I have traditionally run OEM belts on my stuff. Cost is usually mitigated by life of product. Do you have a go to supplier/manufacturer other than OEM for deck belts? I am not getting the life I expect from an OEM Kubota belt. The deck belt on a BX mower. Where I am used to seeing 500+ hours out of belts, the BX seems to be eating one every couple hundred hours (or less). My references are a JD 62" stamped deck with a double B groove belt and a Kub ZD with a 2/B style belt. Both have always been OEM and both have given 3x the life of the BX's OEM belts (2/A). The BX seems far more sensitive to having debris on the deck (small pieces of sticks, bits of dirt and small pebbles). The pulley covers seem to amplify the effects by trapping debris around the spindle assy, so they have been removed. (they are removed on the ZD deck also with no issues) Perhaps it's a matter of never getting anything other than grass clippings on the deck, but I don't mow a golf course with it. What belts are you using? Do you like them? Seeing good service life? I gotta get something soon as I see cracking and a couple of chewed on areas. Willing to entertain aftermarket if there is a general consensus that they are good quality. I have more knowledge than I care to regarding v-belts honestly but this is an area that is foreign to me...the aftermarket. Never having strayed from OEM this is new turf for me. Input appreciated.
I have been running fleet farm belts. I was going through them for a while, but discovered it was because the idler on the deck was welded on crooked. Fixed that and the belts last much longer. They last longer when I don't mow tall grass or in the woods, lol.
We run a belt that has Kevlar in it on our BadBoy mower. It was breaking belts and we found out several pulleys were worn bad.
Same here for deck belts...have had good luck with it. The only other option in my mind would be kevlar reinforced belts...but I'd make sure everything else is right before throwing another high dollar belt at it. (right belt #, pulleys not worn/damaged, alignment, etc...
Yup, their BladeRunner series are great. https://www.royalsupply.com/downloads/GatesLG-Guide.pdf https://assets.gates.com/content/da...catalogs/gates-groundsmaintenance-catalog.pdf
I’m with others on checking the idlers for proper alignment along with making sure the deck drive pulleys don’t have worn bearings or sheaves. I had a problem on a JD 214 I restored that was eating a belt once or twice a year. The items I mentioned were the culprits. I’m a fan of OEM belts also. Hopefully you find your issues…Happy mowing
Quick visual inspection and hand check on spindles did not yield anything out of ordinary. I do notice a bit of flapping of the belt on the long run it makes from right of deckrear to left spindle. It does it with a brand new belt, so figured is SOP (tension is good). I'll look at the pulleys soon. None of the above issues would cause cracking at the bottom of the 'V' on the belts I wouldn't think (think serpintine belt cracks). Deck has probably 3-350 or so hours of mowing on it. They shoulda used a 2/B instead of a 2/A I think.
How do the spindle and idler bearings sound when you give them a good spin with the belt off? I've seen decks with "jumpy" belts smooth right out after replacing "noisy" (but seemingly fine otherwise) bearings.
Will check when I replace the belt. Would be very dissapointed to find one had failed already. Greased regularly.
On some idler pulley brackets and/or the bolt and bushing are both worn enough to cant them enough to cause the belt to run off of level. Same if the belt pulleys spindle have wallowed out any. Doesn’t have to be much to cause a strain on the belt and cause premature failure. Hope you get it figured out.
Have not yet had a chance to get after it. I have purchased a lower cost belt in the mean time. I will drag my azz on this one because I dislike removing/reinstalling the deck on that tractor.
Honestly getting the PTO shaft back on is my nemesis. If my right hand had a couple more fingers it'd be a breeze.
I’m with you on that. On my previous lawn tractor which had a 48” deck it wasn’t exactly fun but not seriously bad. Now with my current one it’s a 62” deck and is PTO driven. The PTO connection is under the tractor and to the center rear over the deck (PITA) and it’s (the deck) one heavy SOB I was in the habit of removing the deck 3-4 times a mowing season and cleaning it out, checking everything for proper alignment and usually changed belts (one PTO and one on the deck this only once a year). Sharpen blades if necessary. Now, once a year and don’t change the deck belt unless I see a issue.
They could make these so much easier to work on. A friend got a jd 2025 and the mower deck is a breeze to work with. Probably the one good thing jd has done lately....
Mower belts live a tough life. Not many applications punish like a mower deck. Shock loading, heavy loads, dusty conditions, moisture, you name it, a mower sees it. Standard industrial belts will not hold up well at all vs OEM or a belt specifically engineered for severe-duty or mower applications. The 2A belt (vs 2B) is likely the culprit for short life vs your other equipment. Especially given the relatively low hours. Much can be gleaned on why a belt fails from examining the failed belts. Even if tension seems good, I'd put a real tension gauge on it and consider adjusting if slippage is an issue. Next, I'd check the profile of the sheaves/pulleys. If they are worn even slightly, there will be an adverse effect on belt life. A cheap mechanic's stethoscope should tell you all you need to know about idler and spindle bearings. Straight-edges for alignment.
