Greetings! I have a Craftsman yts3000, model # 289210 riding tractor with a 42 inch mower deck. I wore out the mower deck belt and went to replace it at Sears who wanted FIFTY dollars and ten dollars shipping. I have come to understand there are generic and even NAPA belts that will fit. The guy at the store gave me the model number of the actual belt which is # 429636.
Here is my inquiry, does anyone know a good replacement belt for my tractor or know of a place to get them? Also, is there a way to determine the belt length without having the complete old belt as mine shredded and flew into the woods?
Thanks so much for any help or suggestions!!

 

I don't know much about riding mowers but you can get the belt length by taking a piece of rope and routing it around the pulleys - then measure the length where it meets. Most belt #s have the inch measurement included into the part #

The mower guys should be along later with more/better info for you

 

Locally anyway, my preferred hardware and auto parts stores carry belts and have a device to measure them. The two other things that you need to keep in mind, in addition to what it measures, are how much did it stretch, and the pitch. Pitch is critical, because it is what determines where the belt rides in the grooves, so two belts of the same length, but with different pitch, are not the same. Some belts are somewhat proprietary, in that while you may find a replacement of the correct length, it may not have the right pitch. As for the price, not knowing the specifics, you may find that Sears is in the ballpark of anyone else.

 

Here you go.
Part Interchange | Gates Corporation

 

Belts can not be measured close enough with a piece of rope.
The length is really measured from the middle of the pulley not the inside or outside.

 

@ blendmik,,,lift up the hood and there should be a tag with original belt number for your mower. Enter that number on a google search or go to e-bay and enter that belt number and it should show you a belt. Try google search if no luck on E-bay. Or take that number to NAPA and they can cross it for you,,,you may even find out the length by doing these searches.

 

Here's my riding mower belt story. Some fifteen to twenty years ago I bought a slightly used mower from K-Mart. It had been returned for some reason but still had full warranty, or so I was told. It ran fine and did a passable job in cutting my lawn but in the process it also had a tendency to shred the mower deck belt. I bought a generic vee belt of what I thought to be the correct length and width and it would throw that belt off. I eventually bought the exact replacement belt (about twice the cost of the generic) and it shredded that belt.

Thinking this was a warranty issue I took the mower to the local service center. It turned out the mower deck was slightly bent and THAT was the cause of the shredding belt. The repairman told me that I could NOT use a generic belt, that the factory belt was just enough different from generic to close that window of opportunity. He also told me that the bent deck was not covered under warranty.

 

The belt yours calls for is 101.4 inches long and 1/2 inches wide. I have used a 101 inch belt just fine. If it's a tad tight, loosen the bracket where the cable mounts to the deck and let it slip forward a bit to compromise for the .4" difference. Most mower belts can be replaced with regular fractional belts. Usually mowers made by MTD are about the only ones that use belts that are made with odd lengths and pitches so that you can't use regular belts.

 

Thanks for all the great advice, I will try all of them so as not to pay 50 plus bucks, thanks!