Bush Hog 7 foot disc mower

[lee little]

Last fall my Bush Hog disc mower threw one of the drive belts and the other 2 started slipping. The belts had about 3 years on them and I was pushing it pretty hard that day so I didn't think too much about it. I finished up with my old mower conditioner. This winter I ordered new belts and a few new blades and installed them and thought I was ready to go. Wrong! When I started to get it up to operating speed I heard metal clicking. The blades seemed to be a fraction long so I ground them off to clear. Now when I bring it up to operating speed it still throws belts. I put new belts on it 3 or 4 years ago and had no problem. I am not real knowledgeable on disc mowers as most of my life I have used sickle mowers and mower conditioners. I hope someone here can point me in the right direction to fix it. thanks for any help,Lee

 

[495man]

Double check you have them tensioned right, my other thought is one of the shafts/bearings/bushings are wore and the pullies are quite aligned right.

Odd you had to grind blades to fit, does everything turn over by hand with out issue?

 

[showcrop]

2X alignment. Alignment is what almost always belts to come off. See is you can make the discs move up or down at the post where the knives mount. If one or two move more than others a bad bearing is indicated.

 

[lee little]

Pulley alignment was the first thing I checked. They seemed to be in line but might move slightly at speed. I guess I will have to get someone to help me so they can work the throttle while I watch the pulleys. There did seem to be a slight bit more play in the place where the blade was hitting so I could have a problem there. Would that contribute to the belts being thrown? Thanks for the help,Lee

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 05:38:02 06/07/17) Pulley alignment was the first thing I checked. They seemed to be in line but might move slightly at speed. I guess I will have to get someone to help me so they can work the throttle while I watch the pulleys. There did seem to be a slight bit more play in the place where the blade was hitting so I could have a problem there. Would that contribute to the belts being thrown? Thanks for the help,Lee

Often when a bearing is going out, alignment will be perfect when at rest but as soon as a load goes on it will come out of alignment. That is why I suggested trying to lift the disc at the point where the knives attach.

 

[MikeinKy]

I don't know what model bushhog mower you have. I had a 2008 with the same problem, and I finally saw that the bracket that the large pulley is on was twisted just a bit. Most parts are NLA, so, I twisted it back straight and it worked. Parts got so difficult to get, I sold it and bought a Kuhn.

 

[lee little]

Thanks for the help fellas! I have quite a bit going on in addition to getting hay up so I guess I will put off tearing into it until I get the first cutting up. Lee