345 Drive Belt Replacement (2024)

mjw said:

Do you have the newer metal valve covers?
My dad replaced the gaskets a few years ago but still had leaks.
One of them fully let go last summer and I found out that there is an upgrade from the plastic valve covers that warp/crack and leak.

I’m rereading this thread in preparation of replacing the drive belt and fuel lines.

Fuel pump failed, old style that leaks into the hot muffler, got lucky it failed during snow season, short run time, cold temps probably helped prevent a major fire.
Bought the drive belt last season, just been to lazy to put it on.

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If I remember right I have the metal covers, but not positive, I'll have to look.

Just about done with my drive belt/idler pulley replacement. Along with fuel pump/lines and transaxle filter/fluid change, I hope.
Big snow coming in a few hours, I’d like a running snowblower.
I need to stop by the dealer for an internal filter , they only gave me the external one.

One thing the parts guy did suggest was to replace the idler pulley bushings- M71682
Also the bushings on the idler pulley dual mount- M111358.

Old bushings on top.

He was right about the pulley mount, one bushing was broken and the shaft is worn. The shaft looks welded to the large plate that is riveted across the frame so I just cleaned it up as good as I could and replaced the bushings.

We’re the second owner of this 345 with just about 600 hours on it. Hydraulic filter had a 2007 date on it so at least some maintenance was done to this thing.

The original fuel pump sprung a leak, right onto the exhaust. Upgraded pump has a third outlet with a hose to drain fuel directly onto the ground in case of a leak.
Changed all the fuel lines while I was in there.

I removed the body work, doesn’t take but 5-10 minutes working slowly.
I didn’t jack the tractor up, I would probably get it in the air if I had to do it again just to save my back.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread especially the OP.

Matt

Success, she moves and blows snow.
And with a few hours before the rain turns into a foot or more of snow.

A few random thoughts on the job(s)-

First- if you test start the machine from the ground without the body work on it don’t forget to throttle up and choke it. It won’t start no matter how many times you try no matter how strong the new fuel pump is sucking.

John Deere is pretty neat, the pedals are different shapes and so are the holes in the floor boards so you can’t put them in wrong. You can however put them on the wrong side of the linkage so they rub on the floor boards. No problem, quick fix.

Weirdly they used 13mm for the body bolts.
15mm for pulleys.
19mm for fan
12mm- not sure if needed for belt/pulleys, Needed for fuel pump.

The bracket with the 2 idler pulleys won’t come straight out but if you rotate it it will drop free. The bolt for this may have been 10 or 12mm, can’t remember.

When the PTO doesn’t engage don’t assume the worse, you probably just decided not to hook up the control cable until you shoot it with some contact cleaner. It works much better when connected (and clean).

I have a love/hate relationship with smart phones but they are awesome in the shop. Play tunes and take plenty of pics. This was mostly a Pink Floyd job with a little Rush thrown in.

The foam rub strips for the fuel tank were falling apart so I just used some butyl rubber stripping that was letting around to replace them.

All in all not a bad job, probably 4-6 slow hours total spread over a few days. Includes cleaning garage and finding tools spread over 3 different areas. Fuel pump was easy, spent most of the time cleaning off the old gasket.

good work to the OP, shows attn to detail & patience. & to those thread contributors on their work.

comment on idler pulleys. in the world of "permanently sealed/lubricated bearings", am glad to have lots of grease serviceable zerks on my zero turn incl the spindle bearings. the second most replaced item in my drive train other than belts are idler pulleys. guess there's a lot of heat generated by the belts that transfer to the idler bearings. replacement is an easy fix.

but i have never seen an idler pulley that is grease serviceable. why? has anyone run across one? idler pulleys are subjected to a lot of service & would be enhanced if serviceable. btw my idler pulley arm shafts are serviceable, but not the bearings themselves.

also...i have had very poor service from the std Gates type drive belts found at auto parts box stores. i now get Kevlar reinforced belts from following source. once you determine you belt size, these belts far outlast Gates. just a suggestion. regards

big bubba said:

also...i have had very poor service from the std Gates type drive belts found at auto parts box stores. i now get Kevlar reinforced belts from following source. once you determine you belt size, these belts far outlast Gates. just a suggestion. regards

Click to expand...

I don’t know who JD used for belts 20 years ago but I was impressed that a belt missing as much as this one was still pulling the mower around with no issues. There sure wasn’t much left of it, but I figure we got our money’s worth out of it.

big bubba said:

good work to the OP, shows attn to detail & patience. & to those thread contributors on their work.

comment on idler pulleys. in the world of "permanently sealed/lubricated bearings", am glad to have lots of grease serviceable zerks on my zero turn incl the spindle bearings. the second most replaced item in my drive train other than belts are idler pulleys. guess there's a lot of heat generated by the belts that transfer to the idler bearings. replacement is an easy fix.

but i have never seen an idler pulley that is grease serviceable. why? has anyone run across one? idler pulleys are subjected to a lot of service & would be enhanced if serviceable. btw my idler pulley arm shafts are serviceable, but not the bearings themselves.

also...i have had very poor service from the std Gates type drive belts found at auto parts box stores. i now get Kevlar reinforced belts from following source. once you determine you belt size, these belts far outlast Gates. just a suggestion. regards

V Belts | Vbelts4Less Top Quality and Service

www.vbelts4less.com

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What brand zero turn do you have?

Don't think I'd want grease around the idler pulley on my lawn mower decks. Think it could lead to grease on the belt all too easily.

beenthere said:

What brand zero turn do you have?

Don't think I'd want grease around the idler pulley on my lawn mower decks. Think it could lead to grease on the belt all too easily.

Click to expand...

good point on any drive belt system. i'm careful not to over grease & wipe down, etc. my zero is an Everride (now Airens i believe) heavy duty commercial. my point is the more serviceable grease points on a machine the better, & wish the idler pulleys were the same. a small point i guess. i do highly recommend kevlar reinforced belts tho
regards