Husqvarna LGT 24K54 - mower deck belt jumping off. AGAIN

[jpilk99]

Hi all,

I may be resurrecting's an older post (below) when I had issues with the mower deck belt jumping off. Just like in that post, I think i've checked everything, from drive pulley under the motor, to the deck itself, all spindles are on the same plan, none are bent or lose. As noted in that previous thread, I had installed a 'tensioner pulley Limit Stop' bolt to keep that tension pulley from flapping too lose... But here I am back with brand new belt, everything grease, deck set & adjusted to proper height (with the rear about a 1/2 inch higher than front) and yet I can't figure out why - after only about 100' of mowing over perfectly flat grass, the belt inexplicitly jumps off. Time after time. I will say the machine is about 10-11 years old with almost 500 hours. The mower deck ain't brandy new, but, it doesn't seem that bad. Not sure what Could go bad, bad enough to cause brand new belt to jump for no reason, or at least none that I can see.

Mower deck belt jumping off again

It seems as though it may be aggravated by the fact the deck in lowered. Where did it jump from? Remember as you scratch your head where the belt came off, think of the belt being pushed around the pulley system rather than being drawn around. I remember you saying this previously, great...

www.tractorbynet.com

Jay

 

[LittleBill21]

take a video. no one is going to be able help without seeing what's going on

 

[jpilk99]

take a video. no one is going to be able help without seeing what's going on

I don't know when the belt is going to jump, so can't really video something.

 

[5030]

Just got done rebuilding the neighbor gals Husky zero turn mower and I have to say, what a piece of junk. Very poorly made. Told her it might last another year, maybe and it was time to step up to something better. Very few grease fittings no metal bushings (all plastic) and the front deck suspension was horrible. A bent steel rod in plastic bushings with stamped ears on the ends. Very poorly made design, obviously built with obsolence in mind. Cheap throw away Kohler Courage engine and no access to the pumps for oil changes and no filters either. Strictly a homeowner grade machine with a terrible seat too.

I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[RandyT]

Just got done rebuilding the neighbor gals Husky zero turn mower and I have to say, what a piece of junk. Very poorly made. Told her it might last another year, maybe and it was time to step up to something better. Very few grease fittings no metal bushings (all plastic) and the front deck suspension was horrible. A bent steel rod in plastic bushings with stamped ears on the ends. Very poorly made design, obviously built with obsolence in mind. Cheap throw away Kohler Courage engine and no access to the pumps for oil changes and no filters either. Strictly a homeowner grade machine with a terrible seat too.

I guess you get what you pay for.

Just got an email from my parts supplier yesterday.. The throttle cable that I had on backorder since the first part of June for my customers 2006 husqvarna rider is NLA.

 

[seville009]

Had a belt jumping off my Ferris mower two years ago.

Put a new belt on and no more problems.

The old belt was stretched just enough to be loose enough to cause the problem

So….stick a new belt on and keep the old one as an emergency spare. Worst case if that doesn’t solve the issue is that you have a spare belt.

 

[gstrom99]

My SIL was having the same issue with his Husky. New belt didn't help. I finally got talked into looking at it (didn't take too much), and I figured out that he had it routed wrong. The routing is really goofy and once I had it wrangled around everything correctly, it was fine.

 

[Diggin It]

Just like in that post, I think i've checked everything, from drive pulley under the motor, to the deck itself, all spindles are on the same plan, none are bent or lose.


But here I am back with brand new belt, everything grease, deck set & adjusted to proper height (with the rear about a 1/2 inch higher than front)

Pulleys and idlers wear. They may not be noticeable, but they will not hold a belt.

I had all kinds of problems with my JDX300 deck until I replace a couple of idlers. Hasn't chucked or eaten a belt since.

 

[gstrom99]

Pulleys and idlers wear. They may not be noticeable, but they will not hold a belt.

Yes, that too. I've seen the "bearing" burnt up on some, that didn't show bad until I took it off. Locked up, and melted the plastic.

 

[jpilk99]

Had a belt jumping off my Ferris mower two years ago.

Put a new belt on and no more problems.

The old belt was stretched just enough to be loose enough to cause the problem

So….stick a new belt on and keep the old one as an emergency spare. Worst case if that doesn’t solve the issue is that you have a spare belt.

I put a brand new belt on

 

[jpilk99]

My SIL was having the same issue with his Husky. New belt didn't help. I finally got talked into looking at it (didn't take too much), and I figured out that he had it routed wrong. The routing is really goofy and once I had it wrangled around everything correctly, it was fine.

Hah, thanks Gstrom. I know the routing like the back of me hand. That ain't the issue - but appreciate the reality check

 

[jpilk99]

Pulleys and idlers wear. They may not be noticeable, but they will not hold a belt.

I had all kinds of problems with my JDX300 deck until I replace a couple of idlers. Hasn't chucked or eaten a belt since.

Spindles are all one season old, maybe 2 at most. Could the drive pulley (at the clutch) need replacing I wonder?

 

[seville009]

I put a brand new belt on

Whoops….sorry - didn’t catch that in your original post.

Here’s a general article on what to check;

Your Belt Keeps Coming Off Your Husqvarna Mower (Solved!)

Having to stop mowing, get off your mower and replace your Husqvarna belt because it keeps falling off can get very frustrating. The only way to prevent it from continuing …

poweredoutdoors.com

 

[5030]

After working on my neighbors Husky zero turn, I'm not impressed with the build quality at all. About on par with a box store MTD in my opinion. I want to see grease fittings and metal bushings and her's is devoid of that plus it has a Kohler Courage engine which is basically a thousand hour throw away and the drives are sealed, so no fluid changes either. Most certainly a homeowner machine.

In comparison, my M60 Cub Cadet tank has a fabricated deck, spindles have grease fittings, deck suspension is angle iron arms and the Hydro Gear transmissions are serviceable and each has an oil filter and it has a Kawasaki V twin which is a much better lasting engine. In fact it's loaded with grease fittings, but the the Tank is a commercial grade unit and priced accordingly.

You always get what you pay for and that includes the box store JD mowers that are built by MTD and badged JD. Basically throw away mowers.

 

[LittleBill21]

After working on my neighbors Husky zero turn, I'm not impressed with the build quality at all. About on par with a box store MTD in my opinion. I want to see grease fittings and metal bushings and her's is devoid of that plus it has a Kohler Courage engine which is basically a thousand hour throw away and the drives are sealed, so no fluid changes either. Most certainly a homeowner machine.

In comparison, my M60 Cub Cadet tank has a fabricated deck, spindles have grease fittings, deck suspension is angle iron arms and the Hydro Gear transmissions are serviceable and each has an oil filter and it has a Kawasaki V twin which is a much better lasting engine. In fact it's loaded with grease fittings, but the the Tank is a commercial grade unit and priced accordingly.

You always get what you pay for and that includes the box store JD mowers that are built by MTD and badged JD. Basically throw away mowers.

I used to agree with this, then realized this is not always the case. I have a white gt3000 tractor 2000era around 700 hours on it. got it used in 2014 (3k new in 2000)

I have now had the motor apart 3 times (B&S intek). One of the greasable spindles died, the electric pto was dead when i got it. every single steering bushing had to be replaced, both front tires needed tubes. back get fix a flat every year. throttle and choke cables melted. its on its 4th set of ignition coils (2 were mice damage). went through 4 drive belts in a year before i replaced every single pulley in the system, (yet it just chucked another one last week) , the front pull bar holding the deck wore through. Both front frame brackets holding the mower snapped in the same place (both got welded). and that's just off the top of my head.

my mother has a sears special 2004 era paid about 1200 new. has 550 hours on, and she literally rams it into tree's to get under them.

I have replaced 1 pto engagement cable, and a battery in that entire time...... YEA lets just ponder that.... not a single greasable point on it except front spindles. she cuts for 3 hours at a time, i barely cut 45 minutes. Honestly would rather have her machine at this point. Mine is built 3x better, but it sure doesn't last longer.

 

[Rich B1]

If you haven’t replaced the idlers on the deck, do it. I had a mower that kept eating belts. The idlers all felt fine with no belt on. But found 1 would lock up under a load.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Just got an email from my parts supplier yesterday.. The throttle cable that I had on backorder since the first part of June for my customers 2006 husqvarna rider is NLA.

I ran into the very same thing trying to buy a replacement pinion gear for our GHT26V52LS. No expectations of when (if ever) to have on available. So much for buying more Husqvarna, in my book.

 

[RandyT]

I ran into the very same thing trying to buy a replacement pinion gear for our GHT26V52LS. No expectations of when (if ever) to have on available. So much for buying more Husqvarna, in my book.

Don't even get me started on Briggs after their buy out by a financial group following their bankruptcy. They are deleting entire engine parts schematics. Basically acting like it never existed.