Mountfield 2248H Drive Belt

[Steeley]

Hi all,

I'm having a bit of a nightmare at the moment and hope somebody can help.  The drive belt on my Mountfield 2248H ride-on was full of cracks so I bought a replacement and began the install.  Being the idiot that I am I didn't take photos of the path the belt took as I thought it would be straight forward.

I'm now in the situation that if I get the belt tight on the pulleys then the belt will rub against the grass chute when the deck is high.  If I put the belt around the pulleys such that it doesn't rub the chute then there isn't enough tension in the belt to drive the mower.

I'm now wondering if the belt was the wrong size but I held it up against the old belt and they seemed exactly the same.

I've attached a photo but if anyone needs any more info I'd be happy to take some more.

From the photos you can see the belt hanging down below the central pulley.  This seems to be the crux of the matter - if I put the flat side of the belt against the left side [ as we look at it in the photos ] then the mower drives but the belt will rub the chute.  If I don't put it on the left side of the pulley then it just falls off the pulley and there is no tension.

[Mick]

Hi Steeley, and welcome to TGMForum.

As far as I can remember the belt runs as follows. I've done a little sketch for you.



There's also a parts list here, which roughly shows the belt run.  https://www.diyspareparts.com/parts/mountfield/diagrams/01-2005-1310/6604

Another thought, have you checked to make sure the chute is located correctly.

[Steeley]

Thanks Mick,

Your diagram of the pulleys and path is exactly how I have it at the moment and the belt is really loose.  There is a bolt that I can twist that I think may put more tension on the belt but it's been so cold I'm not looking forward to going into the workshop and playing with it.  I suppose there is also the possibility that I bought the wrong belt - but I don't think so

[Mick]

Is your belt the same one as listed in that parts list I linked to? I'm guessing there's both manual and a Hydro versions, I'm not sure though. 

[Steeley]

I finally got to the bottom of this.  Everything that I read on the internet for a 2248H drive belt suggested a 4L 980, which is a 98 inch belt. Maybe this is the case for later models but mine was built in 2014.  Anyway, with a 4L 980 nothing I did would get enough tension on the belt.  As soon as I attached a 4L 970 then it was like night and day!  Everything immediately got taughter.  The weird thing was when I checked the 980 against the intitial belt they seemed exactly the same.

So - still a little confused - but at least I'm "back on the road"