325 hydro pulley and tensioner out of plane?

[g-lenn]

Hi folks,
I have a 325 that's been burning up the traction belt. Inspecting it, I can see that the hydro pulley is not in plane with the nearest tensioner pulley; probably about 1/2" lower and the belt was dropping down so that only half of it was riding on the drive pulley. With the belt loose, I checked to see if anything had excessive play and it all feels pretty tight. Does anyone know if it's normal for those pulleys to be misaligned? It surprised me that it could be designed that way. I have a new drive belt ready to go on but figured I'd check before I go immediately tearing up a $100 belt... A few related images are posted below. In the photo of the drive pulley, I held a standard hex bit for a drill just to give some sense of scale because I suppose it's possible that the drive pulley walked upwards, but that seems unlikely and it feels solid.

Thanks for your thoughts

 

[Tinhack]

No, it is not normal to have misaligned pulleys. Something may be bent, or a bearing is worn allowing a pulley to shift on its axis. It's also extremely important to keep the correct tension on belts.

 

[beenthere]

Some adjustment needed. Hope you can track it down.

 

[Richard001]

g-lenn​

Welcome to TBN.

Richard