Help Needed For A Change
#1
Help Needed For A Change
Yes, Even us Techs hit a pothole once in a while.....
Had a customer drop off a Ariens Zoom 2352 M# 915059 S# 005000, It has all off 46 homeowner hrs.
Complaint; Blades slow down when cutting normal height grass (not tall/thick).
I found the deck belt part # 07241800 to be extremely loose with no tension on the spring loaded idler arm assembly, The belt condition doe's not appear to be bad enough to cause this much slack in so little time.
All deck mounting/lift hardware appears to be properly installed/tight and fine, The belt is routed correctly and all idler pulley's appear to be factory due to the 'L' shaped guides fitted the proper distance from the pulleys.
We were a Gravely/Ariens dealer some years back but had a falling out with them.....
Questions;
A) Doe's anyone have a listing of the proper length this belt should be ? I fell short on my belt cross references.
B) Doe's anyone have access to the dealer's network to check for any service bulletins pertaining to any belt/idler arm or spring issues/changes ?
If you feel the need to be discrete about SB info, A PM would be welcomed.
Thanks to ALL for reading.
Cya......
Had a customer drop off a Ariens Zoom 2352 M# 915059 S# 005000, It has all off 46 homeowner hrs.
Complaint; Blades slow down when cutting normal height grass (not tall/thick).
I found the deck belt part # 07241800 to be extremely loose with no tension on the spring loaded idler arm assembly, The belt condition doe's not appear to be bad enough to cause this much slack in so little time.
All deck mounting/lift hardware appears to be properly installed/tight and fine, The belt is routed correctly and all idler pulley's appear to be factory due to the 'L' shaped guides fitted the proper distance from the pulleys.
We were a Gravely/Ariens dealer some years back but had a falling out with them.....
Questions;
A) Doe's anyone have a listing of the proper length this belt should be ? I fell short on my belt cross references.
B) Doe's anyone have access to the dealer's network to check for any service bulletins pertaining to any belt/idler arm or spring issues/changes ?
If you feel the need to be discrete about SB info, A PM would be welcomed.
Thanks to ALL for reading.
Cya......
#2
46 hours. That still is quite a number of moderate size yard mowings. Maybe idler was loose, or some pulley was not freely turning the way it should have been, and the belt prematurely wore down the sides of the belt so that now the belt is down in each pulley too far (yet from all outward appearances looks otherwise fine), which could be causing the looseness that is beyond any adjustment. Typical what I have gone through on motor driven belts, even in HVAC. Replace the belt with the new (wider) belt, and problem solved.
#3
Thanks for the reply ecman51,
As mentioned the belt does'nt appear to be worn, It rides in the spindle pulleys in the proper area. The three idler pulleys are flat and all are tight and spin freely including the spindles.
I have Dixie Choppers out in the field mowing commercially clocking 300+ hrs. on original belts, Based on that I figure a homeowner should be able to get over 46 out of a belt.
I know I can probably throw another belt on it and send it down the road, But...I would like to find out if there is a problem with these units so the customer/myself doesn't have to install a new belt every 40 hrs.....
As mentioned the belt does'nt appear to be worn, It rides in the spindle pulleys in the proper area. The three idler pulleys are flat and all are tight and spin freely including the spindles.
I have Dixie Choppers out in the field mowing commercially clocking 300+ hrs. on original belts, Based on that I figure a homeowner should be able to get over 46 out of a belt.
I know I can probably throw another belt on it and send it down the road, But...I would like to find out if there is a problem with these units so the customer/myself doesn't have to install a new belt every 40 hrs.....
#4
I sure don't have any info about it... I looked through my stuff and found no reference to the belt in aftermarket either. I found out that it's belt 70761700, or at least I think it is. Ariens doesn't have much of a following down here, so I don't even know of a dealer nearby to ask.
#5
Thanks for your reply Mr Cheese,
The belt number I posted above came from the Gravely/Ariens parts radar, It's also the same number that's printed on the old belt.
The number you posted, Is it a reliable source ? Could it be a superseded number for a shorter belt so the slightest stretching doesn't relax the idler arm spring ?
Thanks Again
The belt number I posted above came from the Gravely/Ariens parts radar, It's also the same number that's printed on the old belt.
The number you posted, Is it a reliable source ? Could it be a superseded number for a shorter belt so the slightest stretching doesn't relax the idler arm spring ?
Thanks Again
#6
Getting replies is fun, like getting mail (not bills of course) so I thought I'd make your day.
Like my 91 Dodge?, - whose water pump pulley only has about 1/8th radius contacting the belt? Very strange. And it slips and squeels even with belt tight, when I have big draw going on the alternator.
Have you tried to contact an Ariens repair shop to see if they can shed some light?
But...I would like to find out if there is a problem with these units so the customer/myself doesn't have to install a new belt every 40 hrs.....
Have you tried to contact an Ariens repair shop to see if they can shed some light?
#7
Thanks ecman51,
Yes I did, When my cross reference sources yielded nothing I had my parts manager call the nearest Gravely/Ariens dealer (two towns over) to ask the belt length.
That dealer came up with 119", Well....The old belt measures 142". There's NO way this old belt has stretched 23" with the condition it's in, With that I concluded it would be a waste of my time to deal with this dealer any further which brought me to this HELP thread.
You see, If I had the proper factory belt length I could determine how much this old belt has actually stretched. With that I could half way determine if something can be done to get longer life out of the belt. As it is now I have a perfectly good belt that won't function because it may have stretched a ??? inch or so.
Gravely had a issue years back with their Promaster 300 series, The deck drive belt idler/tensioner arm would snap past center once the belt stretched. This caused the insides of the belt rub together wiping it out. While making a running change in the idler arm position they issued a field fix of relocating this idler arm to eliminate the problem.
This is why I'd like to gain any info that may pertain to this type of issue on this Zoom, If there was a field fix issued I'd like to incorporate it into my repair. If there hasn't been any issues reported I will look into using a shorter belt or experiment with repositioning as on the PM 300.
In my opinion, I believe this is a less than adequate design trying to operate a 52" deck with such a long 1/2" belt wrapped around so many pulleys......
Thanks
#8
142"!!! Sheesh....that's a long belt!
Here is a reference to the zoom 52" mower belt:
ariens zoom pro home depot - Compare Prices and Buy ariens zoom pro home depot at Shopping.com
Weak, but it's all I got...
Here is a reference to the zoom 52" mower belt:
ariens zoom pro home depot - Compare Prices and Buy ariens zoom pro home depot at Shopping.com
Weak, but it's all I got...
#9
I just went to Ariens.com and looked at the manuals. The belt you have is not for the mower you have.
07241800 1 40-Inch PTO Belt
(915051)
07200001 1 40-Inch PTO Belt
(915043, 502)
07241700 1 44-Inch PTO Belt
(915055)
07241500 1 48-Inch PTO Belt
(915057)
07242900 1 44-Inch PTO Belt
(915501)
07241600 1 52-Inch PTO Belt
(915059)
07241800 1 40-Inch PTO Belt
(915051)
07200001 1 40-Inch PTO Belt
(915043, 502)
07241700 1 44-Inch PTO Belt
(915055)
07241500 1 48-Inch PTO Belt
(915057)
07242900 1 44-Inch PTO Belt
(915501)
07241600 1 52-Inch PTO Belt
(915059)
#10
Thanks Mr Cheese, For some reason that number doesn't come up on the Gravely/Ariens parts radar ?
You are a trooper indy for pointing that out, I guess my ole age along with needing new glasses has cought up with me.....
That very well could be a 6 on the original belt instead of a 8 and I will check closer when I return to the shop Tuesday morning.
The most important part about you pointing that out is;
I was able to find that the 07241600 belt measures 1/2" X 142.7" long, I measured the original at 142" the best I could with a tape. So if the belt is supposed to be 142.7" and there's no tension at all on the idler arm spring then there has to be a problem somewhere I'm not picking up on.
Looks like I get to do some come Tuesday.....
Thanks for all the input everyone, It's guy's like ya'll that make this site ROCK !!!
Cya
You are a trooper indy for pointing that out, I guess my ole age along with needing new glasses has cought up with me.....
That very well could be a 6 on the original belt instead of a 8 and I will check closer when I return to the shop Tuesday morning.
The most important part about you pointing that out is;
I was able to find that the 07241600 belt measures 1/2" X 142.7" long, I measured the original at 142" the best I could with a tape. So if the belt is supposed to be 142.7" and there's no tension at all on the idler arm spring then there has to be a problem somewhere I'm not picking up on.
Looks like I get to do some come Tuesday.....
Thanks for all the input everyone, It's guy's like ya'll that make this site ROCK !!!
Cya
#12
OK Everyone,
Just to archive and relieve ya'll from suspense, I finally got this Ariens back in my work area today.
The owner called to check on the status as well today and I found out he had taken it back to the dealer twice for this very problem, They had told him both times they couldn't find anything wrong ???
With a re-check of the original belt part number (thanks indy), I re-installed it on the unit and looked everything over again with a magnifying glass.
Knowing now this GOOD used belt had not stretched enough to cause this loose/slipping problem, And with it riding all idler and spindle pulleys in the proper positions, The only thing I could find is not enough spring tension on the idler arm assembly.
The spring coils were nearly completely closed, So I needed more tension on the belt to alleviate the problem. Yes, I could have installed a shorter belt. But, It would have been a aftermarket which would not hold up as well as a OEM then the problem would arise again if he sold the unit and another OEM belt was installed.
The idler arm spring is attached to the deck via a 3/8 x 3 1/2" large head carriage bolt, I simply re-drilled the deck moving the attachment point 1 1/4" further away from the original position.
I had to replace the large headed carriage bolt with a hex head bolt due to baffle rings around the spindles that are welded to the bottom of the deck pan, Installed a short bolt/nut in the original hole to eliminate deck blow-out.
With a few passes down the road side in front of the shop 6"+ tall at wide open speed I couldn't get the blades to slow, Only the engine rpm.
This modification gave me what I feel is the perfect belt tension (not too tight) and will now maintain enough as the belt does stretch until it really is in need of replacing.
Thanks again to everyone that read my long winded posting and took the time to reply.....
Cya
Just to archive and relieve ya'll from suspense, I finally got this Ariens back in my work area today.
The owner called to check on the status as well today and I found out he had taken it back to the dealer twice for this very problem, They had told him both times they couldn't find anything wrong ???
With a re-check of the original belt part number (thanks indy), I re-installed it on the unit and looked everything over again with a magnifying glass.
Knowing now this GOOD used belt had not stretched enough to cause this loose/slipping problem, And with it riding all idler and spindle pulleys in the proper positions, The only thing I could find is not enough spring tension on the idler arm assembly.
The spring coils were nearly completely closed, So I needed more tension on the belt to alleviate the problem. Yes, I could have installed a shorter belt. But, It would have been a aftermarket which would not hold up as well as a OEM then the problem would arise again if he sold the unit and another OEM belt was installed.
The idler arm spring is attached to the deck via a 3/8 x 3 1/2" large head carriage bolt, I simply re-drilled the deck moving the attachment point 1 1/4" further away from the original position.
I had to replace the large headed carriage bolt with a hex head bolt due to baffle rings around the spindles that are welded to the bottom of the deck pan, Installed a short bolt/nut in the original hole to eliminate deck blow-out.
With a few passes down the road side in front of the shop 6"+ tall at wide open speed I couldn't get the blades to slow, Only the engine rpm.
This modification gave me what I feel is the perfect belt tension (not too tight) and will now maintain enough as the belt does stretch until it really is in need of replacing.
Thanks again to everyone that read my long winded posting and took the time to reply.....
Cya
#13
Aint that always the way? The smallest of things is what gets overlooked and turns out to be the problem. I think sometimes we are just too smart for ourselves and forget to look at EVERYTHING, especially the small things.
Glad you found the problem. Sorry it took so long and so much head pounding. Just remeber to write this one down.
Glad you found the problem. Sorry it took so long and so much head pounding. Just remeber to write this one down.