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@@darrinsiegel482 Unfortunately no - I'm just a guy with a little mechanical inclination and too many tools - I have no training in this stuff and no experience with machines other than my own. I made the first video because I couldn't find a solution online, figured it out and made a video for the next guy; I made this one as a follow-up when someone asked about the idler pulley spring on this particular mower. If I had your machine right here in my garage, I could *maybe* figure it out, maybe, but that's it - I don't have any actual knowledge or advice. Sorry!

I suppose that's possible, I hadn't thought of that.

Would not those finer particles permeate through the bottom?

Upon further consideration, vacuuming without the sander first, and then with it, the second vacuuming removed a lot of sand that otherwise would have been left behind. It very well might have driven some finer particles deeper, but those finer particles were all left behind by the first vacuuming anyway, so would have gone deeper in time anyway. It seems like a net gain to me, but your mileage may vary.

​@DaddyBeanDaddyBean right?! They weren't going anywhere anyways

Embarrassing, but maybe somebody will learn from my mistake.

Gracias

Not that I can think of, but I'm not expert, very much a shadetree mechanic, proud graduate of TH-cam University. I made the video because all the others I found mentioned lining up on the white dots, without mentioning the cast marks in the pulleys, and that seemed like an important detail to get out there for others to find. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will chime in with an answer to your question.

No, this is the idler for the drive belt. If I recall correctly, I don't think the deck had an idler pulley - I think raising the deck all the way up also shifted the whole deck in such a way that the deck belt went slack and the belts disengaged; lower the deck to even the first notch and it pulled tight on the belt to engage the blades. I sold that machine a couple years ago so I don't know for sure.

Honestly no idea - I don't have the machine or the owner's manual anymore. If you Google your model number, you'll probably find it.

You're welcome and thank you!

My mtd mower has had the same problem for years. My 1992 murray with peerless transmission never threw belts. Whoever designed mtds belt drive didn't know what they were doing. Mtds are worthless consumer junk. If this was made right belt shouldn't be jumping off.

You're welcome, glad I could help.

Porque hablo solamente un poco español, despacio y no bueno 😁

I am not a pro at this, but to an extent, yes, I think so - if it isn't putting enough tension in the belt, the belt could be slipping. Easy enough to to see, at least on mine, by removing the panel around the shifter and just watching the belts & pulleys. I have to wonder if your belt is still in decent condition, though - if it's worn out, that could cause it to slip too.

I wouldn't go that route as my first resort - melted rubber from accidentally heating it too hot sounds like a dreadful job to clean up - but if nothing else is working, sure, why not, any port in a storm. Expanding that chamber even a few thousandths might be enough to get it moving with a pick.

I found several good videos documenting the overall process, but they generally didn't have a good end to end view of the routing, and it was hard to find that detail about the timing mark vs paint dot, so I made the video specifically to address those issues. Glad it helped.

You're welcome!

I got an angled hook down between the body of the tool and the outside of the seal - between the seal and the wall of the chamber it sits in - and then turned the hook so it was under the seal, and pulled. The hook would slip out, but the seal moved a little each time - try try again and it eventually came out.

There's probably a better way but that's what I came up with.

Thank you!!

Absolutely no idea. All the forces on it should be lateral, so it shouldn't have bent in the first place. On the other hand, now that you know what to look for, checking it is easy peasy - pop the shifter cover off and see if there's about 1/8" gap between the idler and big pulley, put shifter cover back on. Especially if it starts throwing the belt again. Grasping at straws, it's possible I bent it by hand (without realizing it) when I replaced the drive belt, by forcing the belt through the gap between the idler and the big transaxle pulley ... because I didn't stop & think at the time that if it doesn't fit, maybe I'm doing something wrong. I really don't know. I also no longer own the machine - the rear axle shaft broke and took the transaxle with it, something like $500 in parts, made no sense to repair.

@@DaddyBeanDaddyBean I was thinking maybe the frame was twisting when you go backwards on an angle. Maybe that is why it doesn't always throw the belt? How the heck did the rear axle shaft brake? Thanks for the video.

@@RayForrester I don"t really know, one way or the other - I seem to recall it sometimes throwing the belt while backing up on pretty flat even ground. As for breaking the axle, your guess is as good as mine. No clue. I was mowing and the wheel fell off with most of an axle shaft still attached. And you're very welcome.

@@DaddyBeanDaddyBean I'm pretty sure the problem isn't with the idler pulley but with the bolts where the axle mounts up fracturing and causing the larger rear pulley to be out of line. If this happens you can fix it by adding a piece of angle iron on the frame in the back on both sides

@@stephenallen4813 that is a viable alternative explanation, but in my case the idler bracket was definitely bent, and as far as I could tell, everything else was fine. Certainly worth checking both.

I'm not an expert, just a stubborn old do-it-myselfer, and I sold that machine last year - and hadn't taken the deck off in several years before that - but I think the spring you're asking about is visible in this video at about 0:35. If memory serves, I looped a piece of wire through the hook in the backend of the spring, wrapped the wire several times around a chunk of 2x2 or something, and then used that to pull the spring back & hook it on that bar just inside the right rear wheel. I recall it was extremely difficult to do, so either I was doing it wrong, or it's a horrendous design. Or maybe both.

Long story short, while your model sounds different from mine, I think you're mistaken about those springs. On mine, those springs pull the entire deck backwards, pulling the deck belt tight around the PTO pulley on the bottom of the engine and engaging the blades. Pulling the deck all the way up, the top notch on the lift lever moves the deck forward a bit, introducing slack in the deck belt to disconnect it from the engine again. Then there are two small brake pads on the underside of the body - bolted to the bottom of the floorboards - that press against the top of the two pulleys on the deck, but only when it is lifted all the way up, to stop the blades when they're disengaged. All that being said, you mentioned a "PTO cable" - mine doesn't have a PTO cable at all, just various rods & levers. Engaging the deck belt is managed entirely by shifting the entire deck forward (disengaged) or allowing the springs to pull it back (engaged). I should add that I sold mine a year ago, after the transaxle & axle-shaft broke right half in two, so I'm operating from memory here and don't have the actual machine to reference anymore

@@DaddyBeanDaddyBean thank you!

You're welcome. It's honestly kind of amazing how many views & likes this little video has pulled, when I made it in response to a single question on another video, and recorded it in one take with zero planning and zero editing. I'm just glad people are both finding it, and finding it useful! 😁

After you get it back together, if it keeps throwing the belt off the rear pulley - especially when backing up - watch this one too. I smashed my head against that problem for way too long before figuring out what was wrong. th-cam.com/video/o6FBxSDwd-M/w-d-xo.html

@@DaddyBeanDaddyBean Yours was good for me being you getting right to the point for where the spring actually attached too. You made my day! It's nice to have people like you out there to give info. when needed! Happy Fathers Day! Thanks again!

I'm sorry, I don't know. My transaxle cracked and the drive axle snapped off, and it wasn't worth the hundreds of dollars in parts to repair a 15yo mower, so I sold the whole unit to a guy who was going to repurpose the engine & deck into a tow-behind mower for his 4-wheeler. You might try mtdparts dot com with your model & maybe serial # to find the right part #, and then Google that part number to see where the best deal is. Any local small-engine shop should be able to look it up for you as well, and might even have one in stock.

MTD FNR Idler Pulley Spring is 6.5” long (outside end to outside end) x 5/8” diameter

Thanks for the reply - that's exactly why I posted the video, in case someone else had the same problem. 😁

Looking down the battery hole from behind, or underneath from behind, the pulley moves to the left to tension the belt; the back end of the bracket moves to the right. The left side of this rearward part of the bracket has a sort of notch in it to accept one end of the idler spring, to pull the bracket to the right. Now, over to the right from there, maybe 10" away, there's a simple bolt / stud sticking out, pointing straight back. I believe it is near the end of the transaxle support bracket. The other end of the idler spring hooks over this bolt. Vice grips are recommended. It's supposed to rain like a mad bastage here for the next day or three, but if I remember, when the sun comes out, I'll try to grab a quick video showing the idler spring.

New video is up - th-cam.com/video/qTSlzWTVZxY/w-d-xo.html

Found it, thanks. Thought the clip on the bracket was broke off