tight to put back on. Hope this helps