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  #1  
Old 10-27-2020, 08:33 AM
blackcloud77 blackcloud77 is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: FL
Posts: 28
Question 2166 PTO belt being thrown, troubleshooting and reassurance

I have a 2166 that's been 'new to me' for the past couple years. So far it's been doing great with only a couple issues here and there, just mowing my father-in-law's 1/4 acre residential lot.

Last weekend, I started it up as I normally do and after about 20 seconds, it threw the PTO belt off. I put it back on and continued mowing, I got about 10 more minutes out of it and it threw the belt off again. I am not sure if the belt broke this time, or was just thrown off and got chopped by the blades. When I went to investigate more deeply last night, I found the belt wrapped around the blades, and multiple deep cracks in it; as though it got beaten by the blades. I doubt this somewhat though, because my logic tells me once the belt is thrown, the blades might not have a whole lot of torque behind them, maybe not actually enough to cut a belt. This is pure speculation; it's entirely possible the freewheeling blades are indeed what chopped up the belt. I say chopped, but it was only broken in (I think) one place and with the aforementioned damage.

Another thing I have been noticing for the last year or so seems to be making slightly more sense as in it's probably related, but still not giving quite a clear picture. I have noticed that while mowing and on a turn, I do smell a bit of rubber burning. Only when turning though. Knowing the belts don't have anything to do with steering and mostly 'it's still running so hurry up and get the damn job done' attitude... I didn't pay much more attention to it.

I had read about aligning/leveling the deck probably a year or so ago, and I did that job per instructions here on the forum about that same time. I did notice last week when experiencing the problem that the adjusting nuts on the deck's front hanger hadn't stayed put. Problem is, I don't recall if I snugged them back up before or after the belt was thrown the second time and met its maker.

I read a number of threads before attempting to diagnose the problem last night, so I removed the deck, hosed off some debris and with the deck belt still installed, spun it by hand. With no real reference to go by, it didn't seem as though there was anything amiss. All pulleys and spindles moved pretty smoothly without a whole lot of resistance. This seemed OK so I was distracted from removing the deck belt and checking each piece as I should have. At that point I decided to put a new belt on while paying closer attention to the twists, and just see what happens.

The next part might have saved me shredding a brand new belt.

Angry at the time, but in retrospect it may be a blessing...it turned out that the CC belt I bought at Tractor Supply was the wrong belt inside the correct packaging sleeve. The package showed the correct part number, 954-3055A, but when installed back to front, it rose about 12" above the PTO clutch, LOL! I checked the bar code on the belt's plastic cuff against the code on the sleeve, and indeed...they did not match. So the 'let's see what happens' part never happened.

So. Right now I'm thinking I need to remove the deck belt, check each pulley and spindle. Also, get the tractor on flat ground and check the deck alignment/leveling, again. I read one other post from a guy that was shredding belts and replaced the mule pulley, after which all was fine. I don't really have any other ideas, and the rubber smell while turning (with my limited knowledge) isn't pointing me in any specific direction besides checking what was already mentioned on other threads. Hoping for some guidance, ideas and anything I may be overlooking.

Oh, and my choke vibrating its way closed every 8-10 minutes is annoying if anyone has any quick and hot tips about that.
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  #2  
Old 10-27-2020, 09:15 AM
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Cubcadet_107 Cubcadet_107 is offline
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Being a shaft driven machine, it has the clutch mounted on the front of the engine with the 2 vertically positioned idler pulleys that rotate the belt 90 degrees to drive the deck. Same setup that was used on the old narrow frames and even the Original. Had a similar issue when first trying to mow with my 106. All I needed was to tighten up the belt. Somewhere there should be an idler that can be adjusted to increase tension. Check the spindles and all idlers, make sure they all spin freely. Buy the correct replacement belt, and once installed tighten up the belt. Now if by chance the setup doesn't have any way to tighten the belt, maybe it was simply too worn out and stretched to work well. Simply replacing it could do the trick.

I do recommend you try to properly align the deck as well, could help make things work even better. As for the loose choke, I would assume there's something you can tighten to make it less loose.

Hope this helps
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  #3  
Old 10-27-2020, 10:36 AM
Red Dave Red Dave is offline
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Remembering how I struggled to find the secret why my 2180 was throwing PTO Belts, I wish you the best of luck. You may need a lot of patience too.

I don't know how similar your deck is to mine, but on the rear of my deck there is a plate that mounts the pulley that the PTO Belt drives. Check the mount on the rear of that plate, where it attaches to the deck. Mine was cracked clean through. It was allowing the pulley to tip forward just a little, tipping the front of the pulley down. That was part of my alignment issues.

Good Luck!
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Old 10-27-2020, 11:05 AM
spndncash spndncash is offline
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I highly suggest using a cub cadet belt for the PTO and for the deck itself. Many cub belts are oddball lengths so the equivalent belts just don't fit right. Cub belts are just better quality. I have three ZTR's one 2182 with a 60" and 54" deck, in a pinch ill go get a belt from the local farm store - it typically lasts just long enough for me to go get one from cub cadet on Monday (because belts only break after the cub cadet store is closed for the weekend)
as stated earlier the PTO-Idler/tensioner setup is critical as well as the tension.

if this is a lingering problem - there is a tendency for grass, dirt, etc. to build up in the groove of the pulleys. the belts don't fit right when this happens causing slippage and premature wear/breakage.
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Old 10-27-2020, 10:20 PM
blackcloud77 blackcloud77 is offline
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Thanks for the guidance, all. I managed to swap out the wrong belt at a different Tractor Supply store, and got the correct Cub Cadet belt. In the next few days I will be checking all this out and I will post up what I find.
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Old 10-28-2020, 12:03 AM
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guyina4x4 guyina4x4 is offline
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Check that the verticle pulleys right below the PTO are spinning free and smooth. Any binding or roughness they'll need replaced.
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Cub Cadet is a premium line of outdoor power equipment, established in 1961 as part of International Harvester. During the 1960s, IH initiated an entirely new line of lawn and garden equipment aimed at the owners rural homes with large yards and private gardens. There were a wide variety of Cub Cadet branded and after-market attachments available; including mowers, blades, snow blowers, front loaders, plows, carts, etc. Cub Cadet advertising at that time harped on their thorough testing by "boys - acknowledged by many as the world's worst destructive force!". Cub Cadets became known for their dependability and rugged construction.

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