Replacing Belts on Cub Cadet 33-inch Wide Cut Mower (FTHVN 805) 

I have a cordless impact driver (as seen in the video) which spun it free with no problem. (And in case you are wondering, it is a standard right hand thread.) Without an impact driver, you will need to do exactly what your doing, and that is, stop the engine drive shaft from turning.

@@FlynBrian I noted that you did use the impact driver and as a result considered buying one. Didn't realize how much difference one could make. As you indicated I chose to try somehow grabbing the shaft and a pipe wrench worked well. That bolt was really tight. Needed an extension on the ratchet handle to put the leverage sufficient to break it loose. Was concerned not to bend the engine shaft at all. Again, thanks for your video. Provided much needed info as to steps to take and avoid wrecking something rather than repairing it. Without it I might have either sent it to a shop or just junked it. I spoke to a number of shops and not one suggested the problem was a worn belt. Replaced the belt, and drives like new!

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w1UPrZUi7Kg.html

This could be caused by a couple of things. First, make sure the transmission drive belt is installed with the "V" side facing outward. I talk about this at 06:20 in the video. If you closely study the routing diagram for this belt (also provided in the video) you will notice that the "V" faces the inside of the drive pulley ONLY, and the outside of all the other pulleys. If installed incorrectly, the "V" will face outward on the drive pulley (and inward on the rest) and may cause the drive pulley to grab the belt even when not engaged. Another possible cause of this is a belt that is slightly small. This can easily happen when a new belt is selected by simply matching it against another one, by eye. Because size is super-critical on this setup, best practice is to use the belt number specified by the manufacturer. Another possible cause of this is a misrouted belt. In particular, if the belt was routed outside of one of the belt keepers. Good luck and happy mowing!

@@FlynBrian Thankd again Brian! I had the belt installed inside-out. I swear I flipped it before installing, but who knows. For other folks - the narrow side should be on the stem pulley only, and the wide side of the belt should be on all the other pulleys (narrow side facing out). Flipping it fixed the issue for me.

I’m not sure if it’s at all related, but now my mower doesn’t like to make counter-clockwise turns - the rear right wheel freezes if the “drive” is not engaged. Less consistently, but the rear right wheel freezes when it’s not in neutral but not driving, with the blades engaged (I sometimes “coast” downhill rather than keeping the drive engaged). There is a metallic grinding sound (almost a loud clicking noise) when the wheel freezes, but it’s otherwise fine / not making any unusual sounds. I don’t make a lot of counter-clockwise turns when cutting my lawn, so it’s not a huge issue, but I’m not sure if this means the transmission needs work or is indicative of some other issue.

Given what was happening and looking at the diagrams for the mower and transmission, I thought it was most likely the brake. I took that apart - it was filthy, and it was clearly sticking. I simply cleaned it and put it back together, and the problem seems to be resolved. Will test it with an actual mow next week.

I don't know the size of the belts. I ordered the belts directly from Cub Cadet. (P/Ns are shown in the video.) They worked perfect for me with no issues. Good luck.

You stated you replaced the drive belt without removing the deck. Which sounds like you didn’t remove the mower blades, either. If this is correct, and now the blades are striking the deck, I can offer no suggestions. Something would have needed to happen to the deck (damage, component failure, or both) for the blades to now hit the sides of the deck when they were not before. As far as the timing belt is concerned, it does not prevent the blades from hitting the deck. It only prevents the blades from hitting each other. A possibility exists that if you removed the blades, and then later reinstalled them, they may be installed upside-down. But even this would not cause them to strike the sides of the mower deck. Sorry, but I can offer no assistance on this.

All of the pulleys should be in the same plane. They should not be crooked or cocked. Sounds like you may have a loose pulley mount or a pully bearing that has failed, allowing it to tilt.

www.cubcadet.com/en_US/self-propelled-mowers/cc-800%C2%A0lawn-mower/12AE764B010.html?d=t#/s/CUT/12AE764B010///1/y

www.cubcadet.com/en_US/service-and-parts