Tried my best to video the drive belt replacement on a 2004 murray with a CVT transmission. This mower takes two belts, and is a little more complicated than your average drive belt replacement.
Hi, I know this is an older video, but I was very glad to find it. My Murray, that I have only had for a few months, is of the same vintage of the one in this video and it also had the same two belt CVT setup. My belt broke, so I was wanting to see how to route the belt around those two idler pulleys. Thankfully, you mentioned about one pulley taking the flat side and one taking the v side despite both idler pulleys being flat. Also, the way that you took both idler pulleys off to put the belt on worked wonderfully well. Thanks again!
Did the belt look loose when installed I have the same one. But the belt seems loose. It works but still it has some slack. Is there a way to fix that or just leave it
Yup! Actually, most mowers manufactured by MTD use some form of cvt unless they specify they are hydrostatic. The tell tale with MTD has always been the separate speed control lever and gear selector lever (forward, neutral, reverse). I learned this at age 13 when my grandfather's rider got stuck in second gear, and i couldn't figure out how it even had gears in the first place. They usually work pretty well unless you leave them to the weather, they will rust up and not change speed. And when the belts break, they are pricey, better now then 10-15 years ago. Back in the day the belts were $50-75 each, plus labor costs for the repair. And also, you would think this would mean the rear ends were pretty solid right? nope! i've had to rebuild 3 so far that wouldn't engage. Parts were cheap, but a very messy repair :p lots of nasty grease.
i'd have to look again, but i'm pretty sure two of them are not interchangeable. This mower went into the dumpster long ago after the variator bearing decided to come apart and replacement is more than the mower was worth. He went and bought himself a new cub cadet haha :) Keep in mind murray went out of business in 2003!
Great video my Belts just went on my 03 Murray rider I can’t find what size belts to get at all mine takes 2 belts also what size belts did you end up using? My mower is set up exactly the same
I looked up the parts using the model number from the unit at www.partstree.com You always want to use OEM belts if you can, with online prices these days OEM belts can usually be had for around $30 each. But especially on drive belts, they tend to be non standard sizes (88-3/8) for example, and you'd hate to get all that together to find out the aftermarket belts were wrong! However, this model murray had a model number tag that does love to disappear with time, so if you don't have your model, you'll have to play with google and find someone else with the same machine you can steal a model number from. This one featured in this video just died last month, guy bought himself a brand new rider. the CVT pulley went out, and it was ridiculously expensive to replace. Hope this helps!
Man the one thing I needed to know has been stumping me replacing mine you didn't show in the vid, removing the steering rod! Did you remove the pie gear or what?! I cant seem to be able to remove it and the steering rod doesnt seem to come out with it in the way, help!
I read somewhere that taking the body off is easier. After I waisted two main belts after putting them in from the bottom, I decided to take the body off. Can see how the belt and pulleys react and those damn post that keep the belt in line are just about too close. As far as the belt number goes the numbers and measurements are all over the place. I am still working on mine and wondering if my CVT needs attention too. Expensive as hell. almost $600 bucks if you can find one. Oh well. Maybe a new mower is in order.