How to replace the belt on MTD riding mower
Replace the mower deck belt on your MTD riding mower at home
I got almost a new MTD riding mower to my shop the other day. It was 17 HP, 2006 model that they call Celebration.
I used the opportunity to learn a little bit about this machine and shoot some pictures of it to use here on the web site. I start to tell you how to remove the mower deck and replace the deck belt. Remember that your lawn tractor might be different from the one shown.
Removing the mowing deck is very easy, but before you do that you have to remove the grass catcher from the rear of the mower and then remove a plastic tunnel that guides the grass to the catcher. This piece of plastic is held in place by two pins (one is shown in corner of picture).
As you can see I was working on an even floor. Start lowering the deck all the way down so it rests on the floor.
The arm marked A on the next picture is the height adjustment and the red arrow points to a lock that is holding the deck in place. There is one lock on each side of the tractor and you pull them out to release the deck. There should be no weight on them as the deck is resting on the floor.
The front of the deck is just hanging on a rod that can move up and down. By moving the deck forward and lifting the rod, it becomes free from the tractor. The belt is now slack and can be removed from the pulley.
You should now put the height adjustment lever to the highest position, allowing space for the deck to be removed. Removing it from the right side seemed to me to be the best choice.
This deck has two blades. Take a good look at how the belt is going and notice that the belt is twisted twice to correctly follow the belt pulleys.
The reason for twisting the belt and make it go like this is that the blades are turning in opposite directions. As the deck has rear discharge into the grass catcher, the blades have to work this way. That is not the fact on older MTD's with side discharge.
Put a new belt on the deck as shown and fit the deck back on the mower in reverse order. You should first put the front rod in place and leave the belt without putting it back on the pulley. Lower the height adjustment lever and lock the rear of the deck onto the arms.
When the deck is in place and correctly locked, you can put the belt around the engine pulley. The pulley marked B on the third picture is a tension pulley and can be pushed forward while guiding the belt around. Use a piece of wood or metal to push the tension pulley but use gloves and take good care of your fingers.
Replace the plastic tunnel and the pins and notice that the plastic is sitting correctly under a guide on top of the deck.
I include one picture from the MTD's part list, showing 42" deck with side discharge. The drive belt is not twisted on this model and both blades are turning the same direction. Same goes with decks with 3 blades.
