Blue kevlar V-belts

[racsan]

So I ordered new belts for the ‘79 C101 wheel horse, engine to transmission and engine to rear tiller belt. the transmission belt is a 5/8” and the tiller belt is 1/2”. put them on and they dont work well, seems like they dont work well, Im not sure if they need broke in a bit or if I should just of gotten the regular black belts. The transmission belt doesnt seem to have enough slack when the clutch was pushed in , have to stand on the brake to stop it and shut it off completely to change gears . The tiller on the other hand works fine until you drop it in the ground then its slipping somehow. Before all this the tiller was fine, belt just looked bad, very worn. transmission belt would slip bad , esp in higher gears or if I used the front hitch to move a trailer. I looked up the sizes in several places before I ordered, went with the blue kevlar just because I thought they would last longer, but they seem much stiffer.

 

[Jazzer]

Do the pulleys seem glazed?
Some belts are designed for new applications when the new pulleys have a little rougher finish, and they have to bed in like brakes or clutches.
I’ve had to use 60 grit emery cloth on pulley wear surfaces on a riding mowers drive belt, to stop the new belts from slipping. Belt dressing adds some grip but is only a temporary fix.

That’s all I know on the subject, good luck!

-Jazzer

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Kevlar is usually used for abusive applications like a deck belt.

Make sure the tensioner is tensioning like it is supposed to.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My old Craftsman II that I rehabbed and took out to my GFs has eaten a drive belt and 3 or 4 Kevlar deck belts this year. Can’t figure out the sudden penchant for it. Dads tractor is eating belts too. Mine has running issues but did shred a drive belt earlier this year, at the absolute farthest point on the property from my tools, and in the swamp to boot.

at one point I tried buying some black belts for my tractor but they didn’t fit. When I measured them, I found they were not the correct size. Belt was stamped 83” and that’s what the package said, but they measured 82” Starting to feel like quality control is the problem more than anything

 

[racsan]

Maybe my new kevlar aren’t the right size, didnt measure them but compared them to the original. Might take might the originals to napa and see if they can match them up better. Rural king has belts but its such a mess trying to find a certain size. Too bad my wheel horse wasnt like john deere with dealer networks, sure its more $ but I could walk into a deere dealership and get drive belts for nearly any lawn & garden tractor. (in fact, with deere, you about have to due to the pitch on the sides of the variable speed drive belts is unique to john deere) Wheel horse was bought out by toro and im not for certain that toro is in existence anymore, seems like everything is mtd now, even my box-store deere rider, its almost exactly like a poulan I saw the other day.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Maybe my new kevlar aren’t the right size, didnt measure them but compared them to the original. Might take might the originals to napa and see if they can match them up better. Rural king has belts but its such a mess trying to find a certain size. Too bad my wheel horse wasnt like john deere with dealer networks, sure its more $ but I could walk into a deere dealership and get drive belts for nearly any lawn & garden tractor. (in fact, with deere, you about have to due to the pitch on the sides of the variable speed drive belts is unique to john deere) Wheel horse was bought out by toro and im not for certain that toro is in existence anymore, seems like everything is mtd now, even my box-store deere rider, its almost exactly like a poulan I saw the other day.

AYP (American Yard Products) makes most of the riders out there anymore. Craftsman, Poulan, MTD, some/all John Deere, Huskee, etc. a trick I learned years ago in searching for parts for my Craftmans was to put AYP in front of the part number that Sears provided. So I laugh anytime someone tries to tell me that their rider is better than mine. They were made by the same company dummy. Besides, my Craftsman GT is a freaking tank with AG tires that I filled with 5-6 gals of RV antifreeze and 55# wheel weights. Pretty much have to retrieve it with the truck if it gets stuck.

 

[racsan]

my wheel horse has ag tires on deere rims with 7 gallons each of winter grade windshield washer fluid, the deere rider (LA115) has rear weights and chains and doesnt do too bad. The wheel horse is my favorite though, Ive moved my ranger trailer with it full of dirt before, if the tiller is on thats just more grip it gets from the weight. Ive not put a front hitch on the deere, im not sure the hydrostat can take the usage. Its no problem with the wheel horse, the low range on the rear end makes it quite a tractor, wish it could of been a direct shaft drive instead of a belt drive to the transmission.