[rmckenna]

I installed my 49 snow thrower and noticed that the belt and idle pulley do not line up. I noticed on the bottom pulley that it looks like it needs to go onto the shaft more, which would help with the belt lining up with the idle pulley. I have the bottom pulley soaking as it does not want to move any further in.

 

[dquandt]

The idler pulley can slide back and forth on the pivot arm shaft to line the pulleys up.

 

[rmckenna]

David, I realize that, but it can only slide so far without hitting the hydro lines. There is also a stop to prevent the pulley from going to far so it does not hit the hydro lines. The top photo shows the idle pulley hitting that stop.

 

[dquandt]

I was going off of my 312 and it is now where near the lines because I was worried about that as well. I will go out and look again and see if I can get some pictures of mine attached to the tractor.

 

[dquandt]

Here is my 49 blower mounted to my 1978 312 and the idler is closer to the front cross member than anything else.

 

[rmckenna]

Here is a pic of mine with the belt installed on it. As you can see by the photo, it looks like the bottom pulley needs to go onto the shaft further to align up with the idle pulley. The idle pulley is hitting the shaft pin, which stops it from going to far towards the engine and hitting the hydro lines.

 

[dquandt]

Rickey, is that a 318?

 

[rmckenna]

Yes, It is a 1986 318 with a 49 snow thrower.

 

[locab36]

Looks like you need to finish sliding the adjuster out another 1/4 inch or so. You can see in the pic that its not all the way out. I just hooked up a 49 to my 140. The slider was rusted and didn't slide at all. Took it apart and hit it w/emry coth, works fine. According to the book, it has the slider so as to clear bumpers on installation. Pull back slide adjuster pulley behind bottom pulley install on tractor then pull our adjuster pulley and install belt. Your adjuster should slide freely back and fourth on the mount. FWIW

John

 

[900thun]

I bought a 49 snowblower and the large pulley was in the same bad location (not in the same plane as the PTO pulley). I couldn't get it free and finally cut the pulley off. I then installed a new pulley in the proper position. I'm not certain, but I think the location varies depending on the tractor. In my case it's currently on a 322. Make sure the large pulley is in the same plane as your PTO pulley. Then slide the idler pulley in that same plane or I believe you'll destroy belts.

 

[rmckenna]

John, if I slide the adjuster out another 1/4 inch, the metal tab will be on the other side (engine side)of the pin that prevents the pulley from hitting my hydro lines. I'm assuming that the metal tab that hits this pin on the adjustment pulley needs to be on the snow thrower side of the pin and not the engine side?

 

[rmckenna]

On my 1st photo, you can see the pin I'm talking about. Is the metal tab suppose to be on the snow thrower side or the engine side. If it is to be on the engine side, what prevents the pulley from sliding into the hydro lines?

 

[Mhawk]

Rickey,
I have a 49 blower on a 140 and the pulley needs to slide past the tab on mine. If you hook the blower up to the tractor you should be able to see what doesn't line up. The PTO, blower pulley, and tensioner pulley should all be on the same plane.
Mike

 

[rmckenna]

I think I found out what the problem was. I hooked everything back up and it looks like the idle pulley arm was bent just enough backwards to let the pulley hit the hydro lines. I took it off and bent it back to were I think it should be and installed everything with the pulley on the backside of the tab. I now have about 1/4" clearance to the rear hydro line. I turned over the blower and everything seems to be working ok. I hope that the idle pulley stays up against the tab pin while I'm blowing snow, because if it slides back, I'm going to have a mess when it wears through the hydro line. I think the tension spring will keep the idle pulley pulled towards the blower unit.

 

[rmckenna]

You can see in my 1st photo were the arm is bent. I assume that this arm should be straight or even bent the other way to keep it away from the hydro lines.

 

[tommytime]

Rickey,

I am glad it's hooked up and "working". However, I think you were on the right track from the start about adjusting the main (bottom) pulley on the thrower. The main thing is to get the snowthrower's main pulley lined up directly below the tractor's PTO pulley so the belt runs straight (as straight as possible, within reason). From your first post, it sounds like you want the thrower's main (bottom) pulley to go farther forward (toward the thrower). That's good because from your photos, it looks like you have an inch or two of adjustment on the shaft to work with.

You can adjust the snowthrower's main (bottom) pulley by backing out the two (I believe there is two) setscrews on the shaft and moving it in or out as needed so that it lines up directly below the tractor's PTO pulley. Then, after the two big pulleys are lined up, you can slide the idler pulley in line with those two pulleys so that all 3 are lined up and the belt runs straight.

Note that you can take the snowthrower's main pulley off completely and turn it around instead of the way it is shown in your first photos, if you need more or less clearance one way or another. I recommend doing this if you can because this way, the setscrews are on the outside of the pulley and therefore are easier to get at for adjustments. FYI, I believe that you "could" also do the same with the idler bracket - if needed in rare cases.

 

[wyogreen]

Ricky,
I just went out and looked at my 49 blower on my 140. My idle pulley sets on the opposite side of the L shaped rod in your first picture. It sits tight against the stop on the end of the bolt that it slides on. So the L shape rod prevents the idle pulley from sliding forward toward the blower, and the stop prevents it from sliding rearward toward the tractor. Hope that's reasonably clear.
Steve