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Sunstar Deck belt breaking prematurely?


heron

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Tractor has 3 hours on it since I bought it. Original owner told me the belt had about 50 hours on it. All pulleys turn easily, gearbox free... Is it normal to go thru belts on these decks so often. (60") deck. I did notice when I put the outside idler on the left side back I put it in the outside hole b/c I thought that is where I saw it in the manual. Then, when I was on partstree looking up the belt I saw they had it on the inside hole...Could that have ruined the belt? I went ahead and ordered the deck belt and the pto belts. Any idea if the seller on ebay that has direct replacement belts for about $15 less is any good. Feedback is good..
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Mine started to through belts, and the out side idler was down to much so I put 2 washers under it. The out side hole is after the belt stretches to make it tight again.
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The idler pulley is working great..I had everything apart when I first got it a month ago, sandblasted, repainted deck and put in all new hardware. I bent a couple of the pulleys trying to get them off with a puller but heated them up and straightened them back out. Nice to know that is what that second hole is for..makes perfect sense, maybe since I put the pulley there when I put it back on it made the belt too tight and that's what snapped it...? I'll be starting with a fresh belt and the pulley set in to the first hole. Still trying to figure out why activating the PTO is killing the motor...? Does not do it if I let it warm up for 15 min but if it's not really hot it kills the motor when I start it...?
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Belt problems on that deck are not normal. 18 seasons on my deck and one replacement belt. If you must engage the mower deck on a cold engine, give it a little choke and it will not stall. Or simply wait until the engine warms up. Relax, it's normal.
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comet: Wow, that many seasons on the belt makes me really wonder why my belt broke. Maybe putting the idler pulley on the outer hole is what caused it to break after all..? It did not seem to tight when I put the belt back on after re-assembling the deck. I did notice the pins they put in where the chains attach looked like they could have been rubbing the belt...the little "L" hooks are bent a bit. How long do you warm it up before engaging the deck? I'm wondering if the carb needs adjusting... I let it sit and run for a good 10 minutes, drove it around the back of the house, then engaged it. It still stalled out. Once I've got it running and I've cut with it the stalling doesn't occur anymore. Is your Kohler smooth at full throttle? This motor seems like it's got a little miss in it at high idle...un-eveness is the way I'd describe it.
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Hard to trouble shoot a deck from here. If something is rubbing the belt it can't help the situation. My Kohlers run smooth at all RPM. As far as how long to let it warm up, I don't know, never tried it. I just give it a little choke if it wants to stall on first engagement. Never found it bothersome. I do treat them to a little SeaFoam every 3rd or 4th tank of gas though. It helps keep the carb. clean and the cylinders carbon free.
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Okay, good to know about how the Kohlers run...Maybe mine is smooth for a twin..no experience with them. I always have used seafoam..even use it the wife's minivan every fourth tank.
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