Snowblower Breaking Belts

[John the Painter]

My neighbour has a MTD Pro snowblower with a 10.5 HP Techumse engine that is breaking auger belts.It will blow about 50 feet and then the belt snaps.Put on his old belt and the same thing.Could this be a bad bearing? I've heard of them doing that. Any ideas what could be the problem?

 

[343amc]

What does the alignment between the drive pulley and the driven pulley look like? First guess without having ever seen a MTD is that the alignment is way off and the belt is getting destroyed.

 

[gfreek]

Is the belt snapping, is it burning and coming apart, is it wearing on the back or the sides...Yes I would check the the impeller bearing.

 

[maverick06]

I think its pretty much all listed above.... I have a much smaller MTD snowblower which has burned a belt last year. I am pretty sure it was an old belt, there wasnt enough tension on it (so the drive pulley spun and burnt through that area). I also didnt have the belt guard on it, so it probably had gotten a good bit of snow on it and that helped lube the area.

belts are cheap, shoveling half a driveway sucks a lot!

 

[MasterMech]

Some of the larger MTD's had 2 drivebelts for the auger. Check to make sure this isn't the case here? Bearing can be checked with the belt off/broken by securing the auger control handle down (with the engine off/disabled!) and trying to lift the impellor shaft. If there's shaft play you can feel then it's time to change the center bearing.

 

[hemlock]

Make sure they are heavy duty belts. They should have an "HD" or something to that effect designation on them. If the belts are general purpose, light duty belts, they won't do too well with heavy loads like wet snow.

 

[MasterMech]

Make sure they are heavy duty belts. They should have an "HD" or something to that effect designation on them. If the belts are general purpose, light duty belts, they won't do too well with heavy loads like wet snow.

+1 - Auto parts store belts won't cut it. If you seek generic replacements, Tractor Supply or a local OPE dealer are your best best. HD/Lowes often stock the OEM belts for MTD.

 

[EJL923]

How long does the belt last before breaking?

I can think of a couple things.

1. Belt is not adjusted correctly, allowing it to slip and therefor burn out.
2. Pulleys are out of alignment causing rubbing against the pulley itself or surrounding parts.
3.