LTX1046M idler pulley issue

[sirmummy43]

Good morning;
I just bought a 2011 LTX1046M with 460 hours on it. When I engage the PTO, the idler pulley doesn't feed into the belt far enough to turn the blades. Engine off and belt removed, I engage the PTO fully and I can reach in and, by hand, can push the idler an inch further even though the spring is in tension. I can't for the life of me figure this out. Any ideas?
Mike

[Billy-O]

Correct belt? Correct routing of belt? Grass and cuttings build up cleaned out?

[ol'George]

Is the idler binding on its pivot?

[ironman]

Engage cable: broken, stretched, binding?

[West Valley G]

Looks like time to pull the ol deck and take a look.
Probably all needs cleaned up and serviced anyway.

Ken

[sirmummy43]

Thanks for the replies;
I have the deck off, but have the idler cable attached. I agree there is something going on with the cable. I could eat tomorrow's breakfast off the deck; it is that clean, no crud blocking anything. With the belt off I can push the idler pulley by hand to where it almost touches the fixed pulley with no obstructions in it's swing. With the cable/spring hooked on the idler arm, I engage the PTO lever all the way down and locked and the pulley swings towards the fixed pulley but there is still about 1" of cable wire exposed at the containment bracket. At this point I can still push the idler another inch or so towards the fixed pulley even though the lever is all of the way down and locked. If I remove the spring from the idler pulley arm and push the lever down and locked (with no load) the entire cable wire is drawn into the cable sleeve; no 1" of wire shows.
Is there any kind of adjustment I can make that will tighten up the cable between the attachment to the engagement lever and the attachment to the idler arm? I'm starting to think ironman is on the right track, that the cable has stretched to the point that the return spring is overpowering the engagement spring. There is a little slack in the engagement arm at the top of it's retracted position. Sorry, I'm having a hard time describing what I'm looking at. Other thoughts?
Mike

[ol'George]

is the belt routed properly?

[sirmummy43]

Yes the belt is routed correctly. I measured its length and it is correct according to the description associated with the part number. Thanks.
Mike

[ironman]

First, if I recall correctly, there is no adjustment for the cable, that is why there is a spring on the end of it.
Second, I'd venture to say, when it is connected, the reason you see an inch of cable wire
is because:
A. The pivot bar has applied maximum tension to the belt and can move no further, thus the the cable spring stretches out as it is supposed to.
or
B. The pivot is bar is binding at some point before it gets full tension on the belt, but
the cable spring know no difference and stretches as it is supposed to.

Personally, I would take the pivot bar off, check for binding, lubricate, go from there.

[sirmummy43]

OK, here's what I found this morning after my last post. I ordered a new deck engagement cable because I am 99% certain mine is stretched. But before I ordered it I found a guy on Youtube that did a really good video on replacing this cable on a tractor exactly like mine, good camera work showing everything.
At one point the video showed him removing the engagement spring and cable retainer and I had a "Wait! What?" moment as I noticed the one end of his return spring was connected to the bend in the brake control rod instead of thru the hole on the end of the idler bracket where the brake rod goes, like on mine.
My spring anchored 3" further away than it should be and is very hard to overcome when engaging the idler pulley. Before the pulley can effectively engage the belt the return spring is so taught it overpowers the engagement spring. This condition also messes up the brakes so they don't release the spindles enough to freely turn. I have no idea how long this deck has been like this. The guy I bought the mower from bought it from an estate sale to fix up and sell, making a few bucks. According to him, the mower had been in a storage shed for 3 or 4 years when he bought it.
The new cable, idler arm and brake parts are ordered. Pads are shot from rubbing on the spindle pulleys. Once I put the return spring back where it belongs I'm pretty sure this particular problem will be solved.
Mike