Hi all,

First post, really need some advice here.

I have the 22hp, 46" cut electric start lawn tractor purchased in
2000, I'm the third owner. Was cutting the lawn with the catcher on,
there was a lot of stress on the mower when the drive cut-out. I
suspected a slipped belt/idle pulley problem--that was not it. I
pushed the thing back and checked out the transmission
and made all the factory adjustments. The tranny is fine, all is at
factory specs. In the process I noticed that the engine pulley
(#140189) was separated into its upper and lower sections. The upper
section could slide on the pulley shaft, causing the v-groove belt to
wander, I initially thought this was part of the design. Now that I
have eliminated all the other possibilities, I think the pulley must
have separated, and that is the cause of the loss of drive. If that is
correct, it amazes me that this part could separate, it appears to be
made out of stamped thin metal (the idler pulleys are plastic!).
Question is: Is the engine pulley a single piece, or was it meant to
separate? Is this the likely cause of the problem?

Thanks,

John

PS, I also posted this in the Craftman tractor group, but it has very
low activity.