pulley problems

Hi dbamsch,
I'll share with you my experience for what that is worth. First, run the mower for a few minutes then stop the mower, turn off the engine and start feeling the pulleys, and belts on the deck. The belt(s) should be warm, not hot. Feel all the pulleys including the idler, the idlers should only a bit warm. The fact that they are wider then the belt is O.K. They just "free turn" against the back of the belt. The hottest pulley will be the one under the engine. Remember, the engine heat is coming down the crankshaft. Be sure to check the blade spindles. Heat anywhere here is your enemy.
Now to remove the engine pulley I use an air impact wrench. An electric impact wrench will do the same thing. Otherwise, you have to access the top of the crankshaft and hold the nut while removing the bottom nut. You may be able to straighten the pulley without removing it. I have done this on occasion. Good luck.
TC

Thanks for the reply. One added comment. My motor shaft has an electric clutch on the bottom held on by a nut. I can remove this assembly no problem, then above it is the drive pulley which is up next to the motor. I have tried the straightening thing already but don't think it is good enough, so I will put a new one on to remove that problem if I can get the old one off.

dbamsch
There is only one nut to remove. It is actually a bolt not a nut. Taking loose the electric clutch will also also free the pulley. Be sure to return the key properly. Good luck.

After a week of trying to pull off the pulley, we gave up and went to drastic measures. I pulled out the 4" grinder from Harbor Freight and started to cut off the pulley. My son came over and took over and it took about an hour to grind 2 sides down then we had to take a cold chisel to split the part of the hub we could not reach with the grinding wheel. we were lucky in that we did not damage the shaft. So now I will polish it up, go find some anti seize and put the new pulley on so it slides on and off freely. Maybe now I can get the drive belts to last a couple of seasons.