Hey folks, so I'm posting this follow up in my original thread because I think I have a related problem. Last year, I replaced the PTO drive belt and the mower blade drive belts on my inherited JD STX 38 Yellow Deck. Today I took the mower out (NOT the first time this season) and had some serious issues. First of all, the grass is tall - 18-24 inches. I had the mower height set to the tallest height. The grass may have also been slightly damp - although not wet. I was able to cut basically one path, then I realized that although the PTO was engaged, the blades weren't cutting the grass. I was going at the slowest speed (first gear) and even tried cutting using only 1/2 of the mower deck width at a time - no help. I took the mower back to my driveway, cleared out lots of old clumped grass from the blades, and started the mower and the PTO. The blades were definitely turning. I turned off the mower again, and noticed that the PTO drive belt is looking terrible - it's all pitted and slack - it's not tight around the PTO shaft! So, my theory is this: the PTO drive belt is shot again (Although not broken yet) - so the blade spin when I'm not trying to cut anything, but when I come in contact with any sort of grass of substance, the slack belt is "slipping" and resulting in the blades not cutting? Does this make sense? Solution: replace the belt AGAIN???? A few more things to note: 1) I tried cutting shorter grass and drier grass and had very little luck. 2) why would my PTO drive belt, just replaced a year ago, be so shredded already? That's worrisome... any advice would be appreciated. thanks.

Does the chain move freely on the bar by hand? If not, your rails could be pinched or your brake band is engaging when it should not be. My guess is that you have something binding your chain if your clutch and brake band are getting hot. I am guessing that the clutch is slipping causing a heat build up your clutch and clutch drum. Your brake band should not be engaging the drum when the brake is off, i.e. the drum should spin freely. Does your saw rev well? If not, check fuel-air system. Check that the filter is clean. Saws will be under powered and bog if they do not have enough air when throttled. Do a compression test if possible. Even better if you can do a pressure/vacuum test. Clutches don't fail as often as other things, but when they do, the symptoms are more likely that your chain will run when you are at idle due to weak clutch springs. Or you might hear a pinging noise as the clutch arms intermittently strike the drum. Others may have different ideas.

Smarsh, I'm a bit late to this forum (just joined today) but I have an old Kemp Chipper/Shredder that has a tired centrifugal clutch with shoes that look very similar to yours. I am about ready to replace it b/c it slips more & more even at full engine RPM. My cluch is mfg. by NORAM. I have found their specific info at www.noramclutch.com You can also find other mfg. by googling 'belt drive centrifugal clutch'. Let me know what you end up doing. btw: your chipper/shredder looks very similar in constructions style and color to the the Kemp Chipper/Shredder I picked up 2 yr ago. I replaced the engine w/ a greyhound from aHarbor Freight and now need the clutch. I will need new shredder 'fingers' sometime too. Let me know if you run across any Kemp chippers.

I replaced the 56 pulley but that wasn't it. I took a few more pictures of that bad pulley, to try and figure out what part number it is. The diameter of the hole is 3/4" and overall diameter is ~2 inches. (assuming not alot of plastic is worn off). The reducing bushing that fits inside is an inch long, and takes it down to fit a 3/8" bolt. Any other ideas as to the part number?