More on the Cub Cadet

Well, the belt didn't fit—at first. We put it on and it was too loose. My neighbor is more familiar with older Cubs, so at first he didn't know where to adjust the tension. But, we figured it out (some of you probably already knew and were wondering at my ignorance!); it is a pair of bolts on the front of the tractor that moves the whole deck forward and backward. So, I could theoretically use any belt between 59.5" and 61".

We got it running, and it was going along fine; it looked like I would get the lawn mowed before dark. But, suddenly there was a heartbreaking "CLUNK!" and the deck stopped. I quickly shut off the mower and looked underneath, expecting to see a broken belt. Nope, the belts were fine (sigh of relief). Oops! (groan!), the pulley assembly seems to have come apart. I took the deck off—I'm getting pretty good at that!—and saw that the pulley support shaft bolt had stripped out and the bearings were destroyed; there were little ball bearings all over the top of the deck.

My neighbor graciously allowed me to borrow his lawn tractor to finish the yard. When I returned it, we talked for about 45 minutes. So, your prayers were answered, just not in a way that I expected! Now, what to do about the mower...the replacement part is over $100! I don't think the tractor is worth the expense. Maybe I should just give it to my neighbor to play and tinker with, after all, he loves playing with them.