Super A eats mower belt

Muley

Member
I have a 1949 Super A with a Woods L59 belly mower. I can't seem to get a mower belt (Woods) to last more than 6 months. After only a short time mowing the pulleys are almost too hot to touch. The belt reads 120-130 degrees. This includes the pulley on the tractor. I have had this set up for over 10 years and this only started a few years ago. I grease the mower pulleys regularly and the tractor is maintained well. Those $100 belts are starting to add up. Any ideas or are these normal temps. The belt seems to degrade and cords come apart. Thanks fellas.
 
Hi, are you sure it isn't slipping, that's causing the heating, any oil or grease getting on the belt from the gear box's etc ? They have to be fiddle string tight, i get the belt on then i get the bars and pipes, that i use for leverage, and get it tight. You can save some money and get them at car quest for about $40.00 ! The most i have gotten out of them is two seasons, no matter what brand.
 
Thanks for the reply. I get the belt as tight as possible. I will check for oil leaks. Do you have a part number for the CarQuest belt? Thanks.
 
Make sure your belt is not rubbing anywhere, there is a guide on the back left side (sitting on the tractor) of the center pully, that if the pully is too low on the shaft, the belt will rub this guide and cause early failure.

Also, you say the pullys are getting hot, with the belt loose, check to make sure there is no play in the spindle or the idle roller bearings, there should be no slop at all , and spin smoothly, also if they spin VERY easily, as in no drag, they are not getting grease, as in the case of the idle rollers, (not greaseable), the bearings are getting ready to let loose, even if they do not have play in them now, they will soon.
 
Those pulleys and belt get pretty hot from friction normally. Are you sure you do not have an idler or spindle that is binding when it gets hot? If not take on old belt or part number to an auto or implement store that handles Gates belts and tell them you want a Blade runner series belt for the mower.
 
Its a good idea to check the guards as well to make sure there is no rubbing. I have a Woods L503 on my Super A, I spent some time checking each pulley to make sure it was aligned as well as I could get it. On my mower the two idlers are the ones that have the most travel and the most capability for adjustment. The extreme twists are hard on them.

I don't ever mow with the deck up (via hydraulics), always "following" the ground via casters.

I seem to get 3+ years from the Genuine Woods replacements. I tried a "Kevlar Belt" of the same size but it was gone in 1-1/2 mowing seasons.
 
somewhere the belts are wrong or you wouldnt be going thru belts mow couple acres and the belts will last for years
 
I bought a spare belt for my B with a woods 59" mower. That was 10 years ago and it is still in the box. All I've ever done to that deck is change the idler bearings, grease the spindles, rebuild the gauge wheels and tension the belt. The motor will slip the belt in heavy grass but has never thrown it.

That deck leaves the nicest finish of all my mowers.

Chris B.
 
I mow about 5 acres each week or 10 days. I keep my belt really tight and I mow some of the acreage with the mower up and the rest with it down. Make sure that both turns or twists are in the right place. mine is a L59 woods and its on a Super A. My belts last pretty well. I can't kick on this set up.
 
A lot of folks don't realize how tight a v-belt needs to be, that's why they make gauges. We have an L-59 on a Farmall C and I use a 3 foot pinch bar to pry down on the idler. It's tight enough that it will kill the engine before slipping, and it has worked fine for 8 years with no bearing failures.
 

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