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Well... finally ready to take to mowing, but.


Gordan

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So, I've had the Sovereign (Agco Allis 918H) for a while now and, after repowering it with a propane-fed Vanguard and sorting out the cylinder placement issues, I finally got it in mowing shape. I think. The potential issue that I see is that the lower PTO idler pulley just seems too low, so that the belt is entering the deck drive pulley at too much of an angle from below. It doesn't look like a particularly happy arrangement but I don't have any reference to go by. Anyone got any pics of what I should expect to see? This is the 1690502 deck, not from this tractor, although the measurements for the drive pulleys seem the same as the beat up deck that came with it.

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Happy to oblige, as soon as I figure out how to post pics to this place. :) It's nothing special, really... Two 18" 1 1/4" perforated plated steel square tube uprights that pivot on the fender pan hinge, a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate to hold them plumb and square, some steel propane cylinder brackets bolted to the aluminum, and two 12-gauge plated steel straps that bolt to the uprights and the rear two holes on the seat hinge bracket (had to drill through the fender pan for the rearmost ones, but that's the only modification to the tractor involved in this), which keep the uprights, well, upright.

Now, about the deck drive pulley... ;)

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The deck belt does run at a fairly steep angle. Enough so that, if in the raised position, it comes close to rubbing on the adjustment bar on the deck. Simplicity belts are designed to run at these twisted angles and on the back side on the idler pulleys. That is why they generally last longer than aftermarket, and you will hear a number of people say "buy the Simplicity belts".

If the belt is hooked up and routed right, you should be fine. Posting a picture will tell us for sure.

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Is the spring loaded idler at the clutch in the correct hole? My 917H has two holes to mount the idler. One for the deck, and one for the Front mounted blower. Cannot remember top is for blower or deck. Maybe someone will post a pic, I'm at work, no access to manual.

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Yep, the flat idler is in the upper hole and the V-idler is positioned so that the spring-loaded idler arm is at the beginning of the green zone on the frame sticker. And I did route the belt correctly. I'll see if I can get my wife to snap a pic and email it to me... at work now so I don't have access to the tractor.

It seems to me like moving the V idler higher (which would require drilling a slot in the frame) would provide a far better angle, but then it would probably interfere with the flat idler at the outer edges of its travel... One good thing is that the belt is exiting, rather than entering, the deck drive pulley at this angle, otherwise I can't imagine it would last regardless of the quality of the belt... in fact, I could see it jumping out of the groove.

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Here's the only pic I have available:

RollerSupport1a.jpg

The tractor is a 17GTH-L with a 48" mfg #1691219 deck. The deck height is set to max cutting height (roller bar as far down as it will go). The deck is not raised via the cable. As others have stated, the belts almost touch the top of the deck. The belt does touch the top of the support bar sometimes during mowing depending on terrain and belt vibration.

RollerSupport1a.jpg.cfad8015bb02f004cf6148232d626945.jpg

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Well, here's a picture of the LP cylinder mount:

lprack.jpg

The regulators will move to where the fuel tank used to be, and I'll route a 1/4" high pressure hose between the cylinder and the regulators through the frame.

lprack.jpg.5f5a3f32598265c228936006433aa8df.jpg

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Thanks! There's actually room to move the tank brackets up another couple of inches, not to mention that I could get taller uprights, but until I have a reason to move it up I prefer to have the tank sit on the relatively low side of things.

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So... I took it for a spin. First impressions: the mower drive belt didn't disintegrate - good. The arbor belt, however, jumps around quite a bit. I didn't expect that - is it normal? The arbors themselves spin freely and there's no play in them, and the idler pivot is also good.

I also seem to have some kind of vibration in the driveshaft. I suspect that my use of a modified Command driveshaft adapter isn't standing up to the rigors of driving an implement. I'll get that figured out before I do any damage.

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If the arbor belt jumps around check the condition of the belt. What is the condition of the spring attached to the idle or tension pulley?

Rick.........

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Sure looks good Gordan - happy for ya getting it squared away.

That pulley/belt does look severe - I'd be concerned too.

No hopping on my arbor belt - and it's decades old.

dOd

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My arbor belt flops around, no belt issues, no cutting issues. The tensions isn't supposed to be all that tight, it shouldn't need to be if the belt and pulleys are in good shape.

The angle of the drive belt does not seem way out of wack. That is how they run, on an angle. That is one of the reasons the maw on them is as wide as it is.

The tractor looks great! Let us know how long it runs on a 20# tank of propane. That would be an interesting number.

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Is the deck level.front to back and side to side?

Ideally the front of deck should be 1/2 inch higher

And tires on tractor should be evenly inflated

It looks like your deck is tilted forward

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So, I spoke too soon. The deck idler's fine but the pivot is all but seized. I went to remove the eye bolt and, of course, snapped it off. Anyone have any luck with an off-the-shelf replacement for the lift bolt?

Ron, I think the deck is, in fact, tilted a bit forward, but the bail arms are extended as far as they can go... I'm running out of thread there. And ideas.

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I just set my daughters up for max mowing height I think I went the other way on front adjusters

I know it brings deck real close to steering

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The instructions for the deck state as follows:

"Turning the eyebolts or yokes changes the length of the bail assembly arms. Shorten the arms to decrease the front height of the mower. Lengthen the arms to increase the front height."

It could be that the manual has it exactly wrong... but, looking at how the bail assembly works, lengthening the arms ought to push the hitch side of the rocker arms down, which would indeed result in the front of the deck being hoisted up.

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I will have to look what is the distance between the ground and the bottom edge of the deck. I think it should be 3 1/2 inches. Again I am going from faulty memory bank

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In the picture is the deck hanging on the lift cable?

Or is it sitting on the rollers?

Correct mowing position is on rollers

I know several people who rely on lift cables to control cutting height

But that is not correct way

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The mower should be set with the front 1/4" to 1/2" LOWER then the rear. This is so you don't cut the grass twice. Less wear and tear on the belts and engine. LOL Bob

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To be honest, I'm not absolutely sure whether the deck was full down when I took the picture, but it was down when I measured and when I mowed. And the angle looked a bit severe then, too.

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