Drive belt question

[frysl]

I have a FDR1672 finish mower that is about 12 yrs old but only used maybe 10 hrs a year. The drive belt looks to be in good condition, a visual inspection shows no missing material or cracks, but I’m wondering if I should change it just based on age.

 

[old and tired]

I would buy a replacement belt and keep it around for when the old one breaks. No need to replace something if it ain't broke.

 

[DustyRusty]

If your pulleys have rust on them they will chew up the belt until all the rust is removed. This is what happened with my FDR1660. I used the old belt till the pulleys were well polished and then when the belt came off because the rust had trashed it, I put the new belt on and adjusted it so it was tight. Been cutting with the new belt for the last 2 months and the fabric covering shows no wear. The only problem that I encountered was getting the new belt on. I loosened the pulley spring till it was at the end of its threads before coming off completely, and I still needed to use a tire iron to pull the belt into the pulley grooves. Once in the pulley grooves, I tightened the spring till there was very little deflection in the new belt. If you want to clean up the pulleys manually I would get a couple of red scotch brite pads from the auto body paint supply store (or your local friendly auto parts store), and clean up the grooves. No guarantee that you will get all the rust out from where the belt travels, but it is worth a try. In my case I just used the old worn out belt to do the cleaning because I am a little lazy in my old age.
When you put it away for the winter, spray WD40 into the pulley grooves to keep them from rusting.

Check out this thread for some good information: https://www.orangetractortalks.com/...gauge-for-mower-deck.69255/page-2#post-731453

 

[GreensvilleJay]

To extend belt life, release the tension on it after use AND be sure to do this at 'end of season'. When a belt sits in the same position of weeks or months it gets a 'set' that usually ends up making the belt vibrate 'thump...thump..thump...'. If not too bad ,it'll flatten out kinda smoother but never perfect.

 

[DustyRusty]

When I had the BX22 the under belly mower had a label to remove the belt when the mower deck was in storage. I found a way to remove the belt from one pulley without much effort, and would disconnect it at the end of the mowing season. That flat belt was over $100 and that was 20 years ago! I hate to think of how expensive it would be today.