Could you get a picture of the whole belt? Is there one pully that somehow got reversed? I have some pulleys that have a longer boss on one side. I could duplicate that kind of misalignment on my RFM if one pulley would be installed upside down.
Burning through snowblower belts
- Thread starter orangekuby
- Start date
Here's the pulley. It does in fact have a long side, but I'm thinking the bottom might need to be that far down to clear the frame for the front wheels. I might need to track down a diagram to see what the correct orientation is.
Attachments
I now see that there are pullies on BOTH ends of that shaft with bearings in-between... Have you tried REMOVING both belts and inspecting that shaft/pullies? I wonder if something is loose or sloppy causing misalignment.
For example: If pulley is not solidly mounted to that shaft, the tension of the belt would 'tip' the pulley out of alignment.
Another example: If the bearings are worn/sloppy, the entire shaft would wobble while in operation.
For example: If pulley is not solidly mounted to that shaft, the tension of the belt would 'tip' the pulley out of alignment.
Another example: If the bearings are worn/sloppy, the entire shaft would wobble while in operation.
The shaft/pulley doesn't wobble when running, and is still really tight. When I put the quick attach on everything was still solid so I think it's an alignment thing outside of the pulley, like the lever arms or something.
Following up for posterity. Took everyone off getting it ready for mowing season, noticed one of the lifting arms (the short ones connected to the large lever) was bent compared to the other. I noticed it always sat on the ground with a "high side" that didn't seem to put all its weight down. Well now I know why, and it may have been twisting the quick attach in a way that put strain on the belt.
I guess I'll have to update next winter when I straighten it out and put it back on.
I guess I'll have to update next winter when I straighten it out and put it back on.
Update again. Straightened the lever arms and welded some reinforcing bar to stop it from twisting. Belts still smell a little burned every now and then depending on the angle of the blower relative to the tractor. The higher the blower is the more angle there is on the belt, causing the burning. The lower it is the more inline it is and spins true. Everything looked square and straight when it was off, looks straight when on, nothing is worn out. Not sure what I'm going to do about it at this point other than stock up on belts.