OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Rover Ride On Mower MTD Rover Raider 1438 cutter deck belt tension

I have ordered a new GA Spares spindle to replace the bent one.

Here is a comparative diagnostic picture:

On the left is a belt off a John Deere mower that had been slipping, and on the right is the belt off the MTD mower that was cut on an angle.

I fitted the new spindle on the mower today. It certainly reduces the vibration but the belt still sounds as though it is slipping slightly and is warm to touch when I ran it at half throttle with no load.

These pictures are taken of the belt whilst under tension. To me it looks too loose judging by the way it bulges out near each pulley.

I have uploaded a video clip of the mower running to YouTube. The image quality seems to be poor compared to the original but it could just be my computer.



MTD Rover Raider 14/38 ride-on mower spindle

Okay if that is under tension then you definitely have the wrong belt. Here the MTD "F" decks usually use a 1/2 x77-1/2" belt and I service one that has so wear plus a re-welded deck hanger ( not my work) that it requires a 1/2 x 77". Now I don't know what the Rover Raider as for the deck belt size but MTD tends to be picky about their belt sizes.

Be carefully of resizing the belt especially if the HP is 16.5 or less as when you engine it will shake you to pieces. I assuming the 14 in the model means it is a 14 hp. Just want it tight enough as to not slip engage but loose enough to slip when disengaged.

Okay if that is under tension then you definitely have the wrong belt. Here the MTD "F" decks usually use a 1/2 x77-1/2" belt and I service one that has so wear plus a re-welded deck hanger ( not my work) that it requires a 1/2 x 77". Now I don't know what the Rover Raider as for the deck belt size but MTD tends to be picky about their belt sizes.

Be carefully of resizing the belt especially if the HP is 16.5 or less as when you engine it will shake you to pieces. I assuming the 14 in the model means it is a 14 hp. Just want it tight enough as to not slip engage but loose enough to slip when disengaged.

BTW I don't see anything wrong with the JD belt. :lol:

Hi AVB,

I have fitted a 1/2" x 77.15" Kevlar belt (K-Force B195404062) that is meant to replace the 954-04062 belt that the MTD Rover Raider owners manual specifies.

But yes, it does look too loose. Maybe I should search around for a genuine MTD belt to try out and measure up.

You are right - the 14/38 stands for a 14HP Briggs & Stratton and a 38" deck.

You might ought to measure the K-Force. Here is the reason why. My main belt supplier sells but the sizes have label differently lately. The B195404062 I currently have on the shelf from 2 years ago is labeled as 77-7/8 so looked up the belt on Sunbelt's ( A and I) belt to belt look-up and it shows them as being 77-1/2 and 77.15 with them currently listed as 77.15. I also recently fought a battle with them over a 3/8 belt that was to be 34.2" which turn out to be 33.75. So tight on the machine I can't even mount it. Even Husqvarna sent the same size belt. I had to modify the brake so the engagement pulley could loosen enough to where I get a standard 34" belt on.

Makes me nervous when a vendor starts changing sizes in mid stream. Makes me question the sizes when I have problems after installation. On top that vendor pulley sizes doing the same thing. A will work item on a MTD just don't get it. Causes me a lot extra work figuring out what went wrong.

Here is an image of my mower's deck. Sorry the messy look it been raining nearly constant for two weeks so I haven't got a chance to clean it. Can't even cut the grass as I would be mowing water instead. As you will see belt looks a lot tighter than yours.

This might help you with the belt issue. Make sure that you check where the spring goes.

Hi AVB,

The belt measures 77" on the outside, so is close to the 77.15" size.

Yes, it is frustrating when manufacturers change things. So far I have spent $1,000 worth of labour troubleshooting this mower that I can't pass on.

The belt tension on your mower is what I expected it should look like. Thanks for the picture.

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the video link. It was interesting and helpful.

The video indicates that I do have the spring is in the right hole.

Many thanks.

LRT,

One other thing that I did not mention was the pivot arm where the bolt goes through could be partly seized up with dirt and a suggestion is that you remove the bolt and clean up the area and grease it so that it runs free.

Thanks Bruce, I will do that.

I tried moving the engagement cable spring from the 38" hole to the 42" hole next to the pulley. It now cuts wet cape weed without slipping. I will try it tomorrow without cutting anything as its so wet the belt is getting wet.

Does this mean the holes have been stamped incorrectly?

I'm also surprised that the tensioner pulley is angled down. Seems the person putting it together didn't pick up on that?

Some extra photos.

Here are a couple of videos

This is it idling with the belt engaged:

This is running at wide open throttle (WOT):

I think you may have found the problem and that the idler arm is mounted incorrectly. Look at lower right of your image. The pivot point bolt appears to be in the 42" hole and not the 38" hole. This throw the left spindle brake out alignment too.

But since is working moving back to 38" setting may just problems again.

Here is a picture of the belt tensioner bracket. The pivot bolt was in the hole stamped 38. The engagement spring was in the hole indicated by the white arrow. I have moved it to the hole with the green arrow. The belt is much tighter but not as tight as I would like.

Boy the first image sure looked like it was in the wrong pivot hole but I must have been seeing something that wasn't actually there.

To me then you have a belt that is too long for your setup. I had only one case where it was necessary for me to put on a belt that was 1/2" shorter on the "F" deck. On the "G" and "H" decks the spindle pulleys can take a 5/8" (B section) but I don't think the "F" spindle pulleys are deep enough and the belt retainer covers would bind on the belt. With moving only the engagement spring your just pulling the idler around more which appears take up the surplus slack in the belt. Did you ever measured the outside circumference of the new belt to be sure someone at the factory didn't mis-labeled the belt? I know it happens as it has happen to me.

I don't know of a 1/2" (A Section) belt that would be just under the 77" since your supplier PN indicates the your new belt was 77.2". Your side of the big pond might have one but not my side. You could always try a 77" Kevlar belt. I know it is only .2" shorter but it could make all the difference as the face profile may be different. Not all belts labeled 1/2" are actually 1/2" wide.

Just thinking of possible solutions..Sometimes you just got use something that will work. Basically you got to re-engineer it at times.

Hi AVB,

Yes I did measure the outside circumference. It is exactly 77"

I can easily obtain the black A section belts in many sizes but they only last a short time compared to a Kevlar version.

One other thought is drilling a hole 1/2" back from the 42" spring hole to get a little more tension.

Sorry I had miss where you posted that but I see that now as I do reread long threads. That K-Force B195404062 being only 77" will be a belt I will need to source from another vendor then as my mower and customer's mowers uses the 77-1/2. Here if I put on a 77" my mower it will shake itself to pieces as it overloads the 15.5 hp OHV engine. Here the MTDs can be very picky about belt sizes. I spend more on them than any other mower when I have belt related issues. Just something I learned to deal with. It is also getting worse as now I am finding many of the IPL have the wrong belt sizes listed especially for the older mowers. This I keep a record of for a particular customer in my files.

I supposedly you have already checked the Z bend on the cable at the engagement lever and that engagement lever isn't bent out of place.

The drilling a new mounting location for the spring hole is an option, just make sure you can hook the spring in and that it doesn't infer with the belt. Another option would be create a new mounting point for the engagement cable mount. Don't know if yours currently welded in place or bolted; of course, bolted version would much easier to relocate. If welded then it depends on your skills at metal fabrication and welding. Hopefully you know what I referring to as to the cable mount.

Knowing Kevlar belts can fairly expensive at times but you also try a cheaper 76" black belt but it probably will too short and won't disengage properly as I am thinking you are needing something in the range of 76-1/2". If it works then upgrade the Kevlar version.