TG1860 Burning up PTO drive Belts

[Audioguy52]

I just received my Father-in-Law's old 1998 TG1860 (He bought a new zero turn). I adjusted the PTO Clutch and got it working and when I ran it the first time the old belt was loose and jumped off the deck spindle so I bought a new one and installed it. I then mowed the back yard and started spelling rubber and assumed it was the deck belt...wrong the new belt burned up.
What would be the cause of this?

 

[D2Cat]

Maybe a spindle is loose with a bad bearing, or the belt tensioner pulley seized or dragging.

 

[Audioguy52]

I'm leaning toward the spindle/bearing. This thing has been sitting in the weather for a year and a half.
I guess I will just rebuild the deck with all new bearings, blades and belts.

 

[Audioguy52]

Is there a cross reference on the bearings somewhere?

 

[Daren Todd]

There will be a make and part number on the side of the bearing. Any auto parts store or bearing supplier will be able to cross the part number

 

[bcp]

Check the belt to make sure it is the proper belt for the mower, and not just one of the same size.

Bruce

 

[85Hokie]

Check the belt to make sure it is the proper belt for the mower, and not just one of the same size.

Bruce

Ditto on the belt and bearings,

when looking for a belt, either get the factory one, OR make sure that the belt fits the pulley - too many times a belt is placed on the pulley thinking it works, the belt should NEVER touch the inner part of the pulley, this is on a typical V belt, the V part should ride on the outer walls of the pulley only.

I have seen way to may people match up a belt and have the thickness to small and it rides in the pulley and smokes like crazy!

All of you spindles should have zerks, all should spin freely without the belt on them too

 

[Tooljunkie]

Bearings when spindles are turned by hand should make no noise, even the slightest rumble is the sound of a failing bearing.if unable to see bearing/seal numbers take them in to local auto parts store and the good parts person should be able to measure them up.

Belts are made from a variety of materials, some arent suitable for mower applications. If at all possible go with a oem belt. Although it will be more money you will get longer life compared to off the shelf fractional horsepower belts.

 

[Audioguy52]

All,
Thanks for the great input.
The new belt that burned up was a new 58"x60" bought at Tractor Supply in the mower belt area. The center of the belt was not touching the center of the pulley but was resting on the sides. When running the deck is extremely noisy and vibrates quite a bit.
So, I am going to replace the blades, bearings and blade belt. Hopefully that will fix the problem.
Another question I have is about the grease for the bearings. Do you use a lithium based grease or a moly based grease. I have always been told that if you mix the 2 they basically turn to water and don't do anything.
Thanks again for the information.

 

[Audioguy52]

5/8"60" Typo on previous post.

 

[JeffL]

I have used the TSC belts for years with no problems on a Cub, good for deck, drive, and snow blower. When I bought the Kubota and replaced the deck belt it lasted 8 hours, completely destroyed. I remembered when the tensioner pulley was set the belt was like a piano string. I replaced with a Kubota belt and now approaching two years, over 100 hrs mow time. When tension was set the Kubota belt was like a giant rubber band. Very different construction. In reality the Kubota belt was about the same price as the TSC belt.
Also, mixing grease will not cause a problem. However, moly grease is made for metal to metal sliding friction surfaces, not ideal for roller bearings. I use Mobil 1 synthetic grease in my spindles. Jeff

 

[Russell King]

Mixing greases WILL CAUSE problems if they are not compatible.
It is too complex but search on the internet for information


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[spike111]

Can anybody provide the part number for this belt (the one that connects the PTO to the mower deck?

If it matters, this is for the 54 inch deck.

 

[lugbolt]

Belts are not universal.

There's different V angles, different materials, sheath vs no sheath, heights (depths), obviously widths & lengths, and most of the time they are application specific. Just went through this using a generic TSC belt on a Wizard and it too lasted maybe 2 hours before it started coming apart. The sheath on it was not made for the heat that the deck generates and it started delaminating quickly.

Yes...if the deck is noisy, rebuild it. New bearings in everything, and new idler(s) if they're noisy. Also make sure everything is free and that the idler arm isn't flopping around. It should be free to pivot but no or very little movement up & down (vertically). Those decks are super smooth running, and pretty quiet with the standard blades. They get a little noisier with high lift blades, though but it's just "blade noise"--not bearing noise.

Greases are not all the same either. There are specific greases for bearings. Muti-purpose greases kinda do it all but don't do any one thing great and that affects spindle bearing life. Spindle bearings live a very tough life.

 

[arkie6]

Can anybody provide the part number for this belt (the one that connects the PTO to the mower deck?

If it matters, this is for the 54 inch deck.

I know this is an old thread, but if someone comes across it doing an internet search, the current Kubota part number for this belt is K5221-51350. This fits both the 48" and 54" decks.