Propelled front lawn mowers use a drive belt to drive the two front wheels, taking up much of the mowing work. With the lawn mower pulling itself along, you just have to walk behind it, heading in the direction you want to go. Over time the drive belt can stretch or break. The front wheel drive will not operate until the belt is replaced. This relatively simple repair can be done at home to save time and expense of transporting the mower to a repair shop.
Instructions
1 Pull the thread from the spark plug tip before servicing the mower.
2 Remove the screws securing the transmission cover to the front of the cutting platform, using a screwdriver while working gloves are used. Remove the cover to expose the drive belt and a pulley mechanism connected to the front axle.
3 Loosen the screw on the upper part of the pulley to relax the tension on the drive belt.
4 Pull the pulley back toward the motor to slide the pulley drive belt.
5 tilt the mower on its side so the air filter on the engine side is facing up. The air filter is a cylinder with holes in the bottom or sides, depending on the model.
6 Pull the pulley drive belt under the mower blade. On some models, you may need to remove the nut holding the blade on the drive shaft with pliers to remove the drive belt.
7 Slide the new belt onto the drive shaft on the bottom of the lawn mower and the belt seat on the pulley.
8 Push the tape through the slot in the cutting platform and stretch the strap over the tension pulley at the top of the cutting platform. Seat the belt on the pulley and tighten the screw in the center of the pulley to restore the belt tension.
9 Place the transmission cover through the belt and pulley at the top of the cutting platform and secure with screws.
10 Push the clip onto the motor cable back into the spark plug tip.