huskee

a friend owns a huskee 4200. he says he needs to replace belts. motor will run, but machine will not move. is belt replacement on this machine a major project?

owner's manual advised to take machine to dealer.

At the very least you'll have to remove mower deck,after that check that belt not off eng or trans pulley,check condition of belt,if belt badly worn/glazed or has chunks missing out of it then replace belt,if belt in decent condition & only has mild wear/glazeing check that return spring for belt idler pulley not broken/disconnected.

Also check rear axles & tire rims,unlike many tractors that use a shaft key to connect wheel hub/tire rim to axle this transaxle has flats on axles,remove each rear wheel & check that flats on axle & in sleeves on tire rims aren't worn/rounded off,if axle slipping/spinning in either rim due to rim sleeve/axle wear tractor won't move.

After removing mower deck replaceing drive belt is pretty much straight forward,although you may be working in some tight/uncomfortable position's,the higher you can lift front end of tractor off ground & work safely under same will work to your advantage.

thanks.

there is a short belt, on top; that seems to be loose. without a more in depth look, i am not able to determine why it is loose. maybe idler spring missing or off. maybe idler arm seized.

Without the actual model number from under the seat it is difficult to determine what Huskee you have. 4200 is probably only a number on the hood.

some Huskees made by MTD tighten the belt to drive the transmission. It is normal for one of the belts (front belt) to be slack when at rest.

Assuming it is the mower I am thinking of, as far as belt replacment goes, It usually takes about an hour to change them. If the front idler pulley that is directly bolted to the deck has a rough bearing, you will have to remove the seat and fender deck to replace it-Only a few models had access for the bolt in the fender deck. That is probably at least another 1/2 hr.

Sometimes to change the rear belt it is necesary to remove the transmission puley from its shaft. There is not enough clearance between the pulley and the frame to slip the belt in.

In a few cases, you may have to remove the variable pulley or it and it"s mount, fit the new belts around them, and then reinstall them.

These are a few observations from working on MTD products for the last 5 years. Some things that may apply to your mower may not be mentioned, Others may not even apply.