How do I replace the belt on my mower?

expert EXPERT July 20, 2007

I am assuming you are referring to the mower deck belt, as this is commonly the one requiring customer maintenance.

If the information in your manual did not help, look for a routing decal on the mower. On this model it should be on the deck itself but it could also be on a belt shield or cover or on the side of the tractor just above the mower deck. That decal should show how the entire belt is routed.

Install the belt starting on the left-hand side, opposite the side the cut grass normally comes out of. There will be a belt running from below the engine to the transmission. Under the engine and just below that belt there will be another pulley. This pulley is the drive for your mower blades.

From there follow these steps:

1. The belt should come off the left hand side of the drive pulley, with the v of the belt in the pulley itself, and go straight to the outside of the blade pulley, or mandrel, closest to you.
2. The belt goes around the outside of the mandrel pulley then straight to the opposite side of the deck where the grass discharges. The belt wraps around the outside of the pulley there. This is the other blade or mandrel pulley.
3. Then the belt goes straight to the third pulley on the mower deck. This pulley is on a pivot with a spring attached. The belt goes around the pulley so that the spring pressure pulls it toward the rear of the tractor. This is the only pulley that runs on the flat side of the belt instead of the v side.
4. The belt goes straight back to the drive pulley under the engine.

If you did it correctly the belt should look like two arrows, or a boomerang, pointing to the left-hand side of the deck, opposite where the cut grass comes out.