LT1000 deck belt replacement

[bkenobi]

I have a Craftsman 917.272201 lawn tractor which has had some modifications made to it by the previous owner (I assume). This tractor came with a 46" deck originally but when I got it, it has a 42" deck. I had pulled the deck to repair some damage and noticed that the belt that was on it was pretty tight. Yesterday after getting half way around my property I heard some flippity-flap from the deck and then no more blades. The belt still has one string intact, but I'm not sure if it's on the inner or outer diameter so measuring the length doesn't really help all that much. I can say that what I measured was 94" and from reading around various places, it looks like these tractors generally used a 1/2" x 95.5" v-belt. I'm leaning towards that being the right length but nobody had it locally on my initial search so I picked up a 94" and 95" from O'Reilly to see if either was close.

Does anyone know if a 42" deck always uses a 95.5" belt regardless of the engagement? Mine is electric but my last mower was manual and they looked very close to the same length though I didn't measure. I'm just trying to make sure whatever I end up ordering is right so I don't have to hassle with a return and longer delays.

 

[TractorTech]

So the Craftsman site shows 144959 1/2”x95.5” for 38”, 42” and 46” decks for LT1000 and LT2000​

 

[bkenobi]

I tried 95.5 and it was too short for whatever reason (couldn't get the deck to mount). I tried a 96.5 and it mounts correctly and feels like it has good tension (the tensioner is neither min or max position). I'll try this one and see how it goes. Should have pulled the belt to measure once I realized it was a different bed. Hmmm, wonder if I should pull the main drive belt too since I know the motor was swapped too.

 

[TractorTech]

I tried 95.5 and it was too short for whatever reason (couldn't get the deck to mount). I tried a 96.5 and it mounts correctly and feels like it has good tension (the tensioner is neither min or max position). I'll try this one and see how it goes. Should have pulled the belt to measure once I realized it was a different bed. Hmmm, wonder if I should pull the main drive belt too since I know the motor was swapped too.

I had a similar problem with an LT... Too long, no engagement. Too short, blades wouldn't stop. Mechanical PTO was even worse to find that sweetspot for the right belt.

 

[tomplum]

Next time you have the deck off, snap a pic of the top of the deck.

 

[Williy]

Perhaps if you check the belt you can find the numbers
to get a new one

willy

 

[bkenobi]

The old belt was too worn on the outer surface to have any printing left. I tried to measure it and came up with 94" but since it's shredded and down to 2 strands in that section, it would be hard to determine whether that's closer to ID or OD. The deck is nearly identical to the LT1000 that came with a 42" deck other than it was manual/lever actuated versus electric.

I was able to install the 96.5" belt the other day and had a chance to test it today. It seems to spin up just fine though it was raining enough that I didn't try to cut anything.

 

[tomplum]

So are you installing a tension spring on this?
174883 was the belt that the 42" inch used w/ the electric clutch along with a spring. 2002 and up?

 

[bkenobi]

It has a tensioner spring.

 

[tomplum]

It has too many springs if you are using this with an electric clutch. First off, remove the brake arms, hardware and their springs. Next remove the spring that hooks of the front of the idler cam. The actual tensioner spring that pulls back on the idler cam is not as designed, but I'm sure you can figure out tension once you have the 174883 belt installed.