OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Ride On Hydrostatic poor performance

Thank you for that report, smythie, it is much easier to do these things from a distance when you explain the situation that clearly.

First, when V pulleys wear, the belt rides lower in the pulley. The problem arises when the belt gets to the bottom of the pulley, because then it can no longer jam in the V, so it slips without transmitting much power. By inspecting the bottom of the pulley and the bottom of the belt, you can usually tell if the pulley is nearing its use-by date. Meanwhile, if the contact surfaces in the V of the V pulley are rough, that will cause some wear to the belt, until the belt wears them smooth. I do not see how they could get rough, except by rusting while the machine was out of service, and was perhaps left out of doors. Such rust would probably be removed from the pulley by the belt fairly quickly when the machine was put back to work. If the rust disappears in an hour or so of running, it probably will have had relatively little effect on the belt life.

Second, the fuel tank cap vent only needs to be about 2 mm diameter. Smaller than that, there is more likely to be a dirt-plugging problem. If the cap is cracked, you may be able to fix it with epoxy and re-drill the 2 mm vent hole afterwards.