The first one i did, and i had never done an MTD type of belt replacement, turned out to be easier than first thought! I found, the deck belt can be removed from the engine pulley, and tied out of the way. Then depress the brake/clutch pedal all the way down, and clamp it down! This releases tension on the belt. From there, you must look for any other things that may impede removal and replacement, and from there on, it is self-explanatory, more or less. I had the tractor setting on four jack-stands, so it was much easier to work on. Some manufacturers do invent tricky things that do get in the way of belt replacement, but with a careful look-see, it will eventually show the path to replacement. Of course, you can always take it to a repair shop, a statement that makes do-it-yourselfers cringe, but if thats the only way out--do it!

More info. After a beer tonight, got underneath the tractor and found the belt stuck in between one of the idler pulleys and its bracket above. The belt came to a screeching halt and, of course, wore off at the crank pulley. Come to remember, it did that last time, too... (he says, foreshadowingly). Thinking over all the thoughts here, I looked at that particular idler pulley (one of the flat ones where the back of the belt rides, immediately off the crankshaft pulley) and it appeared to be worn more at the top than the bottom, toward its bracket. I messed around with it further and noticed that its bracket -- a bellcrank that has another pulley that controls the tension when the brake/de-clutch pedal is released -- was wobbly rather than pivoting in one plane. I removed that bellcrank and the two pulleys on it and found the spacer that it pivots on was worn, as well as the hole in the bellcrank it fits into (both are held onto the tractor frame with a bolt). So here's my theory: this bellcrank pivot point wore to the point where it was tilting downward at the front (toward the crank) and was both wearing the top edge of the belt (in previous times I found evidence of that) and/or popping off the top edge of that leading pulley and getting caught. When it got caught, the belt stopped and the crankshaft pulley wore through it. This reasonably explains all the symptoms I've been seeing. For further reference, I found no evidence that the belt was riding deep enough into any v-pulley groove to bottom out; the parts book shows the same crankshaft pulley assembly for both engines. Tomorrow I call a Simplicity parts dealer to see if the bellcrank, spacer, and pulleys are still available. If so, then ~$100 in parts (including a new belt) and I'm "back on the road." I do have the Jonesin' for a new lawn tractor, but this ole gal has been so good for me it's hard to "quit her"... Thanks, I'll keep you posted. - GA

Tensioner pivot pin maybe freezing up spring can't overcome that freezup if belt squeal. Maybe bearing sqeal take deck out from under machine check for bearing bad at double pulley they have most load and fail more often more than not I replace double pulley and bearing two snap rings bearing spin in pulley change size to to large. check spindle bearing at this time seal bearing have common life of good 3 years meaning in 4th or 5th year multi bearing application 1 or 2 could fail. Is more important find change that occured then fix be easy.

The door is not heavy at all. It's a 4 section and not a one piece. I hand tightened the spring and it actually popped by itself as I was tightening it. At that point the belt had no slack. Do you think I need to tighten the spring more? It is pretty tight when the door is closed so I don't want to over tighten it. Thanks for your help.