Thanks for all the advice. The tiller was working fine before the belt broke. Started easily. Now new belt and it doesn't. A sheared pin sounds serious. Possible it could of sheared at the moment the belt broke? I suppose that might of happened. But as I recall after the belt broke I believe we started it a time or two to try different things to see what was wrong. How annoying. I'm even thinking about buying one of those hand tillers or just string trimming the tall weeds in the corners of the vegetable garden. Or even hoeing. Might end up being less work and less frustration!

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

Starting from the top... "the engine choked out seeming like the belt grabbed onto the drive pulleys, even by "nursing" it in.the engine choked out seeming like the belt grabbed onto the drive pulleys, even by "nursing" it in." So the engine DID slow down or stall? "When powered up, any load on the unit slowed the blades down, not the engine which lead me to believe I still have a slipping belt. Gone from a spec 5/8 x 29" belt to a 1/2 x 28" belt." So the 1/2" belt is slipping. Can you turn the blade pully by hand? Is their years of gunk that have fallen in their and gotten jammed somehow, rats nests that wrapped around the shaft when you first fired it up? My cousin had one of those and got a chunk of wood caught between the rotor and side of the housing took a couple hours to back up the rotor and get it out, I think you may need to take off the side plate and get a good look inside. One time a tree crew came to my buddies body shop and asked to borrow his porta-power hydraluic unit and wedge, they got a chunk stuck on the side and even the inline six and hydraluic drive pump was no match.

as you say that machine is a 2014 model, is it not still under warranty ?