My blades stop cutting. belts are good. Any reasons as too why?44 swisher

how old is your trail mower? have you checked the pulleys for the belt drive? possibly the pulleys are loose, or the shafts holding them are worn and wobbling causing a misalignment of the belt, in turn shredding the belt. also check the pulleys to make sure they are smooth, allowing the belt to move cleanly

Changing the belt on the swisher 44' rough cut - mine is a model RTB134412v. You have to remove the belt guard (4 bolts) and then the 6 bolts holding the engine on to the deck. Lift (or tilt) the engine up and loop the 1/2"x50" belt (I got a husky replacement belt at tractor supply) through the wire belt guides and around the engine belt drive. Then loop the belt around the larger blade drive. It takes about 30 mins or so. Hope that helps.

is the belt tension adjustment on the lever that engages the blades?

I had the same problem twice. The first time happened when the blades were not swinging freely because they got gummed up with grass. So make sure your blades pivot easily.

The second time happened when the nuts came loose from the blade driver (the part underneath the deck that the large bolt goes through to hold on the blade assembly). I had taken the Swisher to a small engine repair place for servicing. They removed the blade assembly to sharpen the blades while it was there but put the old lock nuts back on without using any Locktight, so the nuts started to come off while I was cutting. Unfortunately, I did not notice this until after the blade driver got very loose and then got reamed out by the wobbling of the large blade assembly bolt. I had to replace the blade driver and its bolts and nuts.

Is the belt slipping? If it's slipping you'll notice it, because it'll smoke pretty soon. If, as you watch it under varying load, it slows down with the blades then the belt is fine.

If it's not the belt then it's going to be the electric clutch that drives the belt. Get your voltmeter out and tap into the wires that go to the clutch, watch it as the mower runs. Anything under about 13V and the clutch may slip. If the voltage is good then the clutch is worn out. They don't cost too much, I'm pretty sure they're well under $100 still.

Make sure the wires that plug into the clutch are making a good connection. You want to check the voltage between the switch and clutch so that you're also checking the switch- if it's got a little crud in it, or a bad connection farther up the line, it can cause the clutch to slip, and you'll see this as the voltage dropping.

lp

You may have worn blades that dont overlap anymore.

You should take your blades off and have them compared to new blades and see if they are a little shorter than they used to be.
If not....have them sharpened and put them back on. Check your Swishers belt tensioner to make sure the blades are all turning freely.

I dont believe there is a shear pin on your blade spindles, what I have found on these machines is the the spindle nuts on the balde spindles sometimes loosen or wear and no longer squeeze the pulley on the blade spindle. To make this process easy on your self you need to tighten these with a impact wrench. However if you dont have access to a impact wrench you can use hand tools and block the blades you are trying to tighten with a wooden block. Just make sure you block the blade you are trying to tighten

You mention many PM issues but do not mention a blade sharpening. I don't get on my ZTR without a freshly honed blade installed. "That's" what cuts bahia grass...the blade. You can put all the horsepower you want behind the lade but if you're trying to cut grass with a 2X4 it rips more than cuts grass.

Yes It would. The belt doesn't just wear it slackens also. It will probably turn the blades when not under load but as soon at it attempts to cut grass there is not enough grip.
Replace the belts first and it should be fine.

Regards

Marc