Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Put on two new belts and a new carb. Starts on the first pull, but now the belts start to smoke; really. Do I need to adjust the attachment drive belt and or the wheel drive belt to solve this problem?

Richard

Depends on what is smoking. You need to post more info before anyone can give any sort of real answer.

Smoke indicates a belt is slipping a lot. It could indicate a jam somewhere and the belt is slipping rather than tearing out the rest of the transmission.

If you were getting smoke whenever you engaged one of the systems ( attachment, a.k.a. auger or wheel drive) then that would tell us which one. If you are getting smoke when you start the engine then you can't tell just from the fact there is smoke. It does indicate a jam somewhere.

Disconnect the spark plug, remove the cover over the belt and try turning the engine over slowly by hand by using the manual starter.See which belt is NOT moving. Once you know which one, examine the rest of the system and find the jam. Be VERY careful the system could be under tension which means when the jam is cleared the parts could suddenly move forward mangling/cutting whatever soft squishy things are in there. DO NOT think you can use muscle to stop any sudden movement, it won't work. Any jammed item needs to be cleared without inserting any body parts into places they can get crunched/cut/damaged in. Use a stick or bar and try to release the tension first.

The wheel drive belt is supposed to turn all the time, the clutch is further along in the transmission and uses a friction disk. If the wheels turn easily when the clutch is disengaged then the jam is inside the lower drive unit. Check the owner's manual, it gets complicated.

The attachment ( auger) drive belt shouldn't move until you engage it from the operator position. this causes an idler wheel to move which increases the tension on the belt which in turn causes the engine's pulley to start driving the belt. The belt is supposed to be loose enough to slide easily when the control is disengaged and tight enough to drive the auger pulley when it is. If the auger is jammed then you will get smoke. There is not much to the system, just follow it along and see where the jam is. Again be very careful while doing this, the system can "bite" you.