The Installation of a Murray Riding Mower Belt

Motion Drive Belt

• The motion drive belt on your Murray riding mower transfers the power from the engine to the rear trans-axle. According to Murray, this belt should be visually inspected every 25 hours of operation for wear, cracks or other flaws that may cause its abrupt failure. Since this belt connects the front-mounted engine with the rear-mounted trans-axle, it is very long and goes through a series of guides and idler pulleys -- which keep the belt routed correctly and at the optimum tension.

Replace Motion Belt

• The motion drive belt can be accessed from under the riding mower. Since the cutting deck is in the way, it must be moved first. Once you gain access to the belt, it may be helpful to make notes on how the belt is routed around the drive pulleys, idler pulleys and guides before attempting to remove it. Applying the parking brake will take the tension off the belt. The belt can be easily removed from the pulleys and guides once it is no longer under tension. It may be necessary to remove the idler pulleys to remove the belt. Install the belt in the reverse order of removal.

Mower Drive Belt

• The purpose of the mower drive belt is to spin the cutting blades within the mower deck. Like the motion drive belt, the mower drive belt gets it power from a pulley mounted to the underside of the engine. The belt spins pulleys mounted to the blade shafts, which in turn rotates the cutting blades at a high rate of speed.

Replace Mower Belt

• The first step in replacing the mower drive belt is to remove to mower deck from the machine. Murray has made the act of removing or installing the mower deck easier by creating attachment points that can be easily disconnected by hand. Lowering the deck to its lowest setting using the deck adjustment handle on the mower will make reaching the spring-loaded retaining clips easy. Once the belt is slid off the engine pulley, the deck can be slid from under the mower. Like the motion drive belt, it is a good idea to make notes of the mower belt routing before removing it. Replacing the belt requires removing it from the drive and idler pulleys on the deck, then installing a new belt in the reverse order.