Toro Lawn Mower Not Self Propelling? Replace Mower Belt  

I have watched a bunch of these videos on how to do this. Thank god somebody on the last video shared a link to this one. Excellent video. This is SOOOOOO much easier than the other methods I have watched. Thank you!

Well then we're glad you found our video! We like making things easy.

We appreciate your input. We chose to complete the repair in this manner so we could clearly show DIY’ers each step in the process.

Thanks for this video! My Toro Personal Pace model 20017 (about 10 years old) was nearly identical to the model in this video so I was able to follow your clear instructions easily. The belt shield and rear baffle on mine were a little different but close enough to figure out how to remove them. The under-side of mine is definitely not shiny like this one! It took me about 2 hours from start to the point where I got it all back together and adjusted the linkage to get the right tension on the v-belt. What slowed me down was that the rear wheels on mine would not rotate out of the way due to the ends of the pivot rod on the rear door flap. I think the rear bag (which I don't use) might use the ends of those rods as attachment points. At any rate, it was a slow task but still possible to remove the bolts holding the rear baffle by using two 1/2 inch wrenches. Thanks again for the help, my wife thinks I'm a big hero now!

A very good video. Most importantly covers every step slowly and does not skip some steps like other repair videos I have viewed. It is not complicated if you follow each step carefully.

I used this video to replace the belt on my Model 20332 with serial number beginning with 314038... It was an exact match to what is shown on this video and the video gives excellent guidance. I went to my local repair store to buy the belt, they were out so I went to Home Depot, they had 14... Thank you for providing this information.

It is obvious that some models will vary slightly and that there will be subtle differences on some mowers. I would have changed mine without this video but found it very helpful and installed mine in under 10 minutes. I appreciate this video and am in amazement that people call you fool because it contained an unnecessary step. I removed the blade to replace it with my second pre-sharpened one. Thanks for your post!

Ok, here is some critical information, for those of us, with an electric/pull start system, and the black battery box on the deck of the mower. Ok, YES, there is a bolt underneath the box. But, it is towards the back of the mower, and you will see a slightly raised section of the box, that does not touch the deck, but sit's above it, about 1/4-3/8". The bolt you have to access is, literally in that notch, towards the backside of the black box/mower. And, I have found, that the box is riveted to the deck. So, for full access, you will have to rip the box off of the top of the deck, revealing 2 of the 3 bolts, as the 2nd bolt is, along the left side of the black battery box, just underneath the side front corner. But, if you are able to remove all of the plastic covers off of the back, including the flapper, for the bag. As, the top of the flapper for the bag hatch, is literally what has you blinded from seeing the bolt in the first place, besides the battery box itself. And, since I can't start it with the key anymore(Long story short, the cable harness was ripped out of the key starter switch, and ruined it), so it's pretty useless to me, at the moment. So, I decided to just rip the black box itself off. Which, made it much more simpler to access all 3 bolt's, for the plastic belt guard underneath. Also, it is a good idea to take a plastic bag(Walmart bags will do fine), and use it underneath the gas cap, by taking the cap off, then draping the bag(Double layer, by using whole bag) over the open hole, then screw the cap back on, and you now have a sealed gas cap, from leaking...

Great video. I was able to get my belt back on the pulleys using this video. Saved me some money over having lawn mower place do the job. One comment, my mower had two bolts on the top of the deck holding the belt guard in place. Otherwise everything was per this video. I have model 20334. What I can;t figure out is how the belt managed to jump off the pulley in the first place. The belt was not damaged. Mow conventional lawn with no obstacles, edging or uneven spots, etc. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I learned that this is a bear of a mower to push when the drive is not working! Glad I could fix it without too much trouble.

Great video!!! Looked a bit intimidating at first, but was really pretty easy. Took me less than an hour. A couple issues I think may be worth mentioning. First, the blade driver on my mower was stuck and impossible to remove using conventional methods. Bought a $10 gear puller, partially reinserted the bolt that secures the blade for the gear puller to put pressure on, and driver came off pretty easily. Second, as a previous post mentioned, the screws holding the rear belt guide cover are square drive screws requiring a special bit. Third, the drive cable did not stretch enough, and I had to disconnect the cable from the handle to get enough slack to reattach it to the transmission. FYI, my mower is a five year old model 20332.

I use the end of needle nose pliers for the square boats on the cover fit perfect

Excellent video and instruction, I'd like to add one note; the baffle plate screws are 3/8th inches.

Thanks guys, awesome video. I managed to change the drive belt, saving probably100-200, many thanks for the help and clear instrucions.

Thanks for the comment! The best way to get that information is to refer to the repair help section of our website.

I have found several videos for changing the drive belt on Toro 22" mowers that use this belt, but none on similar models that take the same belt but have the spin-stop assembly on the blade. You could be the first and offer a real service. If I missed it, my apologies, but I have been looking 30 minutes and have found nothing.

My replacement went exactly as depicted. Perhaps there's minor differences between models or production years. Great video! I was definitely going to go about this the hard way before I found this video.

This video saved my life.

We're glad we could help!

This was very helpful -- thank you. The Toro service manual shows a Lawn Boy model where the transmission access works differently, so this was invaluable.

great video - I watched it, ran out and changed my belt without having to refer back to the video...note to self though, start the process before the sun sets! Its harder by flashlight

Spot on! As others have noted, sure would have been nice to have replaced the belt on a clean mower & in an air conditioned garage! But... I was successful in replacing it myself using your video. Thanks!

great video very professional and educational from start to finish

My Toro self-propel system stops working a few days, followed the video and I was able to find the belt was in in the pulley, off track. Probably will replace the belt anyway. Great Video!

The only thing *not* mentioned is how tight the bolt for the blade and crankshaft. It's torque is *60 ft/lbs* This is much tighter than you can get with just a simple socket set with a 6-7 inch ratchet driver. If it's too loose, upon start up then shut down, you will hear a loud metal to metal sound. May even sound like what you might expect to hear from a bent or broken value. _Ask me how i know_ Therre is also a spacer in the blade to crankshaft hub. It only works correctly one way.

Thanks...this video was very helpful... My Mom's was a little different as she had an electric start and the bolts for the plastic belt housing underneath were under the battery housing. Your video made the job go quickly... Thanks again...

I used this method twice over 3 years. There is no need to remove the belt guide if you can get the pulley off. The bolts that hold the belt guide on also secure the engine to the deck and they are tritite self thread forming screws. Unless there is something I don't know about re-torquing that trilobe type of bolt reinstalling then a couple of times allowed them to vibrate loose and the belt guide got wrapped around the shaft. Had to use a regular through bolt on one hole with a lock nut and a regular bolt in the blind hole with some threadlock.

Great Video I have same mower same problem fixing it this week with the help of this video. I am going to save $75 service fee by fixing this my self, so for the cost of the belt I will be mowing again THANKS!

When the traction cable is reattached to the transmission the belt should be loose and only tightened when the traction lever is pulled. I don't know what happened in your case but it most likely has something to do with how to cable and spring are attached.

I actually was able to do it even easier. I was unable to break the bolt to the blade, so I was cut the old belt off, slipped the new one over the blade, completely removed the bracket under the blade instead of losening it so that the belt would go on. Followed the remaining steps and I DID IT MYSELF!! Thanks for you help with this!!

Great video, easy and simple to follow. THANK YOU

Great video. I have a rather new Toro and the drive belt replacement went easily. I have a newish model and the shield on the transmission is attached with square drive screws. I needed to run to the hardware store to get a #2 square bit, but that was no problem. Maybe people with newer Toros might want to check their toolbox before starting.

This video saved me a lot of money.Thanks

Spot on! Thank you for posting this video.

Most important !! Grease the drive gear while there ( look for fittings pointing down & back ). A tighter cable will help with releasing drive. This is a horror for lots of back & forth.

I just did this replacement using this video. The bolts that hold the shield on my mower had nuts, and were not sheet metal as shown here. The inside ones were a bit difficult to get at. Each of the four bolts also had shoulder washers which were tricky to reinstall and easy to drop and lose. Also, the shield was in two pieces. There were several sheet metal type screws on the top of the deck that had to be taken out. Also had to take off the battery box. This was unclear in the video.

Very simple repair. Thanks for the great video!

Excellent, RepairClinic.

REQUIRES A No. 2 SQUARE DRIVER to remove the transmission cover.

The oil in the crankcase will keep the engine from getting that hot. I think the bolts are just stuck. You might have to soak them with penetrating oil and use a long handle wrench to get it loose.

How do I know if my belt needs replaced? Mine stopped self propelling and makes a high-pitched whine sound when pushing the bar down to engage the self propelling and it doesn't work, just makes that sound. Thank you and great video!

Do you have a video for replacing this belt when the Toro model 20333 has a brake assembly? I can't figure out how to remove the brake assembly to get to the drive belt.

Thanks!

Easy to put on.

Thank you.

I got a model 20349 and it's like impossible to change de rear belt. I don't have any acces to de transmission

I got the same one but different engine 6.75 -190cc would that using the same belt?

Open the needle nose pliers 1st use one side of the pliers

Great video. I bought a new belt and replaced it as shown. Now the belt is engaging without tension on the cable so the self-propel is always on. I removed the spring from the transmission bracket and it still does it. Bad belt? Too small? I used my model number when ordering....

Does this belt affect the turning of the blade at all? Sometime when I engage the blade it takes awhile to start spinning. It also bogs down unless I go super slow.

my batter is constantly being drained on the toro lx 500. Is there an alternator on this mower and where is the charging system. Any info will be so greatly appreciated.

Perfect video

We just did this,,on the toro 22" personal pace recycler..When you push down the handle to make the mower move forward it does nothing,,but when you pull it back to make it stop position it tries to go? Any idea what happened.

Ive had mine for 5 years now, is it possible that the heat of the engine may have welded the belt guide bolts to the block of the engine?

Thanks. This is helpful. The drive system used to be strong enough to dig holes with the back wheels if it got stuck. Now it struggles to get up hills. Hopefully it just needs a new belt. I flipped my mower over, took one look and thought "F*** this, I better see if there is a video"

Nice video, easier to work on a clean machine I assume... I replaced my belt with the Toro part number for my mower... but the belt is Really tight! There is no more "neutral", as the transmission is always pulled by the tight belt. I have to run behind the Personal Pace machine without being able to stop! Obviously, I've missed something. Is there a way to adjust the tension between blade shaft and trans. pulley??? Or, do I go buy another belt, and make sure it's a bit longer? Thanks! Dave

What if you do not have a torque wrench?

Great video!!!

great video , thanks

My Toro Personal Pace pulls fine on flat ground but on hills there is barely any assist. Is it probable the belt has stretched? Any suggestions. Thank you, Steve OHIO

I replaced mine a more complicated way. :)

I have a Toro 20333, about 4 years old, and there are a lot more pieces to remove to get the belt off which I can't figure out. All the videos show this same setup. Any one have any experience replacing the belt on one of this model?

thank you!!!

What size belt is this???

SUPER CRUCIAL opening point… whichever side your air filter and gas filler is… THAT SIDE GOES UP. And… way better to secure the handle so the mower is still at some degree of an angle vs. laying beyond 90 degrees as shown.

belt name?

You failed to show that you have to loosen the cable to the belt and then how to tighten it again. Other than that the video shows all other steps needed

Try doing this when the blade driver doesn't come off. Mine NEVER do come off. This is a very POOR DESIGN.

Horrible design. When the belt slips off the pully when on the job you are hosed.

Replaced belt. Now mower wont start...