Is there anything special about the Woods idler pulley???

[Lance Leitzel]

Hi everybody,

In tightening the belt on my woods 42 deck, I noticed that one of the idler pulleys had been replaced by the PO. On that side, the belt rides out of true and rubs unevely on the side (The pulley is 5.0" instead of the 4.5" and is wider than the other) Anyway, I was a bit shocked at the price of a new one ($43) from Woods. Is there something special about these Woods pulleys? It seems much heavier than the 5" one... Any suggestions on a cheaper place to get one?

Thanks - Lance

[Bigdog]

Lance - there is nothing particularly special about them. What's important is belt alignment and that's where different pulley sizes come into play. Larger or smaller idlers can cause the belt to be out of alignment with the pto pulley. That is probably why the belt is not running true and is rubbing the side. Any idler of the same size should work. Try your local cub cadet dealer if you have one or perhaps a large lawn and garden equipment store.

[Jim Becker]

Also check the bolt that holds the problem idler is not bent. It wouldn't take much of a bend to end up with the problem you are seeing (although I agree with Bigdog about the 1/2 inch size difference being the likely problem).

[Rick Prentice]

Hi Lance. I just went through this problem, somewhat, on 'UGLY". I have matching pulleys, but when replacing the bearings in the pulleys, one bearing was not pressed in even(was in a hurry ) and caused a wobble. I removed the pulley and pressed the bearing until it seated squarly in the hole. If the bolt is bent slightly, the pulley should still run true, just on an angle, unless I'm missing something, which is highly possible One thing to make sure, place the correct Woods pulley on the right side(torque side) and the oddball one on the left. That will keep the belt from coming off till you eventually find another woods one.

[Jim Becker]

If the bolt is bent slightly, the pulley should still run true, just on an angle, unless I'm missing something, which is highly possible

I guess it depends on how you are reading the original "rubs unevely on the side". "Unevenly" suggests a wobble, as with your incompletely seated bearing. "On the side" suggests a pulley that is not aligned, which could be caused by a bent mounting bolt.

Lance has now been given suggestions on things to check for both problems along with Bigdog's comments on pulley size and potential sources. He can now look closer at his exact problem to decide how to address whichever the exact problem is.

[Lance Leitzel]

First of all - Thanks for everyone's help with this. It has gotten me thinking about the problem.

The replaced pulley (the one that is too large in diameter and too wide for the belt) the belt runs down inside the pulley. I guess the PO is smarter than I give him credit, he did have the oddball pulley on the left side (only problem is there was almost zero clearance with the PTO when running). Too bad, I'm not as smart. I put it back the oddball pulley on the right hand side.

The other place the belt seems to be rubbing is when it goes to the over-riding clutch pulley at the front of the mower. To me it looks like the belt is exiting on a slight downward angle. By having finally read the instruction woods instructions, I'm guessing that is should run straight and true to the right pulley? Meaning I should only try to tention the belt by using the left pulley?

I've only noticed this problem since the belt jumped off on me for the first time mowing last week... Anyway, I'm off to go find a replacement pulley. Thankfully, my grass is pretty brown and I don't have much to mow right now.

[Rick Prentice]

Sorry Jim and Bigdog. I told you I was probably missing something

Now I'll probably stick my foot in my mouth again, but I think the belt can exit the big deck pulley(on the right) at an angle, but on the left side, the belt should be dead straight where it enters the big pulley. How did I do this time?

Rick

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

To add to what rick said, the belts can exit pulleys at an angle, whether they be mower, idler, or pto pulley, but where they go onot the pulley nees to be straight. of coursed if it exits at too much of an angle, excessive wear on both belt and pulley will result.