Well, i bought my belts at a local store that has or will order new matching belts for tillers, or anything else. They sell lots of parts, and will order anything i need! Check in your area--there must be someplace where you can buy parts, belts, etc. But not Home Depot, Lowes, or any place like that! And, automotive belts will not last as long as the kind used in mowers and tillers. As for replacing the double belts, its a bit tricky, but not that tricky! Here's how to do it: Move the clutch handle to loosen tension on the belts. Then, first thing, take forward belt off lower front pulley, and rear belt off rear upper and lower pulleys, and slip it out. Then remove front belt. To install the new belts: Hang front belt over the front upper pulley, but not the lower one. Slip the rear belt in under the front and into the rear lower pulley, then install it in the top rear pulley. Then slip the front belt over the lower front pulley, and its done. you may have to adjust the sliding block, but that isn't too hard to do. It might not let the handle stay in position if its out of adjustment. HTH: Rusty Jones

Go to this link: http://www.toro.com/home/index.html Click on "Look Up Parts" under "Customer Care" Input this model number: 33-08X301 (or 33-08X303 - I am not sure of the differences) This is for an '85 model - yours is this or very close. I think you will find that owners, parts, and service manuals are available. If you do the purchase, it may be available for free via download, or at the most there may be a charge of $ or $5 for them to send you printed copies. Looks like a fine little rider to me, the 8HP Briggs should be plenty powerful for this deck and millions must've been made, the transmission is standard stuff, the rest is basically pulleys and brackets and a bearing or bushing here & there, bottom line looks to me like an easy unit to get going and keep it going. Ed

This is not unheard of, the natural design of a good belt drive system does tend to favor the drive pulley and a single direction of rotation. However, I have a bunch of Wheel Horses and mow some pretty good hills without experiencing this problem. Different years and models, some with wheel weights, etc. - none have this problem. Does your tractor have the "anti-wheely" hydraulic type dampener on the clutch (located under the belt guard) - if so remove it and see if the problem disappears. Up to you whether to replace it or leave it off. The fact that you said manually pulling up on the pedal does not improve the situation tells me something is likely limiting the travel of the clutch arm and idler pulley, not allowing sufficient tension on the belt. Did you use a Wheel Horse belt? If it is an aftermarket belt, a little too much length will still allow the engine to drive the tractor but could allow the problem you have. Check the roll pin on the left side where the short clutch actuating arm attaches to the cross shaft. I have seen this pin shear but the clutch seem to work reasonably well for a period of time due to corrosion, the joint relying simply on the friction between the parts. I'm sure you could tell the difference between a "limited" degree of free motion and full-on slippage, but you might check the keys and keyways in the drive pulley and your wheel hubs to be sure all is well there. I don't think it is likely there is any problem inside the transaxle that could cause these symptoms. Might also check for a leaking seal on the transaxle input shaft, causing gear lube to make it's way to the belt groove in the rear pulley. However, I know I have this problem on my 520-8 yet it still pulls fine and does not run away down hills. My best guess is that something is blocking full travel of the clutch arm, and if so equipped, I'd be real suspicious of that clutch dampener unit. Best of luck and let us know what you find! Ed

hey agrippa, Just thought it sounded like a good buy. I still want to get those ags though.