Thanks to both of you. I'm beginning to suspect my deck is different. There don't seem to be any handles on it at all. What the book tells you to do is: "Put a 15mm closed wrench or a socket on the idler sheave nut (A) and rotate clockwise to move idler sheave toward front of tractor and hold to release belt tension." I tried that, but it doesn't give nearly enough tension release. I'm begining to wonder... I bought the new belt from Alexander & Duncan in Leominster UK, and while I was at it I bought a second one as a spare. The second one has "John Deere" on its outside face, but the first doesn't, and it's the first one that I mounted. Both these belts came in an identical thin card sleeve, but they weren't coiled quite the same way. I'm wondering if someone "made a mistake" and put a non-original belt in a John Deere sleeve. But be that as it may, is it possible that your 48" deck and mine aren't the same? I bought the whole thing less than a year ago, so maybe they changed the pattern. Passthegravey: does your manual talk about slipping a wrench over the left-hand idler sheave nut?

Bill is also correct about the CV-22 being a vertical crankshaft Vee Twin. It is the orientation of the crankshaft that determines whether the engine is considered vertical or horizontal. Not the cylinders. CV-22= Command, Vertical crankshaft, 22 horsepower CH-22= Command, Horizontal crankshaft, 22 horsepower. I posted this to give a clue about how the engines are titled because for some components, it really does make a difference whether the engine is configured as vertical versus horizontal. ggoyeneche is also correct in his suggestion that swapping the ignition coil units to opposite cylinders will determine without a doubt whether the problem is ignition or otherwise. Bill's offer that only a spark tester is adequate to check the real "firing power" of a coil/magneto is true. The biggest reason for this is that the effects of engine combustion chamber pressure (aka compression) is profound on the ability of an ignition coil to generate a strong spark. Any method of testing the spark of an ignition coil or magneto that DOES NOT take into account the effects of compression will be inconclusive. Or in other words, it might make a spark that will jump a gap or flash a light out in the open air, but under compression, it will not spark. I don't know what type of test light you are using to check for spark, but unless it is an inductive test light that can be clipped over the spark plug cable with the cable still connected to the spark plug while the plug is properly in the engine, that method too is subject to giving iffy results.

LOL @ this thread :) My "truck" is a red, 1995 Chevrolet Beretta (yeah, the 2 door model). It's paid for and runs great. And I can get an amazing amount of crap in there. Of course, I have serious truck envy! I'm just waiting for the F150 hybrid...though I fear I'll have a looonnnggg wait. :) This thread reminds me of a great story (sorry if it's long and slightly offtopic, but I thought you all would get a kick out of it): About 3 years ago I was in the parking lot of HomeDepot and trying to figure out how I was going to get these 3 4X5 sheets of lattice home. I had bought them thinking I could get them in the trunk or partway. (DUH!)I had just decided that I would use some rope to tie the wood to the roof, and put some spare clothes I happened to have in the car between the lattice and the car when the man in the large red dodge parked behind me came out. He said "Honey, do you need some help?" I tried to say no, but all he could do was giggle. Keep in mind it's like 830 on a Fri. night. He said, "if you don't live too far from here, I'll haul that stuff for you". Against my "better judgement" I accepted his offer--the whole way home I kept thinking--oh jeez, what is he gonna want in return? thinking the worst. We get to my house, he unloads the wood--won't let me help him --carries it up to the porch. And won't take anything but my profuse gratitude! Never got his name, wouldn't take gas $$, or a drink of water. That was the day I realized how incredibly neighborly and kind southerners can be. Where I'm from, that wouldn't happen in a bazillion years--or the guy would drive off with the wood, or come back & rob me blind. Someday when I have a truck--I hope I get to return the favor to some other hapless gardener! :)

OK, it's easy to get excited about something when there is no apparent reason to suspect that it may be a scam. Gasoline and Diesel fuel are actually both blends of lots of different hydrocarbon chemicals. Thats just one of the reasons we have computer controls that provide instant adjustment of air fuel ratio's and timing curves. Oh, and yes today's diesels are computer contolled we simply have to wait for the fleet to age and pass before the majority of diesels are computer controlled. IMO, no additive dumped in a fuel tank is going to make a significant improvement in the efficiency, and cleanliness of the older designs. No additive is going to improve today's automobiles. What you described about getting people into this "investment" has all of the appearance of a classic pyramid scheme. The only guarantee's about that are a few people will get some money, and some of them will return it (or at least some of it) under the threat of prosecution. Many will lose their "investment". Pyramid schemes are illegal, and for good reason. If there was any merit to this product, they would have no short list of people (with big bucks) interested in investing, and they wouldn't be looking for the "little guy".