Well, my friend and i worked on that crazy riding mower today. Found out that the controls are decidedly different from USA type controls! At the front, on the steering column brace cover, down by yer feet, are two pedals. I haven't figured out what the left one does, but, the right one will send ya into the woods, or yer work-bench, at frightening speeds! So, when it doesn't stop, ya let up on the pedal, and that infernal machine backs up at the same speed as when it smashed into the work bench! The side gear shift sez it has 4 speeds and reverse, on a metal plate at the left side of the engine where the bent shift handle resides. Problem with that---it doesn't say where Neutral is--nothing to show its location! On the left side of the steering column plate, is another foot pedal, which i haven;t figgered out yet what it does. It took 7 minutes to find neutral, so i could even get the engine started, since it doesn't have electric start. At least, i haven't found that either, if it even has it. Finally, i did start the engine, got on it, moved the shifter handle to R (Does "R" mean something else in swedish?) And it ran swiftly into the arc welder and cart in front of it! I left up on the right pedal, and it backed out of the garage swiftly, then i pushed the pedal down and--yep--you guessed it--the arc welder cart again! By that time, i was sorry i had ever seen that infernal machine! It is going back to the owner-free-no charge! I did get it tamed down once and had it mowing and going along good, then Ruth called me for lunch, so i shut it off. I guess it had a fit of pique, because, after lunch, it did everything backwards, except it didn't put the grass back on the stems! After many years of using the right pedal for the braking process, to have it work just the opposite is scary! WEEEeee--over the cliff, foot firmly planted on the brake pedal!

Josmoe, "Scotts tractors were sold by Home Depot and built on the cheap by John Deere" The internet is an amazing place where the misinformed can spout off. You might want to do some research before offering up your wisdom. The Scotts tractors, made by John Deere in a John Deere facility, were an outgrowth of the Sabre program, which was an effort to bring a quality, lower cost lawn tractor to the mass market. Essentially, the Scotts, like the Sabre, was based on the existing STX38 and STX46 designs with some changes (engine, front wheel bearings, front axle, tires and cosmetics) to hit that lower price point. Everything else was 'the same' as the STX. These were good homeowner machines - certainly superior to their competition at the time. They were efficient, safe and reliable. For customers who needed a more robust tractor, Deere offered a premium line of lawn care equipment. Since you are so disgusted that you broke a traction drive belt on your 12-year old Scotts, I suggest you stick with a Murray or Craftsman in the future and see how 'satisfied' you are. And, yes, my S2046 Scotts is still going strong, thank you very much. And, yes, I do maintain it.

Well, I set off to replace my belts in this way. Undoing the engine bolt worked eventually, though I had to heat it up with a gas gun then hit the end with an impact wrench. Unfortunately that's where things fouled up. The pulleys were seized on. I tried a seriously strong puller, which only bent the pulleys out of shape. So - lateral thinking........ The things that are stopping the belts coming off are the keeps - two rods down the sides of the pulleys. It turns out that they are only held on by half-inch gripper nuts at the top, and are easily removed. Now the belts are free to drop off the pulleys. Further round the system there's a silver coloured link thing. Undo the bolt at the link end, then undo the nut holding the pulley. Shift the pulley out along its shaft so that the belt can clear the keep. There's a big spring in the way, but you can manoeuvre the the belt round it. That gets both front belts off and back on. I haven't tried to get the short belt at the back off, because it looks like you have to take the rear axle off. Bernie

Good grief, Charlie Brown!! How fast were you going when ya hit that tree?? Or, did the curvy neighbor lady walk by as you were mowing? (not that it would affect the outcome, but it sounded funny.) I think, the only way that hitting the tree could or would affect the belt tightness, would be if ya bent the frame, while speeding around the yard, trying to get 'er done before the game! Those frames aren't known for being beefy, and a hard jolt against a tree might very well have bent the frame/floor pan, say buckled it, just enough to loosen the belt. And, does the clutch/brake pedal seem too loose, or not in the correct position? Does it return to its correct position? Or stay down some? A kink in the frame could damage the clutch setting position.