I didn’t want the title to be forty words long so I’ll keep the details here. I replaced my deck belt a few weeks ago. While mowing it seemed the blades were spinning and then losing speed, then they would catch back up. II was pretty much done and decided to lower the deck a bit to get this one area a little shorter and then the belt jumped off the pulleys and started shredding. Obviously a new belt is in order but I wanted to ask on here what sort of troubleshooting I can do to try and isolate the problem without buying unnecessary parts. I assume it could be the pulleys, the spindles, some sort of alignment issues but I really don’t know enough about tractors like this. The MTD model is 13AK673G088

I have a 2 nearly identical Coleman 5500 generators from the 1990’s. Both have Briggs & Stratton 10 HP engines. During the recent power outage after Irma, I ran them both about 14 hours per day, turning them off at night to conserve gas.

After 8 days, one of the generators would not start, and I am at my wits end in trying to diagnose the problem. The 2nd generator works fine still.

Here is what I have done:
1. Verified that the fuel is good and the filter is clear
2. Verified that there is spark at the plug
3. In an attempt to isolate the problem, I exchanged the carb, coil and spark plug from the WORKING generator. The carb, spark plug and coil from the NON WORKING generator work perfectly in the WORKING generator. The know working carb, coil and spark plug from the WORKING generator, when placed in the NON WORKING generator do not solve the problem.
4. Verified there is oil in the engine, and overrode the low oil cut off to test.
5. Cleaned all the contacts on the on-off switch.
6. Sprayed starter fluid in the carb and actually poured a ½ cap of gas in the spark plug hole without success.
7. Opened the head and verified there are no head gasket leaks or cracks
8. Checked to ensure the piston is moving up and down and the valves are moving smoothly.

It seems like a fuel delivery issue since I have spark, but the starter fluid and manual pour of gas in the cylinder should allow a start if it is strictly a fuel problem (I would think)

I realize this is an old generator, but it gets limited use, normally less than once a year, and more importantly I have to figure out why it will not start or it will drive me nuts.

I am at the end of my diagnostic expertise in this.

Can someone direct me to the next step in figuring this frustrating problem.

Thank you