Secondary belt popping off after replacement

[lawncareguy]

Mower had been working fine this season, but when I was sharpening the blades, I noticed the secondary belt (one that goes around blade spindles) was worn, so I decided to replace it. Found a belt on Amazon that was touted as a replacement for the exact part number, and I checked the belt after receiving it to verify that it was proper length (width is slightly greater, but only because of the old one's age) - seems to be the exact same thing.

Here's my problem, though: When I try to start the blades with the new belt, the belt comes off the tensioner pulley. I have followed the instructions to the best of my knowledge- I have checked the routing against the book and a picture of the mower with the old belt on it. I have tried this three times, and this problem happens at low and high throttle. The belt seems tight when the deck is on the floor, so it does not appear to be loose or anything.

Tractor is x540 with a 54c mower on it.

 

[deerseeker001]

I would get a diagram of the Belt routing,very easy to put on Wrong trust me I did the same thing.If it isnt right you can smoke a belt in just a matter of a minutes.

 

[beenthere]

IMO, there is no replacement for the Deere belts.
Go with the Deere OEM.

 

[Thomas]

I agree w/Beenthere.
Does the deck have tension spring? that might be damage etc.

 

[lawncareguy]

I have posted on ****************.com also, and the advice seems the same. I have checked the routing and tried it multiple times, also reinstalled the old belt and verified it still works, so I will try OEM and see what that does for me.

 

[KYErik]

I have an older LX188 and the secondary belt tensioner pulley is attahed to a bracket that pivots on a shaft. The pivot points on the shaft were plastic bushings that were worn so much that there was enough play that the tensioner pulley was cocked over at an odd angle and the belt wouldpopoff when the pto was engaged. The plastic bushings werent too expensive and were fairly easy to replace.

 

[stuckmotor]

Some Deere mowers seem to have a unique angle of incline between the inside and outside causing non Deere belts not to last on Deere mowers. The one that I'm familiar with broke the belt rather than throwing it off, though.