This tiller was in for repairs for one of my customers. No idea what size the springs are, but many hardware store have a variety of springs, and you should be able to get pretty close to what you need there. It looks like the springs each have a keeper/stop which can add or remove preload, so as long as they are the same size/dimension, they will be pretty close. It might take some trial and error, but the springs should be fairly inexpensive. You may need to trim the springs, too, though.
@mbscat You could be right, I see snowblowers with fingers that keep the belt(s) from grabbing the pulley(s) especially when starting the unit. I tried it there first, but It didn't look like it was doing much where it was, as you can see in the first couple shots, it was in a vertical position. I thought I'd at least put it someplace to keep the belts tracking because they were flopping around a bit, and they would only get more out of control as the belts wore in and loosened up.
Hey John, I don't get on here much, or on gmail, so sorry I got to your query kinda late. You can go to a slightly longer belt, make sure there isn't something hanging up like a retainer, or maybe a different pulley. Only go one inch longer at a time, there shouldn't be a lot of flopping around on the belt when it gets released when it gets shifted into reverse. I'm wondering if someone switched something around on yours, mine had no problems using the belts as shown.
Howdy! I got both belts today at Napa and installed them. Unfortunately the front belt is so tight that it is engaging the tines even when the tensioner pulley isn't putting any force on the belt. Any advice? Do you think I need a longer belt? Did you have this problem?
At 5:25 of the video, I show the belts that fit on the unit I was working on. The reverse belt is a little narrower than the forward belt. The reverse belt shown is a NAPA #3L370W. The forward belt is #4L350W. Sorry about the delay, I don't look at this video often these days. Hope you can get yours working!!
Most manufacturers keep a model in existence for a period of time, not usually changing much from year to year, only adding "upgrades" from time to time. This Gilson manufactured unit is model GIL 1545B. I do not know when this model sold- from what year it was introduced to when it either changed (along with a different designation/model#) or was discontinued. I would venture a guess as sometime in the mid to late sixties to early seventies. Not much for safety switches on this one. Probably made when people weren't afraid to operate "dangerous" equipment. The belts on this particular model took a 1/2" x 35" for the main drive, and a 3/8" x 37" for reverse. The belt sizes were discussed and shown in the video.
