Traction belts on these are really to be done if you feel you have good mechanical aptitude. There is enough going on to complete this properly. You will need to watch guide positions closely, remove steering arms, get guides and pulleys out of the way and back into position. If the traction belt is smoking- something is holding the belt. Best get it back to the repair shop if you are unsure about how to proceed.

Rear Axle is free wheeling in an off ground position.
Does some one know of a site(url) that has a parts blow up of this model?
Do I need to remove the gas tank?
I can see the plastic impeller that cools the rear end has no blades so I would like to get a part number for it as well as the belt.
Thanks

I tried the JDparts site link I found in a search here but the search for my model comes up as not being found. It has a JD dealer decal(no longer in business) so I know it didn't come from Lowes?

Rear Axle is "free wheeling" in what kind of fashion?
As in "turn one wheel by hand and the other rotates in the opposite direction"? It is important to know exactly how you checked the above. If the belt has come off the transaxle pulley, you have not checked for transaxle operation yet. To check with the wheels off the ground means that you get both rear wheels off the ground, start the engine and move the range lever to forward and reverse to see if the power train is functioning, but without a load.
The plastic fan has no blades! What about the belt? Is it shredded? Has the belt jumped off its pulley on the transaxle, and if so do you think that shredded the blades off the fan?

This is a parts list of all JD equipment.

Enter the model number in the small box in the upper left under the JD icon

http://jdpc.deere.com/jdpc/servlet/com.deere.u90490.partscatalog.view.servlets.HomePageServlet_Alt

Enter as one continuous string

With rear wheels off the ground drive/reverse provide no axle motion. That said I do believe that due to the condition of the belt it is slipping on the rear pulley.
Although all the pulleys move when the belt is manually moved one of the two on the throw out binds. It feels like plastic? I suspect it should also be changed.

As for the JD parts url it would not let me in. I see its a secure site and I assume since the password and user did not originate from my computer it will not grant me entrance. Thanks for trying.

The sting I posted should be put into an ascii word processor and made into one string, and then pasted into the address window of your browser.

When you get the part page, you must enter the model number as LT155 or lt155, no spaces or dashes.

I was just on the site to check what you said. While I was not requested to enter a password, some where in my system there may be one that is being passed when requested. (One of the first things I did when I got the tractor, was find this site and that was many years ago. ) The registration is simple, and the time to register is worth the information that is available.

There are a couple dozen drawing of various component of the tractor, and a parts list keyed to the drawings. There is one drawing that shows the routing of the drive belt, and the part numbers for the plastic fan and all other parts.

Fan 12 M127359

You can order the part from the JD parts site or you can get it from any authorized JD Dealer, not big box store. JD Dealers are fun to visit to see the big brothers to your tractor and the other large farm equipment.

I have purchased their tune up kit for many years from the JD Dealer because it is cheaper than buying the same filters,plugs, and oil separately from the big box store.

This post was edited by knuttle on Mon, Jun 17, 13 at 18:09

Thank you "Knuttle" I will certainly give it another try and also thank you for the heads up on that tune up kit as I need to do that service for this old timer.

Thank you to all who helped on this. In the end it took me a good five hours to remove the deck, swap out the old drive belt the previous owner put in(way to narrow) and reinstall the deck. The dealer might have done it faster but now I know the mower better and have a lot of respect for techs who do this for a living. The jdpc.deere.com site was a god send and well worth joining. I also got the spring tune up kit for $32 to treat this lady to some well deserved new filters.
The Freedom 42 cuts like a dream and my neighbors are in awe. Thanks again.

As a suggestion for removing the deck.

I have four three wheeled dollies that I put on all four corners of the mower deck. I remove the three pins holding the mower to the tractor.

With the pins removed I move the mower lever back so if attached the mower would be up. Remove the mower belt from the front pulley

I have an auto floor jack that I use to lift the front of the tractor. With the front wheels lifted the mower deck can be easily rolled from under the tractor.

To install just reverse.

The deck cand be removed in a couple of minutes. Re installation takes about the same time.

When I got the tractor it was about 5 years before I even attempted to remove the deck, but after doing it a couple of time you wonder what you were afraid of.

If done right there is no need to re level the deck

Thank you for the dolly idea and next time I will try it from the front. I just got a tractor jack but found my car jack did work better. I had used wooden blocks to support the deck to get it aligned but the dolly idea is spot on. Happy Mowing, All!