Right Drive Belt Slippage

I have a 48'' Metro HP with a 17HP KAWI. The machine itself is 6 years old, but it only gets used once or twice a week. I noticed I have been having some problems making turns and going up hills as the traction on the right drive belt seems to be reduced. I replaced the belts last year thinking this would fix the problem but it really didn't help that much. I have the tensioners on the aggressive setting (I have pistol controls in case that matters) but that still doesn't seem to make a difference. Are there any other adjustments that can be made to help me get some traction back? I don't have much of a problem with the left wheel, its just mostly the right.

Also, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what I should be using for spacers on the blades for my deck. I noticed someone had a post saying that they were having some problems getting stringy grass to cut, which I am also experiencing, and they thought it was related to the spacers. Any idea how many of what size I need on each blade? And do they go on top or the bottom of the blade?

Thanks,

Jesse

 

Jesse,

Thanks for the post.

If only one wheel is affected I would probably start with the drive linkage adjustment. This is usually in the "set-up" instructions of the operator’s manual. I'm guessing that the cotter pin that holds the drive linkage to the drive lever is bottoming out in the thumb latch groove. Simply remove the hairpin form the cotter pin, slide the cotter pin out and turn the linkage to "lengthen" it. When correctly there should be 1/8"-1/4" gap between the cotter pin and the bottom of the thumb latch slot. Look at the manual and if you have any questions just give me a call at 800-667-5296. NOTE: If your unit has a washer and a hairpin between the thumb latch and the drive lever be certain to place them back in the correct location.

For stringy grass I would recommend the notched airfoil Excalibur blade.

Thanks,

Terry

 

I have both linkages adjusted for comfort at the moment. When I last got it back from the dealer, the pistols were really hard to squeeze, and at the end of the day my hands were killing me. So I loosened the linkages on both sides (counter-clockwise) until they were comfortable to use, just enough so that on hard braking the thumb control selector doesn't go into park, although recently I have noticed that it occasionally does... When you say make it longer, you mean turn it clockwise, or tighten the linkage right? What about the wingnuts that are on the brake control? Would any adjustment be needed there? Do you think that an ECS conversion would help the problem? Would my mower work with ECS, and if so, how much does it usually cost? I have it in the shop with the dealer at the moment, so if that would make a difference I might consider it.

 

Jesse,

The wing nuts are for the brake adjustment only and should not really affect the drive belts unless something is really out of adjustment. I would focus on the drive linkages first.

You'll want to turn the linkages counter clockwise to lengthen the rods. Basically you want to back them out from the round linkage they are threaded into until you have the 1/8"-1/4" gap between the cotter pin and the thumb latch groove.

The ECS control kit runs around $349 plus installation. ECS is really pretty cool. It in my opinion is much more user friendly than the pistol grips. Ironically it also greatly reduces the number of calls we get regarding belt slippage and linkage adjustments. ECS is much more forgiving in terms of linkage adjustments and staying on top of them.

Thanks,

Terry

 

Similar problem on my exmark. But belt seems to come off mainly when rolling it backwards off the Truck. From just looking the right side is set up the same as the left, but left does not come off??

 

Tinman,

The belt coming off may be due to a slight misalignment of the idler pulley arm. I've seen where these get slightly "tweaked" which will often cause the belt to slide off the pulleys when pulling the mower backwards.

Thanks,

Terry

 

Any way I can fix if that is the case?? Thanks

 

Thats funny you mention the belt slipping off in reverse, I have that same problem occasionally when I am backing it up. Where is the idler pulley arm located? The other thing I forgot to mention is that occasionally when I want to engage the brakes while I am mowing, my right pistol grip will get really hard to squeeze and stays pretty much in the extended position... but if I let the wheel move a little more it works fine and allows me to squeeze it tight together to the handle. Any idea what might be causing that?

 

SuperJ171,

The idler that is most likley mis-aligned is the drive belt idler. This is the idler arm/pulley that engages and disengages the drive belt when you squeeze and release the drive levers. It may be a good idea to check the alignment of the small (top) pulley as well.

The only time I've ever heard of the drive levers being excessively hard to squeeze and then abrubtly freeing up was on the older pistol grip models. The problem was usually an issue with drive linkage to drive lever mounting hardware. Specifically the hairpin that holds the cotter pin/drive linkage to the drive lever. Send me a pm to terry.eckert@exmark.com with your serial number and I'll take a look at the linkages on your machine to see if I can determine what may be causing this issue.

Thanks,

Terry