101 Landlord Deck Probs

[cdirian]

Hello All! I'm back tinkering with Grandpa's gift/curse. I finally got the powertrain squared away, though the trans and BGB will need properly disassembled and cleaned and rebuilt. Taking a few victory laps of the meadow with the mower deck spinning resulted in repeated and frustrating "jumping of the mower deck drive belt off of the the mower deck pulley." This is the belt that suspiciously takes a 90 degree turn on its way from the center PTO to the mower deck pulley. After checking belt length, pulley tension (via spring), alignment, and belt twist direction, everything seemed just fine and dandy. A few more laps around the meadow and a hot smell developed and with a really close inspection, I noticed that the center pulley shaft on the 42" mower deck was visibly reclined by about 5 degrees, maybe more. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. The mower deck is a 285. Is this a bearing failure issue? Is the deck likely frazzled? Maybe a mending plate is in my future? Just trying to get an idea of what I'm looking at before I dive into the latest project/crisis on this tractor! Thanks for any input. Dean

[johnmonkey]

It sounds like your bearings are shot. I replaced mine in a 1963 MW gardenmark last year, they cost about $50.00 from Sandy Lake imp. I had to replace the center shaft as the keyway was worn. Sandy Lake had that also. Good luck John H

[JeffNemes]

It could be either. If you can rock the shaft back and forth after removing the belt tension it indicates worn bearings but if it is tight it sounds like the housing is bent, causing the belt to twist off due to misalignment. There are numerous ways to correct this.

[HubbardRA]

Check for a crack in the housing, or if the flange has come loose from the main shaft housing. Had both these problems with the 61 Wards mower that I have. Rod H.

[cdirian]

Thanks much. The shaft has very nice radial play - about 5 degrees in all directions. It is coming apart tonight for a proper inspection. What is the proper length for this belt on a 314? Both the specs on the SimpleTractors website and Jack'sSmallEngines don't seem to correspond to the belt that I am looking for. I'm thinking that the 1/2" belt that I got to replace the 3/8" belt that grandpa was using might be too short due to it riding further out on the pulleys. I do know the following: Swearing has done no good and kicking the tractor has only resulted in a sore toe. Thanks again. Dean

[UCD]

Dean Simplicity Landlord 101 MFG# 990351 42" Rotary Mower MFG# 990285 Cross Drive belt# 174911 Length 44.1" type HA 1/2" X 11/32" Arbor Drive belt# 108209 Length 82.1" type HA 1/2" X 11/32" Allis Chalmers 314 MFG# 1600049 42" Rotary Mower P.T.O. Belt# 108209 Length 82.1" type HA 1/2" X 11/32" Arbor Drive belt# 108209 Length 82.1" type HA 1/2" X 11/32" Anything free is worth what you pay for it This & $1.00 might get you a small Coffee Maynard aka/UCD

[cdirian]

Murky Bowcups as the French say. Dean