It sounds to me that the nut on top of the blade arbor (top side of the deck) came off or broke off and the arbor fell down. Missing this pulley tension, it would stop the belt from turning the other two arbors. I'll bet you find a pulley laying on top of the deck.

oh, you are sooooooo not alone in your struggle to keep your sanity.... my mom has been with my brother, an hour north of me, for going on 4 years...she needs more and more care, with each passing month.. he called me one day, to say..."are you ready to take mom now, it's your turn?"......... uh....well, no........I don't have it in me to do that kind of care..so where does that leave me? feeling guilty, that's where recently, his MIL died, so I had my mom for 4 days... that was what it took, to realize what I had been hearing from others...just what others are saying to you now. you need to preserve your health. it's one thing to feel like you need to do this and it's totally a different thing to have the strength to do it, day after day, after day, after month, on to years. you have hit the saturation point and one thing you really have to do, along with need to do, is to realize the FIL needs a higher level of care. he needs that..trained staff, his own surroundings for his needs. I'm grateful, along with all others here, that your DH is doing what has/needs to be done. you will recover your stamina and be back to where you were a while ago and for Heaven's sake...don't feel anything other than it's the best for all of you.. one of my kids, who used to not get along with my mom, when he was younger, because he didn't understand her deterioration health, is now working in an Alzheimer's care facility. Now, a dozen years later, he can see what it's all about...he is the one, who also encouraged me not to take on the responsibility of my mom. when staff is trained for the particulars of aging, in all forms, you have to let go and let them take over, where you leave off. please stay strong in knowing we all stand by you. this decision is difficult but the alternative is worse...you're health will go straight down hill. many prayers are coming your way... when you have those moments of unclarity..you need to know that even though you can't see us..we're right here, holding your hand. have peace now and take a deep breath. this will begin to level out soon. much love ;(*_*);

First of all I'd like to thank all of you for your responses. You all make very valid points. I have been seeking counsiling from my church. I'm blessed to have very loyal and dear friends who have stood behind me from the very beginning and offer me so much support. When I chose the subject, I didn't mean a REAL breakdown. I meant it more as a metaphor. I guess I should have given a little more back ground on the situation. My husband is originally from Michigan. I grew up here in Texas. So there is a geographical barrier to start out with. We met while he was in the air force several years before he moved here. We dated another year before he decided we needed to get married so that we could get the children on his insurance. I had doubts then.. and I should have listened to my instincts but I didn't. So why did I marry him? Well, I did love him at the time and I was willing to take a chance that he would be a good father. He is a great provider but as the ol saying goes, "Money can't buy you happiness" I'd rather be scratching for pennies with a nice man than be comfortable financially with an ice cube. My thinking was, if I don't take the chance, I'll never know. Yes, my children are from a previous marriage that lasted 11 years. I finally got enough of his cheating and wanting to run around that I left him and moved back to the town where I grew up. I had the courage to pack up 4 babies (litterally)and get out. I moved closer to my parents, I started college and finished a 4 year degree in 3 years. I felt so good about myself and all that I was able to accomplish. Regardless of how many times my husband tells me what a terrible mother I am, I know that I am a good mother and I place my children at the top of my priorities. They come first in my life and he can't stand that. Sometimes I think he's jealous of the relationship I have with my kids. I'm very involved with their school and sports activites. I spend a lot of my time with the children.I have three boys 15-13-10 and a little girl who's 8. He's always made comments like "take care of your little princess" or other derogatory coments concerning her. I've never been able to make him understand that she is special, Shes the baby AND the only little girl I'll ever have. My boys know they are special and loved by me as well! I will not apologize to anyone for loving my children. Especially not him. He blames the children for my wanting a divorce. (I've told him I'm filing) He tells me that he's going to make my life a living hell and that I'm going to live to regret what I'm doing. I know it's going to be rough, but I've been a single mother before and we were happy back then. We didn't have squat but we had each other and we were always laughing and playing. My kids should not have to grow up in a house where they are afraid to go to the refrigerator for fear of what he's going to say or do to them! I've made up my mind what I'm going to do. I am going to get out of this relationship. I no longer want to save it and I've run out of hope that he will try to make things work and be a nice person. He's cruel, and mean. They say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his mother... my husband doesn't even talk to his mother. Sad.. I know. He has three kids in Michigan, One is now a ward of the state, locked up in a Juvenile Center another has been locked up in a mental institution of and on and the third recently ran away for several days and was found with an older guy. I think he resents the fact that my kids are great kids who are active in all kinds of activites from Church to Sports and everybody loves them. They are great kids. Granted... they are normal kids. They aren't perfect. They get into trouble just like any other kids do but they are good, and loving children. We've always hugged a lot and told each other that we love each other regardless of how Cold my husband is. He doesn't even tell ME that he loves me. We haven't been intimate in two years and I can't even remember the last time we shared a kiss! I'll never understand how any human being can be so cold to other people. He asked me what he had denied me over the last three years. I told him... the basic human need of feeling wanted, touch, and just showing me kindness.I guess he figures that paycheck covers all that. Sheeeeesh! If it did, I'd have the perfect marriage! I know in my heart of hearts that he will never change. Yes, I'm afraid of the unknown.... but I'm even more afraid of how much worse things might get if I stay. I am a strong woman. I can do this. Thank you all for your imput. It really helps having unbiased views on this issue. I'm very thankful for this forum.

Rebunky, I was referring to control-freaky behavior on the part of businesses not wanting to share costs with customers, not customers wanting to have full information so they know what they are spending their hard-earned money on. My sugestion for you is to find out what the market price for that car is in your area. Several services offer this. You then fax of email an offer to the dealers in your radius and see who wants your business at that price. Too bad this service isn't available for kitchen and other remodeling projects. lots of construction related businesses have more work than they can handle / deliver right now . The good ones are now charging more to make up for the lean times after the meltdown. Then I'd be a consumer who waits for slow times to get my project done. I refuse to pay jacked up prices just because they can get away with price gouging because other people are dumb enough to pay more. Since my area has not had any kind of rebound like other areas must be experiencing, I had not taken that into consideration. Still, while I realize that the price of things are what the market will bear, this all still sounds to me like taking advantage of people. I know it's hard for many people to understand but; some businesspeople think not everyone is a good customer and don't even want people who aren't on board with THEIR process. I get this. We have turned clients away for various reasons. Usually it's due to unreasonable expectations when we know it's impossible to promise the results they expect. But then just be honest and say "we're not a good fit".