Help!

[tbarnett]

Have a 2005 CASE DX25E with a 60" mid-mower. Issue has come up over last two years. While mowing moderate grass (thick, but not excessively tall) the deck slows almost to a stop. I can sometimes make it through by slowing down to a crawl or even stopping to let the deck catch up. Thought it was fuel filters (has helped in the past) so I replaced both as well as air filter.

Slight improvement, but still a problem. Today while mowing I watch the tach very carefully when the deck would slow down and the RPMs hardly dropped as all. Stayed very close to 3000 PRM even as the deck almost stopped.

I know the deck runs from a shaft off the HST unit. The belt is only a year or two old and doesn't appear to be slipping and the tensioner appears plenty tight. Any thoughts or help would be great! I'm getting very frustrated and can't really afford a trip to the "stealership" right now.:ashamed:

 

[MinnesotaEric]

When was the last time you sharpened the blades to something sharper than a chisel point?

I leaned on my zero turn that the blades needed to be ground with a finer edge in order to cut well.

 

[tbarnett]

Just resharpened them when I replaced the filters. It all helped, but still chokes down when gets thick. I'm thinking belt spring/tensioner or just worn belt, but the things is $120 so I'm trying to be sure before I replace it. Not worn or cracked and not excessive play, but guessing it may not take too much.

 

[zzvyb6]

So now you have to watch the pto drive shaft in order to determine if the pto is slowing down, or is the drive belt slipping on the main drive pulley. If the grass is wet, good chance that the belt has found some moisture and is slipping.