JD E110 eating deck belts

[38racing]

My neighbour. I may have posted about this last year. He broke deck belt. I replaced it and when I did it I noticed belt had worn holes in plastic pulley covers.
So he was soon back with another busted belt. I assumed it was the covers so I replaced them and the belt. I think it was July, maybe august.
So he just dropped by as he got mower out and I guess blades wouldn't turn. Another busted belt but this time it's clear that belt was burned down over a section until it was down to nothing and broke. To me it had to be a jammed belt burnt by the engine pulley. So first thing I notice is lots of crap up inside the covers and on deck. I blew that out with compressed air. He bought an oem belt from deere for $68, my aftermarket are $18. So putting his on I notice that again the guide part of the covers is worn by the belt. I'm puzzled because when belt is tight and moving it shouldn't really touch the cover but maybe the crap inside is an issue. I also notice that the engagement idler turns but does not free wheel when spun. I can't see that stopping the belt enough for engine pulley to burn through the belt but I'm going to replace it. But I really can't think of anyhting other than the crap build up is causing his problems. I think he bought it in 2015 or 2016.
Here's a short video on the covers.
https://youtu.be/ZQYh8FSZgTo

[hanz63]

A few things that I've learned with these decks. Watched your video BTW. You do have to look at the spindle pulleys on the 42" as they tweak often enough. None are perfect mind you. This will affect guard wear as well as their position when they are tightened down. IE, zip it on with an impact w/o watching, the cover leg twists which affects guard positioning. You should verify that your tensioner isn't badly worn at the pivot bolt and bushing, I'd bet it is. Deck pitch has an impact on belt wear and vibration. Cutting low enough, hitting the front of the deck tweaks the front draft arm bracket backwards, exaggerating the pitch. They go between 3/4" and 3/8" when I set them up. Typically 3/4" for most. You should be able to go 3/8" for mister crew cut. BTW, KE4AVB came up with using 954-04219 deck belts on these with the fixed cable mount. They work great. Keep up with the status reports.

[38racing]

Thanks. Interesting that the mtd belt is 1/2 shorter but my aftermarket price is 10 bucks more than the aftermarket jd from my supplier. I'll order it for his next replacement.

[KE4AVB]

Thanks. Interesting that the mtd belt is 1/2 shorter but my aftermarket price is 10 bucks more than the aftermarket jd from my supplier. I'll order it for his next replacement.

Really you have to shop around with various suppliers. With some my belts the OEM belts are lower cost than the after markets. Even if the aftermarket vary between each other on pricing. Currently there are three good aftermarket suppliers here and that is PIX, Rotary, and Stens.

Either way you got make sure the belts received are of the correct specs which is why I got a v-belt measuring tool several years ago as I had vendors arguing with me about the belts when they were wrong sized.

[38racing]

Thanks. Interesting that the mtd belt is 1/2 shorter but my aftermarket price is 10 bucks more than the aftermarket jd from my supplier. I'll order it for his next replacement.

Really you have to shop around with various suppliers. With some my belts the OEM belts are lower cost than the after markets. Even if the aftermarket vary between each other on pricing. Currently there are three good aftermarket suppliers here and that is PIX, Rotary, and Stens.

Either way you got make sure the belts received are of the correct specs which is why I got a v-belt measuring tool several years ago as I had vendors arguing with me about the belts when they were wrong sized.

At some point I'll open a thread with pictures of my belt measuring tool as I get different number from it from measuring the outside of the belt. As you mentioned there is variation in the width and depth.

[38racing]

A few things that I've learned with these decks. Watched your video BTW. You do have to look at the spindle pulleys on the 42" as they tweak often enough. None are perfect mind you. This will affect guard wear as well as their position when they are tightened down. IE, zip it on with an impact w/o watching, the cover leg twists which affects guard positioning. You should verify that your tensioner isn't badly worn at the pivot bolt and bushing, I'd bet it is. Deck pitch has an impact on belt wear and vibration. Cutting low enough, hitting the front of the deck tweaks the front draft arm bracket backwards, exaggerating the pitch. They go between 3/4" and 3/8" when I set them up. Typically 3/4" for most. You should be able to go 3/8" for mister crew cut. BTW, KE4AVB came up with using 954-04219 deck belts on these with the fixed cable mount. They work great. Keep up with the status reports.

interestingly while browsing I find the jd belt number gx20072 described as a flat belt rather than v belt

[KE4AVB]

I don't who the idiot that describe the belt as Flat but that does comes from JD sites. It is a HA that is 103.74" length .500" wide .350" thick with a belt angle of 32 degrees. On a side note the idler pulleys (sheaves) retainers are to be torque to 35 ft/lbs.

But here is a picture of the actual belt.

[hanz63]

I might mention too that I've cut a few of the fixed cable brackets off the deck and bolted on an adjustable bracket. You can use Deere or HOP brackets. Grrrr...

[38racing]

Someone has suggested that I make sure that the pulley brakes are disengaging when he engages the blades. I put it back in his shed after change belt but never cut with it, but with the rain through tomorrow he shouldn't be cutting. I better check it first.

[KE4AVB]

Someone has suggested that I make sure that the pulley brakes are disengaging when he engages the blades. I put it back in his shed after change belt but never cut with it, but with the rain through tomorrow he shouldn't be cutting. I better check it first.

This what is Hanz is hinting at in a way to as wear and cable differences can lead to system not releasing the brakes properly. Kinda a dumb idea to make that bracket fixed but many other decks have fix engagement cable brackets. Also checking the spindle brakes make sure they are not rusted up as the stepped washers tends to rust causing binding.

Personally I have only seen one of these decks so no real experience with them.