[2000black&gold]

Hello all,

Back in May we bought a Craftsman riding mower, model number 917.255460. I believe it's roughly a 96 model. Well, once I got it home and used it, I quickly realized that the blades, although turning, did not seem to be turning at full speed. After a couple of times cutting the yard, it came to the point where the belt wasn't even turning the blades on the mower. Basically the mower was useless. I went online and ordered a new belt (matching the belt up with the model number of course). Once the new belt arrived, I installed it, only to find that it was still very loose and wasn't turning the blades at all. (For reference, the belt I ordered was part number 130969 and is supposed to be 92.4 inches long).

Now I should mention that the previous owner replaced the deck with a different deck because of problems on the original deck. He assured me that he replaced the deck with the same size one as it came with.

The only thing I can think of is that he didn't actually get the correct size deck, and therefor the belt doesn't fit. Is there a way that I can determine what the problem is exactly, and how to fix it?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mark / Ohio]

Welcome to the forum! :howdy:

Are there any tags at all on the deck with numbers that maybe we could cross?

Here's the manual for the tractor from Sears website if you don't already have it. Page 41 shows an exploded view of the deck it should have.

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par...elNumber=917255460&diagramPageId=&documentId=

 

[2000black&gold]

Welcome to the forum! :howdy:

Are there any tags at all on the deck with numbers that maybe we could cross?

Here's the manual for the tractor from Sears website if you don't already have it. Page 41 shows an exploded view of the deck it should have.

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par...elNumber=917255460&diagramPageId=&documentId=

Thanks for your reply. I checked out the diagram of the deck and the only thing I can find that has a tag or anything similar on it is the shield. It says "42" just as it does in the picture.

 

[Five Points]

Hello and welcome to MLF! Just a thought, did you verify the belt routing with the manual?

 

[2000black&gold]

Hello and welcome to MLF! Just a thought, did you verify the belt routing with the manual?

I didn't with the manual, but I did follow the diagram that's printed on the deck. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Five Points]

Its also possible that the Previous Owner may have put on a different sized idler pulley when he replaced the deck.

 

[2000black&gold]

Its also possible that the Previous Owner may have put on a different sized idler pulley when he replaced the deck.

Hmm interesting. Is there a way to determine this? Or am I best off just taking it to someone? lol

 

[Five Points]

Well, thats up to you! lol With a little patients, you can spend a little time verifying the parts on your deck to the parts direct link Mark gave you or you could just take a section of rope and route it around the pulleys and get a close estimate and order one by the size you measure out. I would rather have it by the book myself but thats going to be up to you.

 

[2000black&gold]

Well, thats up to you! lol With a little patients, you can spend a little time verifying the parts on your deck to the parts direct link Mark gave you or you could just take a section of rope and route it around the pulleys and get a close estimate and order one by the size you measure out. I would rather have it by the book myself but thats going to be up to you.

I'm like you, I'd prefer to have it by the book... the only problem is, I have no clue how to go about verifying the parts. Do they all have a part number stamped on them that I could use to verify them as the correct parts? If not, I might go the rope method. Seems simple enough, but I hadn't even considered that. Ideas like that is whey I came here! Thanks!

 

[Five Points]

With the parts it could be as simple as a part# stamped on them but not always. If it was an aftermarket part it may have a different# but be correct. For the pulleys you could find the correct part#, google it and some places will cross reference them with sizes.

I believe this model just has the one belt that drives the deck from the drive pulley so on that note did you make sure the PO hung the new deck correctly? If its not installed right or adjusted correctly when you engage the deck it will not put the correct tension on the belt as well. Just another area to look at.

 

[themidniteryder]

Have you checked to make sure when engaging the blades the tensioner pulley is moving all the way, no missing or broken springs? Normally, you can't put an "incorrect" deck on due to lift linkages not matching up. Also, where did you order the belt from. If you got it from Sears, i would take it to your local auto parts store and have them measure it. Sears has a bad reputation (with me anyway) on belts. I never order from them, but do use their part number to order from my OEM distributor and occasionally have gotten the wrong belt. Correct for the PN but Sears showed wrong PN. Your 130969 does cross to a 92.5 belt, which I think is correct for your application.