Hustler belt

[Texas]

Hey guys wondering if y'all ran into this before, I have a ? Year Hustler with a 16hp Kohler, the belt I'm using is a dayco max 1078. It works ok but is a little loose for my liking. Tranny pulley is 9" the engine shaft pulley is 1 3/8", center to center is 13 3/8", supposed to be 1 3/16" wide but I think 1 1/4"could work ,any math genius's out there to tell me what belt length I should using? I've read 1" play is what you want? Been lurking for years y'all are a wealth of information

[john swenson]

tex..i'm not familiar with hustlers but wondered if you the motor is adjustable on it's mounting plate to take up a little on the belt . good luck , johnboy va.

[Don]

On the Hustlers that we have rebuilt, there was no provision for belt adjustment. The engine and the transmission were both solid mounted. I always wondered about that because the rest of the machine seemed so well thought-out. We incorporated a slide for the engine on our machines in order to get proper belt tension, but it is a job to change over.

[Texas]

It's non adjustable, I did slot the mounting holes about a 1/4" when I had the motor out years ago so not much wiggle room. Think I might go Don's route and make a plate and get a shorter belt. I can't move the engine back much further because of air cleaner clearance issues (factory motor and cleaner), is 1" of belt deflection correct? Right now it's around 3"+

[dirtdobber]

Tex you are correct on the 1 inch of deflection. Let me do some digging and find a handy guide for belt length given center distances.....for the comet 780 setup.

[dirtdobber]

Here's what I found. First, so you will have a good resource, Google "quality drive systems" and find their 2009 Baja catalogue. Lots of good info on cvt's in the first 20 or so pages.

If your drive clutch isn't 7.25 inches diameter, and your driven clutch isn't 9.25 inches diameter, the following is bad information.......Your center to center distance is 13.375. Catalogue shows a belt for a 13.21 center to center- part no. 301195. Here's a belt: https://beltpalace.com/comet301195.html

Unfortunately finding the right belt is sometimes trial and error. The belt above has a 46 inch outside circumference. Measure your existing belt for comparison.

[Texas]

Thanks for the info dirtdobber, I found a old stock max 1080 for $18 free shipping on eBay, it's 46 3/16" close enough to 46"for the price. I measured my deflection the right way and it's 2 1/8" seemed looser eyeballing it , my old belt is 46 5/8" (max 1078),so being 7/16"shorter my deflection should now be 1 1/4" in theory?

[dirtdobber]

Your deflection will be less for sure. Also, if your old belt has lost some width due to wear that can cause excess deflection.

[Texas]

IMG_20210101_151624792_HDR.jpgIMG_20210101_151605882_HDR.jpgIMG_20210101_151556043_HDR.jpgIMG_20210101_151331906_HDR.jpgUpdate. Belt came in yesterday and installed today. Pushing down hard I have 1" deflection 😃. Yard is wet so only drove it to the driveway, taking in hunting in the marsh in the morning . It did good with the looser belt last marsh trip, hopefully this one will give me more low and top end.

[dirtdobber]

Hopefully it will work fine. The thing you want is the belt to be just tight enough that it tries to spin the driven clutch. If its too tight and constantly spins the driven clutch then you will grind the gears every time you change F-N-R. It may also cause your belt to overheat.

This video is how my machine is set up. Although the driven spins at idle it stops with just a little resistance. I have no problems shifting or belt squealing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmkUjcR-opE

[Texas]

Nice video dirtdobber. My belt acted similarly as yours. It didn't spin at start up, only after I started giving it gas to watch the clutches work. It stops with little residence. It was running in the pic with my hand on the belt, wanted to get the part # in the pic but the belt would slowly turn and stop with the # out of view. Just loaded it on the trailer with no shifting issues and it'll actually crawl at idle with the sticks forward . Seems to have more low end than before

[Texas]

Belt update. Drove it a couple miles in the marsh. The belt did squeal but only on hard turns at low rpms, when I gave it gas over 1500 rpms or so the squealing would stop. No issues going straight, only low rpm hard turns. No shifting issues and my top end improved significantly when I finally got back on dry land. My question is should I shim the rear motor mounts up to tilt the engine forward a little to put more slack in the belt or just let it wear in more and see how it go's. My old belt only had about 10 hours on it so wasn't worn, this one's 7/16" shorter.

[dirtdobber]

The belt could have been slipping due to the torque required for turns. Take a piece of course sandpaper and scuff the sheaves of both pulleys. Sand in a radial direction. This might solve your problem.

[gfleharty]

Hopefully it will work fine. The thing you want is the belt to be just tight enough that it tries to spin the driven clutch. If its too tight and constantly spins the driven clutch then you will grind the gears every time you change F-N-R. It may also cause your belt to overheat.

This video is how my machine is set up. Although the driven spins at idle it stops with just a little resistance. I have no problems shifting or belt squealing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmkUjcR-opE

That is an awesome video, I am setting up a 23HP vanguard and wanted to see how it should look. Quality Drive Systems helped me with my belt selection.

[dirtdobber]

I'm glad it was helpful. Good luck with your setup.