Mower PTO belt help needed
 

Looks awesome!

I have a 128 that I inherited from my uncle. It is rougher than a cob. I have been slowly getting it in usable shape. I had to use a grinder to get the PTO hub off. I took all advice I could find here, with no luck. Mule drive was missing parts. Tires rotten. Lift release button broken off. PTO rod turn buckle broken brakes frozen. Carb gummed up no muffler. (Like I said ROUGH! ��) the only saving grace is he never used the tiller he bought with it. My Dad tried it and the ground speed was too fast. I found a creeper box and now it works great. The tiller is like new, still had paint on most of the tines! I also pit a spring lift assist on it.

I am trying to get the mower going. The serial number tag is missing but the best i can tell it is a 48”. I bought the PTO belt listed for it 1/2”x81” and it is too long. The tractor had a tiller mounted and working. The adjustment bolts at the mule drive will not tighten up enough for an 81” belt to fit. Any thoughts?

It does matter on the size and type of Mower Deck you have, with regards to PTO Belt size.

The size of the deck is determined by "cutting width". Measure the width, snap a picture of this deck, post the picture, and I am sure we can advise on the right belt.

Photos of deck and tractor

Here is the “cob” cadet.

Steve, measure the distance across from the ends of the outer blades when they are in line. That is what is considered the width of the deck.

Mower belt
 

I would get a long piece of rope and duplicate the route of the belt,with some adjustment built in,as they might stretch a bit.Some different mfg.might be a bit different on lenghth.If you find one,save the wrapper ,makes next time easier.A good time to free up adjustment mechanism, as it is important for operation.

Order the correct IH belt spec'd for that deck and be done with it.
I have never had good luck with farm store belts in a PTO/mule drive app.

Ad mentioned above in my original post, i ordered the belt listed for a 48” deck. All sources i have located indicate an 81” belt is required. The part number on the belt matches the part number on the sleeve. The sleeve indicates it is 81”. I have had another source tell me a 48” mower did not come on the tractor. That may well be the case, and part of the problem. It is in fact a 48” mower. I measured them tip to tip and it is 48”. I could not hold the tape measure at that point and take a picture. It looks like i will try the tried and true twine trick and take it to the local tractor supply.

Well, I think you looked up wrong belt.. Have a look at this.

from what I see, you need
IH-489397-R3
BELT, MULE DRIVE 3/8 X 75 1/2 SL | Use with 48" Deck

https://www.cubcadet.com/en_US/ari-p...c810d5875715/y

I dunno, but that blue belt does not look like it is 6" longer Coop. :biggrin2:
The 81" belt should be 3/8" by 81" not 1/2" wide. 3/8 belt will sit lower in all the pulley grooves.
You will need to fix the front of the bent up mule drive. THEN you can adjust the belt tension as it looks as the pulley will be hitting it.
The center pulley on that deck should be the smaller 4 1/2" one. got a pic of that pulley? otherwise the 75" will be correct.