What is the pattern for the deck belt on a John Deere 318 lawn tractor?

Answer 1

JOHN DEERe 318 Onanhorizontal-shaft engine has a front-mounted PTO electric clutch that drives a pulley. A tension-adjusting spring-loaded double-pulley set is frame-mounted below the electric-clutch. This drive set has two pulleys attached parallel to each other but on opposite sides. Their axis is 90 degrees rotated compared to the PTO pulley. That drive set is attached to the frame by pins which fit into frame slots. Belt tension holds it in place.

Insert your belt loop up through the drive set, wrapping it onto both drive pulleys.

If you wish, you may remove the drive set from the frame to start the belt fitting, but that's not necessary. Rotate the front drive set's spring-tension-adjusting knob until its indicator points to the position marked as "Install."

Wrap the belt around the PTO clutch sheave which twists the belt a quarter turn

between the PTO pulley and the two drive set pulleys.

The belt runs down from the PTO clutch pulley, twisting 90 degrees onto the two drive set pulleys, then horizontally back, twisting in the opposite direction another 90 degrees then wraps around mower deck's drive pulley.

To provide some slack during fitting, push the spring-loaded right-side drive set

pulley "up" into the spring tension.

After fitting the belt with V-side seated into each pulley wrap, rotate the mule drive's

spring-tension adjusting knob until its tension-indicator points toward the drive set top. That applies the factory-suggested belt tension preload. If you encounter belt slippage during wet conditions as may occur when cutting juicy weeds which reduces belt-to-pulley friction, consider increasing belt pre-load tension as a compensation strategy. The factory spring-pre-load tension balances slippage against belt service life for the most commonly encountered conditions. When conditions are dryer again, reduce belt tension back to factory suggested value.