ZT mower deck belt removal device

JerryS

Well-known Member
The most annoying feature of my JD 445zt is that the drive pulley (sheave for purists) for the mower deck seems to have a magnetic attraction for flying wood chips or, most often, sweet gum balls. They lodge perfectly in the belt groove with the usual result that the belt pops off before I can react to shut down the deck. If I can shut it down quickly enough it's easy to remove the offending obstruction---just turn the pulley til the chip/gum ball is visible, then flick it out with a finger. Not fast enough: the belt pops off, and four out of five times the belt squeezes through the keeper on the tensioner pulley, turning a five minute job into a half-hour one.

Shown here is I'd guess the fifteenth or twentieth sweet gum ball I've collected.
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I can see where that would be very annoying, and it isn't doing the belt any good!

If yours is doing it, I'm sure you are not alone. Have you called the dealer or searched online?

There may be a solution.
 
Could you screw some metal flashing over the primary areas to protect the entire sheave against that? Even using neodymium magnets should work if you didn't want to use screws.
 
In 12 seasons of mowing the drive sheave (proper terminology) on my Dixie Chopper has never done that.
 
It is annoying. In fact, it happened again 45 minutes after I made this post. The dealer offered no help; he did offer a story about a customer who drove 60 miles with his mower on the trailer--same thing. Dealer said he spotted the problem when he walked up to the trailer, flicked away the ball. The customer almost would have preferred a substantial repair bill.
 

Sounds like you need to get rid of the tree.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/method-removing-sweetgum-balls-lawn-76805.html
 
I never minded the sweet gum balls when living down south. The trees were beautiful enough that I put up with the balls under foot.

Also heard something some years back about a device that would go along and pick up the sweet gum balls into a bin. Similarly, I have a Husqvarna riding mower with a bagger attachment, and the bagger attachment even picks up Magnolia pods!! ....Well, it did in Arkansas, which is where I first used the bagger. It works best with good hi-lift blades. So adding a bagger might be another alternative for you. Or maybe a pull-behind lawn sweeper.
 

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