Mower question - fixed idler arm with chain?

[Mandres]

Hi fellas,
I brought home a new project mower last week and have started tearing in. One of the things I noticed right away is that the previous owner replaced the (presumably broken) spring on the idler arm for the drive belt with a chain and a turnbuckle that threads into a hole in the frame. Tightening the bolt pulls on the chain pulling the drive belt tight. Is that going to cause problems over time? There's no spring/give at all in the tensioning system now, the chain is pulled taut. It looks like the original spring mount is broken, so fixing it back to stock would involve some welding.

Is it ok to leave this as is? Or does an idler arm/pulley need to have a little give in the system via a spring?

 

[carlite65]

well the factory engineers thought a spring was necessary. i would duplicate their efforts.

 

[6PTsocket]

If there is a hole for for the tension bolt, replace it with an eye bolt and hook the spring to that; no welding.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[benjamintmiller]

The belt stretches over time, and the spring automatically keeps a certain amount of tension in the belt.

 

[larry_g]

Replace the chain with a spring...

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Mandres]

Thanks everyone, I'll have to figure out a plan to get a spring back into the mix.

 

[nbpt100]

Usually the idler has a spring but not always. I have seen set ups on a Toro for example that had a fixed idler pulley. How do you know it was a spring that broke? Can you find an exploded view of the assembly and confirm what the correct configuration may be. If so you can also get part numbers and get the right spring, bracket, or whatever is suppose to be used. Make and model (sometimes S/N) can get you far on a sight like Jacks Small engine. I have been repairing small engines and ODPE for a while and often you can improvise if the exact parts are not available. it is not rocket science but it is best if you can use what it was originally designed. If you are unsure snap a few pics and some of the back yard engineers here can give you some guidance. Good Luck

 

[Zexx]

Most mowers the belt tension changes as you lift and lower the deck. The spring also adds in some shock absorption when the blades hit something.