Really don't know how that drive belt fitted around all 3 pulleys on yours.. Lol. There ain't much movement in the mechanism to get my drive belt around the 3 pulleys.
Check where you have the idler arm bolted to the chassis. Maybe a photo showing the full system like mine does may help, because your arm (with the brake pad and idler pulley) seems to be coming in at a greater angle to the drive pulley than mine does (as shown in these two photos). It may just be the angle of our photos but, according to my train of thought, the brake pad should be tight against the drive pulley if the pedal is all the way back from the throttle position. Mine is happy working in the same rod hole as you have shown above.
Really don't know how that drive belt fitted around all 3 pulleys on yours.. Lol. There ain't much movement in the mechanism to get my drive belt around the 3 pulleys.
Check where you have the idler arm bolted to the chassis. Maybe a photo showing the full system like mine does may help, because your arm (with the brake pad and idler pulley) seems to be coming in at a greater angle to the drive pulley than mine does (as shown in these two photos). It may just be the angle of our photos but, according to my train of thought, the brake pad should be tight against the drive pulley if the pedal is all the way back from the throttle position. Mine is happy working in the same rod hole as you have shown above.
Ok here is another pic similar photo angle as yours.
Thank you for the new photo. The brake and idler pulley arm looks like a better fit in this picture compared to your other one because the brake pad is actually resting against the drive pulley here where your last photo it appears to miss by a mile. The only thing I could add is to check the brake/throttle pedal is all the way back (toward the seat) and not caught on anything. If it fitted before you changed the brake pad, it should still fit.
For best braking performance, and effective pad wear, I reckon the brake pad should meet both top and bottom edges of the gear drive pulley. If it doesn't, I feel the idler/brake arm could twist a fraction if uneven pressure is not applied when braking. Alternative is to park the mower facing across and not down the hill, but you will still need the brakes to work when mowing down hill.
Hey, i know this is an old post, but the reason you were having a lot of trouble is the engine pulley is on upside down... Small vee drives the traction and the bigger one drives the deck. It was way oversized on the bottom side so when the deck disengaged the belt doesnt fall off.
