Same issue here. I noticed that the tensioner pulley has a lot of movement and doesn’t align with the idler pulley. Because of that I think the belt starts to twist and then gets shredded by the metal bracket. I shimmed the tensioner pulley to get better alignment in hopes that it corrects the issue. It seems to me that John Deere has some explaining to do.
Just replaced my belt. Three takeaways from videos and comments: remove the U bracket and cut 1/4" off the end, remove the four bolts on the top bracket to allow the crank case to wiggle, replace the idler pulleys if they're stiff. I did the job end-to-end in about an hour and twenty minutes and could probably do it again in under 45. I didn't need to pull the impeller shaft. Helps to have a garage!
I slotted the U bracket hole like a T 5/16 wide going toward the front. Made it easy to slide U bracket with bolt in place. Do not even need to remove the nut off the bolt now. Replace belt. Slide U bracket in place center and tighten. Next time belt change will be easy. The new belt is a little bigger and more robust then the original. With the original I had the shortened bolt. No go with the newer style belt. Hope this helps.
Well we are going to attempt this in a few days ourselves. Same reason, our belt is chewed up on the topside. Have to figure out what is causing it. The pulleys don't spin very freely so We are going to replace them also. Thought that may be contributing to the fraying issue. Thanks for the video it will be very helpful!
First storm in the second year with my X350 w/blower. Clearing the driveway, smelling something burning and lo and behold one of the pulleys froze up and the belt got all chewed up. I pulled the shear pin between the impeller and drive motor but couldn't get the two to separate. Plan B: using a hacksaw I shortened the bolt that holds that belt guard. (Cut it flush with the nut) I found that if you angle the bolt and guard you can push the shortened bolt through the housing and with a little poking and prodding it and the guard pop free. I'm not sure how easy it'll be to get them back into place once my new belt and pulley arrives but I figure if I got them off I should be able to get them back on.
Comments on dealing with the U shaped guard clip that makes it impossible to remove or install a belt: From other videos and comments there have been several approaches: - pull the gearbox (this video): seems hard, may need a gear puller - remove the old belt (probably by cutting if not already broken), wiggle the clip out and don't put it back: missing clip might allow the new belt to jump - cut the bolt holding the clip shorter to make it easier to remove the clip with the belt in place: not sure if this worked - remove the 4 bolts holding the gearbox to the blower and jimmy the gearbox plus drive pulley to provide a little more room to work I did a variation on the last one: removing the bolts allowed me to remove the old belt but the new belt was stiffer/fatter/something and I couldn't get the new belt installed. With the old belt off I was able to wiggle the clip out of the housing. I then bent the lower leg of the clip downward to give more room between the clip and the pulley. Reinstalled the clip and was able to get the new belt on. I did not attempt to bend the clip back after the belt was installed, it seems like it will still provide enough of a belt guard. FWIW I had to replace the belt because one of the idler pulleys was mostly frozen and it damaged the belt. The pulley bearing showed a lot of evidence of rust on the outside. I plan to use something like wd40 to flush water out of the bearing at the end of the season.
Thanks, had the same issue, but I found that the tension roller was not aligned so that the belt was being shredded, I did remove only the pulley by removing 2 setscrews after that it was easy going only 1 hour time spent , I think you went to far by by removing the drive. But good video.
I have a John Deere 47 blower with the same exact problem there's a groove in the one side of the belt very appreciative of the video showing how to change the belt but he did mention that the one idler pulley was in the wrong position or that keeper was in the wrong position where should it be?
Thanks for the video. Need to replace my belt on the 47" and this was helpful. They sure don't make it easy.
Same issue here. I noticed that the tensioner pulley has a lot of movement and doesn’t align with the idler pulley. Because of that I think the belt starts to twist and then gets shredded by the metal bracket. I shimmed the tensioner pulley to get better alignment in hopes that it corrects the issue. It seems to me that John Deere has some explaining to do.
I believe the tension pulley top retainer plate goes on the outside of the bottom retainer plate.
Just replaced my belt. Three takeaways from videos and comments: remove the U bracket and cut 1/4" off the end, remove the four bolts on the top bracket to allow the crank case to wiggle, replace the idler pulleys if they're stiff. I did the job end-to-end in about an hour and twenty minutes and could probably do it again in under 45. I didn't need to pull the impeller shaft. Helps to have a garage!
I slotted the U bracket hole like a T 5/16 wide going toward the front. Made it easy to slide U bracket with bolt in place. Do not even need to remove the nut off the bolt now. Replace belt. Slide U bracket in place center and tighten. Next time belt change will be easy. The new belt is a little bigger and more robust then the original. With the original I had the shortened bolt. No go with the newer style belt. Hope this helps.
Well we are going to attempt this in a few days ourselves. Same reason, our belt is chewed up on the topside. Have to figure out what is causing it. The pulleys don't spin very freely so We are going to replace them also. Thought that may be contributing to the fraying issue. Thanks for the video it will be very helpful!
First storm in the second year with my X350 w/blower. Clearing the driveway, smelling something burning and lo and behold one of the pulleys froze up and the belt got all chewed up. I pulled the shear pin between the impeller and drive motor but couldn't get the two to separate. Plan B: using a hacksaw I shortened the bolt that holds that belt guard. (Cut it flush with the nut) I found that if you angle the bolt and guard you can push the shortened bolt through the housing and with a little poking and prodding it and the guard pop free. I'm not sure how easy it'll be to get them back into place once my new belt and pulley arrives but I figure if I got them off I should be able to get them back on.
I done the same thing and it worked fine shorter bolt made a big difference.
Comments on dealing with the U shaped guard clip that makes it impossible to remove or install a belt:
From other videos and comments there have been several approaches:
- pull the gearbox (this video): seems hard, may need a gear puller
- remove the old belt (probably by cutting if not already broken), wiggle the clip out and don't put it back: missing clip might allow the new belt to jump
- cut the bolt holding the clip shorter to make it easier to remove the clip with the belt in place: not sure if this worked
- remove the 4 bolts holding the gearbox to the blower and jimmy the gearbox plus drive pulley to provide a little more room to work
I did a variation on the last one: removing the bolts allowed me to remove the old belt but the new belt was stiffer/fatter/something and I couldn't get the new belt installed. With the old belt off I was able to wiggle the clip out of the housing. I then bent the lower leg of the clip downward to give more room between the clip and the pulley. Reinstalled the clip and was able to get the new belt on. I did not attempt to bend the clip back after the belt was installed, it seems like it will still provide enough of a belt guard.
FWIW I had to replace the belt because one of the idler pulleys was mostly frozen and it damaged the belt. The pulley bearing showed a lot of evidence of rust on the outside. I plan to use something like wd40 to flush water out of the bearing at the end of the season.
Thanks, had the same issue, but I found that the tension roller was not aligned so that the belt was being shredded, I did remove only the pulley by removing 2 setscrews after that
it was easy going only 1 hour time spent , I think you went to far by by removing the drive. But good video.
Mine also did the same thing. I made it through last winter but just to be safe I’m going to replace it this year
Looks like belt problems may be a common problem
I have a John Deere 47 blower with the same exact problem there's a groove in the one side of the belt very appreciative of the video showing how to change the belt but he did mention that the one idler pulley was in the wrong position or that keeper was in the wrong position where should it be?
Do I need to use a puller to remove the impeller? The sheer pin is out and the impeller and auger are rotating freely but I can't get the collar off.