Simplicity - Belt's and hydrostatic drive ?

[tej]

I have a legacy 17 hp, 48"deck, I believe its a 716 series. Just got it last year used, my 1st rider. BELTS: I have started to go thru belts like crazy, about every 5-8 hrs of use. Its the belt from the tractor to the deck. I put on a 70" x 1/2" belt. Is that the correct one? This belt is from the local Farm and Fleet. At what point should I change my belt on the deck? Any input? HYDORSTATIC DRIVE: When going uphill, slight grade, my tractor slows way down, going down or just straight it goes fast, the foward/reverse lever is in the same postion. Any idea's? Thanks for any imput.

[Kent]

I might have the wrong model here, Its the 7000 series tractor, Sovern? I'm not at home to check it.

[Al]

If you have a 7116, look at the forward idler, the one that moves. With the belt on behind the arm the pulley is on is a decal with a green stripe in the center and red on the outside. adjust the rear idler so the arm in in the middle of the green when the tightener is engaged. As for the belts most belts ex 1/2 by 80 you get at hardware stores etc are fractional horsepower. Unless your engine is very sick they are not compatable. Also the belt business in itself is quite a science. Belts are made with different cords , different wraps, different cross sections, etc. In Simplicity OEM belts some are bigger but cheaper, the difference is the application they are designed for. Most regular belts won't stand to run backwards (the flat Side) around an idler, like the front idler on the 7100 mower drive. Belts for these applications have different cords and wrap to stand this. Most belt failures result from sideways bending, causing one of the outside cords to break, then the belt gets longer on that side and then the cord next to it fails. This is why when a belt is rolled over you can very seldom get to run without rolling again. When I commercial mowed in the early 70s I tried to save money with aftermarket belts and I went back to Original equipment belts, in the long run I felt it was cheaper and musch less frustrating. Another thing that will cause belt problems on the 7100 series is running the mower with the deck raised, or mowing with the mower at maximum height and going over humps. If you try an OEM belt and it only lasts 8 hours you have a problem. With some other belts it may or may not be normal or long life depending what you are buying. There some aftermarket belts desighened for outdoor power applications, but they aren't that cheap either. Good luck, and if the problem presists, post again.
AL

[paull]

Re: Belts- For example, the belt on my tractor has 8/79 written on it in magic marker which means this belt is almost 20 years old, so..... Something is definitely amiss if your getting 6-8 hrs. per belt. Get your hands on a manual and make sure the size and loop pattern are correct.
Re: Hydro- No balls going uphill is NOT normal, I dont understand fwd/rev in the same position business, Linkage, hydro fluid, loose belt to hydro pump, worn out hydro unit (how many hours on tractor?) These are things to look at. Good Luck!

[paull]

As far as the belts go does your mover deck spin freely
without the drive belt on? If one of your blade spindles
is worn and has too much resistance than you will go thru alot
of belts. Also are you using siplicity or A/C belts?
I tried to use an autoparts store belt as a drive belt once
and it did not last long. goood luck

[tej]

If the mower is hard to turn it could be because spindle assembles are assembled incorrectly. I believe the 48" decks use the same type spindle assembles as the 42". The spindles assembly consists of the spindle tube, the bearings, a sleeve, spacer washers, pulley and nut to hold it together. There are two size washers, small washers the size of the inter bearing race and large washers the size of the outer bearing race. When the spindle is assembled correctly small washers keep the large (dust cover) washers from contacting the bearing races. When the nut is tightened the bearing inter race should be lock against the sleeve and the spindle. If tightening the nut puts drag on the spindle the larger washers are probably contacting the bearing which means it is assemble incorrectly. The sleeve must be between the bearings to keep side pressure off the bearings which would ruin them. With the nut as tight as you can get it the spindle will still spin free if assemble correctly. In the old AC manuals the pictures of the mower deck showed the washers in the wrong order which could cause someone to assemble them incorrectly. If the tractor can turn the deck with the spindle bearings locked, the spindle will turn inside the inter bearing race and wear out the spindle shaft. The deck that came on my B12 was in this condition.

[Kent]

Thanks for the input. My Tractor is the 7016 Soverierng (If I could only spell). The deck spins freely, but the problem comes from the type of belt I was using. I talked to a differnt dealer yesterday, and he said most that try the belt that I had, normally only get about an hr of use. I bought the OEM belt, mowed 5" grass last night, then blew all the grass together so I wouldn't have to rake as much and it worked great.

Hydro: still not sure here, dealer mentioned some things to check, they all looked ok. How much slack is needed in the belt that drives the hydro pump? I may need a new one.

[B-Man]

I just recently replaced the original deck drive belt on my Simplicity 4212 with a new OEM belt from the local Simplicity dealer. The original belt was 14 years old. The reason for replacement was due to stretching, not wear or breakage. In fact the belt looked fine other than being about 1" longer than it needed to be.

The oem belts are of much better construction than the aftermarket cheapies that are out there. The belt was only $21.00 which I thought was reasonable versus buying a belt for my dad's new craftsman tractor!!