[Buff]

Hello all!

I've used forums very similar to this one to help me out with many different issues that I've had with various things in the past (small engines, vehicles etc) and have always found the people on them to be extremely knowledgeable and friendly so I'm hoping that my luck with these will continue.

I recently purchased a 2006 Troy Bilt Pony 42" deck (It says pony on the side but is not the same as the Pony sold currently). The model number is 13AN77TG766 233644

I paid 200 bucks for it from a friend in non working condition. I replaced the bowl gasket and cleaned the carb to get it running fairly well engine wise. PTO wise is a different story.

When I first bought the mower I thought that the PTO cable was bad (as it had broken and been rigged up by my friend) , so I replaced it and nothing really changed. The newer PTO Cable seemed longer but again still pulls it to the extent of the pulleys.

I decided then to take the deck off and replace the belt. I replaced the belt with a new one from lowes and it mowed fine, ONCE. Since then I've put the mower away and now its time to mow again but the PTO does not engage when pushed down. Here are a couple of the key points to note about the mower and what might be causing it.

1. The belt that I bought is a 107cm 42" belt. The package said "For 42" Deep Deck 700 Series Tractors 2005 & After for the above models (which included troy bilt)". Normally I would say that perhaps I bought the wrong belt, but since it worked fine for one full mow (about an hour and a half), I would think this wouldn't be a problem (I've been wrong before though...)

2. The PTO is very finicky as to where it will go to start up & go in reverse. If it is not EXACTLY in one spot (just ahead of all the way back) it will shut off.

3. The Belt does NOT get completely tight when pulled on the PTO. Now I stated before that it cut fine for one time mowing. While it was mowing I didn't bother to look at the tension on the belt.

4. The belt is loose when not engaged. In fact it can go off the main drive pulley under the engine.

5. The parking brake doesn't work, the actual brakes do though. I don't think this could be related but I thought I'd mention it.


Is there any way to tighten the belt using the pulleys on the deck? This is the only thing I can figure is the problem with the mower currently. I'm probably missing something obvious so if I am please let me know! ANY help at all would be appreciated. Thank so much and have a great day! :howdy:
Buff

 

[Buff]

UPDATE!!!!

I figured out why it wasn't working! The more I deal with this mower the more I see design flaws in this early model which have probably been remedied since then. Here was the problem.

There is a "Brake Control Rod" that goes from the left to the right of the deck. Looking at the deck as if sitting on the mower's seat the rod connects to the "Deck Brake Assembly". The rod, when engaging the PTO, was sliding itself down the hole in the brake assembly causing the belt to not be completely tight. I put a cotter pin on the side of this to prevent this from happening.

Having figured this out I have 2 questions...

The brake control rod still seems very wobbly and loose when I would think it should be tight. Is there any way to change this?

Secondly.was this piece originally welded together to the brake assembly and has since come off, or was there a cotter pin here that has since been lost? There is a cotter pin connecting the rod to the other side (right side as if sitting on the mower). The picture in the manual shows the rod connected to the left brake assembly not being held on by anything.

Either way the mower works for now, I'm just trying to figure out if my cotter pin idea will work or if I will end up having to weld the pieces together, and if there's maybe a way to tighten that rod so that the cotter pin will not be needed at all.

Thanks all!