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STILL struggling with broken spring


SimpleMan

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Hi all. I'm past the point of desperation on the following issue, and yes, it was posted earlier. On my Sovereign (98) model I keep busting the idler tensioning spring on the tractor. That is the one that is used to tension the mower/pto belt. A few things to note. 1. I always replace it with a genuine Simplicity spring, and yes I have double checked the part numbers 2. I make sure my mower belt is tensioned according to the owners manual specs...and I check it before each time I mow. 3. I have now gone through 5 springs in less than 2 seasons of mowing. 4. My last spring lasted me not even 2 complete mowings. Here are the things I have done so far: 1. Filed any sharp corners that the spring might be rubbing against. 2. Checked that everything is moving freely, such as pivots, bearings. The last two springs have broken right at the hook end which was hooked into the lever end of the tensioning linkage (not the end at the moveable idler) Does anyone have any ideas on this???? Has anyone with a Sovereign style tractor (or any one that uses the same tensioning setup) had the same problem??? My apologies for being somewhat repetetive, but I'm running out of ideas. THANK YOU EVERYONE GordU
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This may be "far-out" but, could you be using the wrong belt that might be a 1/2 inch to 1 inch too short?
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i have a 1999 agco918 and have never had any problems with the spring at all.as posted you might have to short of a belt.agco918
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I am still using the same original belt that came with the tractor...but I will double check to make sure it is the right one. I'll post when I find out. GordU
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How smoothly is the belt tracking? I mean, is the belt bouncing a lot when the pto is engaged. I still am running the original tensioner spring on my 7119 and it's gone through 2 idler pulleys. There just has to be something happening that a spring doesn't like and being that the ends of the spring are "milder" steel than the spring portion I guess I was thinking that maybe it's metal fatigue from vibration or bounce. Tim Good luck.
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Hi, Are you setting the front pulley so the front side of the rear idler arm is in the middle of the green band behind the arm. This determines the correct tension on the belt. Good luck, Al
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Al This is just a double check, but my owners manual states that the idler should be adjusted to the front part of the green bar. I assume that there have been some updates on that at the Service level? At any rate, I have no problem readjusting the idler...just want to know if my manual is incorrect. Thanks Ps. I also don't want my PTO belt to be slipping.
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II have a Massey 2818 and a 7114 Simplicity and have mowed for two seasons with both, and of all the other tractors I have I have Never had a spring break. I just looked at the tensioning on the 2818 and when properly tight the spring is spaced just a hair away from the pulley bracket and the tightening rod that goes back loops to bend under the rear axle. The spring should not rub on or near any sharp edges. I question whether or not there is some other part of the tensioning setup(rod, bracket etc) that is bent or not rightly in place. Maybe the tab the spring goes on at the pulley bracket is bent a little in towards the pulleys?? That would make the spring rub on the brackets. How about the rod. Is it attached to the tension hand bar on the "inside" of the bar-towards the transmission? If its on the wheel side it would throw the spring closer to the brackets. I'm just firing shots in the dark, one of us is bound to hit something sooner or later. SmilinSam
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Could you bum a digital camera and snap a few photos of your setup from a few different angles for us to see???
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If you suspect you have a linkage problem, I can upload some photos of my '96 Sovereign linkage.
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I agree, belt is too short or something somewhere is bound up not allowing free movement.Also check to see that where spring mounts on both ends is not being cut by a sharp piece of steel if it's breaking at the hook end,,
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Thanks to all so far. I will check into some of the suggestions. Dutch, I am interested in those photos if it's not too much trouble. I'm interested in the rear linkage where the handle/tension rod are joined. Particularily, is the tension rod in the top, or bottom hole of the handle?
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Gordon, Here are the photos as promised. I painted the spring and handle white for contrast. Hope this helps. http://home.att.net/~herb.niewender/seq2.jpg
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Thanks Herb. Your willingness to go the extra mile is very much appreciated. The biggest difference I see between your setup and mine is how your belt is tensioned. I think I'll have to take Al's advise and set my idler back a little. From what I can see in the pictures, your spring does'nt stretch nearly as much as mine. Other than that, everything else looks identical. Hey, I sometimes get that "owner's manual tunnel vision", obviously, that can be wrong too. To all those who replied to my message, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH, now only time will tell if what I do will help. Sure hope it does. GordU
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You know, the old center mounted PTO for the mower drive was so much simpler. And, it works fine. Progress, as such, on the new models isn't always an improvement. Roy
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