x320 John Deere throwing drive belt

we have a JD x320 mower, and it has thrown the drive belt the second time this year. That's not a lot, I realize, but it's pretty aggravating to have to remove the deck and get up under there and get the drive belt back on the pulleys...

The belt on the machine now is a new belt, purchased from the John Deere dealership, so it's the right part I would think, and should be good quality since it's OEM.

Both times the belt has slipped off the pulley at the engine, it just climbs above the pulley, out of the notch.

Both times this has happened, it seems to have happened on engine shut down when we parked the mower. In other words, the mower finishes the job, we park it in the shed or the garage, and when we go to use it again we find that the belt has slipped out of the pulley.

I just think it's odd that the belt stays in place until the engine is shut off at the end of the mowing chore, and *then* it comes out of the pulley? :eek:

Any ideas? Could it be that we're shutting the engine off at too high of RPM? Or with a drive pedal not fully released? I can't figure how this is happening... :(

thanks for any help,

Dan
 
I should have mentioned... the new belt is the one which slipped off the second time. That belt has less than 20 hours on it I would think.
 
Check the belt guides. They look like bent rod that the belt thread through. IF they are bent or a bolt fell out of them then they would be out of position. This would allow the belt to jump off.
 
Yes, I would second that JD. On the slack side of the loose belt is were that hanger must be almost right up against the pulley. My dad "Fixed" an old simplicity that some one had given him. He removed one of the guides cause it was almost worn through. You couldn't shift that thing to save your life cause the belt wouldn't drift on the transmission pulley. Engineers put them there for a reason.
 
10-4... I've left the deck off of it for the season, so it'll be easy to get back up under there and check those guides. I appreciate the help.
 

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