Just did this. Found it easier to remove the PTO, steering wheel, retaining clip on the stem, and both steering stem bushings. Stem dropped straight out the bottom, no need to pull the rest.
Thanks for posting. You are a better man than I because my frustration level could never handle it. I have a Snapper LT200 lawn tractor but it is more or less a Simplicity. I have gotten 13-14 years out of it until the belt started slipping. I'm sure it still has a few years in it but I can't see me replacing the belt. Probably just haul it off.
This also appears to apply to the snapper SPX models, mine a 2018 and I’m going to tackle it this evening. Thank you for the video, only one that is of any real help
Getting ready to change out the belt. Taking old one off then new one (1728008sm) gets here in a couple days. Appreciate you sharing your pain for this should be easy job. Advice to mower buyers, don't get a Regent (they may have changed the design but I doubt it). Cannot believe the design. The mower (2009) has been a good one after I stopped using the power blower for grass attachment, it was tearing up the deck pulleys and spindles. Zero help from dealer. I digress, back to the belt. I was seriously considering cutting old one off and installing new one on right side of steering shaft and letting it rub the post.
Got the belt off my 2009 Simplicity Regent. TheDillio187 did a fine job going over the procedure in his (your) video. I altered the process just a bit. Instead of taking the steering wheel off, removing the retainer clip, and dropping the entire pinion shaft I removed all of the bolts securing the steering column to the pan so the assembly could wobble around. It was enough to slide the belt over the pinion mounting plate flange underneath. Also, to get the belt off the engine pulley (belt keeper pressed in pan, not enough clearance to get belt off pulley) I removed the engine mount bolts and slid engine to the side.
Grabbed a Regent at an estate sale/ mower scrapyard. Got the engine running good but after seeing this I think I'm gone shelf the engine for a better machine later on, thanks for the vid
Thanks for your time helping the rest of us figure this out. We have a Snapper SPX that is basically the same design. Man! A couple more man hours spent on designing this mower better could have saved the rest of us thousands of man hours labor!
Thankyou for the video. Doing this stupid project now in the middle of my yard because I thought hey its just a belt. Should take 10 minutes. Horrible design!!!
Love this video! I just took the belt off and will be putting a new one on there when I get it, hopefully this weekend. Your video made it about a 1.5 hour job to get it off (had issues with that stupid clip that holds the steering column in place). The mower got slower and slower and eventually just wouldn't move/go up a hill. The belt felt VERY stretched and was loose and floppy so I hope this was the issue.
Had the loose steering issue on my 5 year old Regent. Couldn’t find any info on my model. But after looking at fixes for other manufacturers, thought this would be similar fix. WRONG, no easy way. Considering the steering rack, the belt, the wire, the pto. What a dumb design. Wish I saw your video first. Thanks.
Not 5 or 6 of us, but 1974 of us! You are one of the few on CZcams that I found with THIS belt on THIS model! Mine JUST broke and I came right in and started searching to get an idea what I’m in for. I worked in a small engine and mower repair shop for about a year and a half to two years, between working at Auto Repair shop and a Ford dealership. I thought it would be a BREEZE working on mowers, chainsaws, weed eaters and small engines after the nightmare of a major auto dealership,... HELL NO!! Crap like THIS had me kicking myself in the ass and back into cars and trucks as soon as I could!! I thought that I wanted to beat some engineer with a combination wrench when I was working on some of the crap they came up with on Ford car, I couldn’t believe the crap on many lawn tractors! Those engineers needed to be beat and the thrown off a damn cliff!! I think High School kids could engineer some of this stuff better!! Hell! Aside from the riding mowers and lawn tractors, everything else was basically DISPOSABLE! I cost more time in LABOR to fix most chainsaws and weed eaters than it would to FIX it! The shop I worried for also had FREE estimates, so I knew that 90% of them that came in was gonna be a waste of my time and I was NOT gonna get paid for it! AND I wasn’t allowed to TELL the customer that when they would bring them in! Commercial guys with more high end stuff would, but the average homeowner with his Ryobi weed eater was just gonna eat up my time! Oh well, just venting after watching your video and knowing what I’m in store for, flooded me with memories! LOL
I had no idea this video would be so popular, it was more so an attempt to help a few guys out and get my rant out there so that I could hopefully laugh at it later.
@@TheDillio187 you are one of the few that are actually changing the DRIVE belt, and not the deck belt and titled as the “drive belt”! I have a Snapper LT125 that is just about the same as yours with a different name. From what I can see on the ground, I’m praying that maybe Snapper mad that rack plate removable! Otherwise I might drill some bolt hole, grind off the weld and make it removable myself! Looks like that would be faster! The the next time it breaks it won’t take as long!
I had the same issue. What a dumb design for sure. The video I made of it is titled "Snapper lt200 drive belt replacement". I could not find a video of this as well. I just stumbled on this one of yours. The rest of the Snapper is great to work on but to change this belt is more work than it should ever be. I also had some comments saying how it should be done but none had any video showing what they were explaining, plus some were just wrong. That frozen pulley is what probably wore out the belt. Stay well, Joe Z
I feel your pain - I had to go through the same troubles removing half of my Snapper to replace drive belt. I suppose, this should be left to pro mechanic, but in my area there are none so I had to do it myself. At least my belt pulleys are made out of metal not plastic. On same day I had to replace all belts on my tractor (drive belt + deck belts), so my wife kept well away from the garage for half a day because of bad language....
I have the exact same mower… same issue. Came here to find a way that wasn’t THIS…. which was exactly what my original inspection said I had to do. Dammit. (sigh) Welp… gonna charge up the Bluetooth speakers and buy a bottle of whiskey for my date with Simplicity this weekend! Great video, bud… will toast you Saturday morning!
I replaced an idler pulley and thought it would be a good time to to replace the belt. I abandoned that idea when I discovered that the electronic clutch cable required removal. I replaced the idler and just replaced the used belt. What a stupid design.
I wish I had the option to do that. I am just about to finish season #2 with the belt that I replaced in this video, so far, so good. Now the engine smokes profusely upon startup, so that will need a rebuild soon. It's always something!
Thank you! Thank you! For this video. I agree whole heartedly that this design is horrible. So I managed to get new belt installed. I still have an issue with it slipping off the transmission pulley under driver seat. Tested before I reattached mowing deck. So frustrated. The belt slips underneath the white fan blades under the pulley????? Any tips?
Thanks buddy. I'm in this situation now. WOW! UNBELIEVABLE!!. I'm going to try and find the belt number and put it back together and make sure I can get it before I disassemble this travesty...
THIS WAS THE STUPIDEST DESIGN EVER! Thanks for the video, it saved me thinking too much. At least I know what Im in for! One question though, what did you use to bend that tab made into the main frame?
I have a simplicity regent not sure how old but you have to drop the blade clutch to take off the belt. Doesn't have a bolt to simply remove out the way
Somebody tell me how to move that black pin that is going through pulley ,out of the way,it’s a conquest , 2002-04 , it’s like it’s part of the frame without no bolts holding it
I don't remember now to be honest. A couple of the other replies here said it's not necessary, but you definitely need to get the belt around the steering stem.
Timely video for me. I got to the removal of the dang steering wheel and I cannot get it off the shaft after removing the nut. Did you have any trouble with that?
Can you take the electronic clutch off and support it so you don't have to unplug the connector to get the belt on the front? And will the steering shaft pull out through the bottom without taking off anything else? Thanks.
I didn't try. I didn't see any way to just take off the clutch, it seemed pressed onto the output shaft. No on the steering shaft, you at least have to take the wheel off. It might just drop out of there, then. It's been some time now and I don't recall for sure.
@@TheDillio187 Thanks for responding. I ended up hoisting the front end so the tractor was vertical. My steering wheel came off fairly easily and just pulled steering shaft out without removing anything else underneath. The clutch has a bolt to remove on the bottom and the clutch also came off easily. I just tied it to the brake pedal with wire so I could get the belt on the front pulley. It was finished in half-hour or less thanks to some of your info in the video. Hoisting the front end made a big difference also, but still a ridiculous design for belt placement.
I had to pound mine off. Another guy suggested using a flywheel/balancer puller, which is probably the better way to go as I destroyed my wheel trying to get it off, it was really stuck.
I just did this job and it wasn't easy because I made a few mistakes by doing some things I didn't have to do. I removed the steering wheel (nut and keeper ring) and hosted the front end. Wiggled a front tire and the steering stem fell out. No need to take the rack and pinion and everything associated with it out. Battery does not need to come out. The biggest problem was that I had to cut the wires to the PTO to get the belt off because there was no quick connect. Have not finished and may add one for next time Tip: while you are doing this check your tension pulleys, one of mine was worn so while I had everything apart I took them off and replaced them.
i just put one on my express and what a pain in the ass had to rip everything apart i put mine up on the rear wheels yes the steering stem i had to take the motor pulleys off what a pain the engineer of these a was a moron
YOU DON'T HAVE TO remove the steering stem, lift it real high or disassemble the gears . Just remove the steering wheel and circlip, put the nut back on to keep the shaft from dropping all the way out . Remove the 4 bolts on the bracket and let the bracket drop enough to lift the sides of the belt over the sides of the bracket instead of over the top of the shaft. 😅
@@TheDillio187 The circlip that you remove is at the top of the shaft underneath the steering wheel cover. So the entire shaft, gear and bracket assembly can then lower about 1/2" and give you enough clearance to get the belt inside the bracket.
I GOT TWO OF THESE FOR $50.00. They both looked new. I rented a trailer and got them home. One has no deck ? Both needs batteries. The one with the deck keeps throwing the belt off the pulley. Can someone please invent a belt that can be a straight line and can be threaded through all the pulleys. Then clipped, bolted, or velcrode in place. Thereby eliminating all this nightmarish disassembly ! Please let me know, you will be a hero many times over ! Get to work on it now ! PLEASE! Now I know why they were so cheap !
First of all, son, after removing the mower deck, stand the mower up on it's rear end. Then you can work on it. By the way, drain the engine oil end place a plastic bad over the threaded gas cap for anti- spillage. about an half hour job or you're snoozing.
@@TheDillio187 yes, dads right 😄 Its the best way to work on these damn things. Also if you have a sturdy tree branch or a open beam in your garage go to HF n buy the $45 crane. Worth every penny. No lifting
Just did this. Found it easier to remove the PTO, steering wheel, retaining clip on the stem, and both steering stem bushings. Stem dropped straight out the bottom, no need to pull the rest.
Thanks for posting. You are a better man than I because my frustration level could never handle it. I have a Snapper LT200 lawn tractor but it is more or less a Simplicity. I have gotten 13-14 years out of it until the belt started slipping. I'm sure it still has a few years in it but I can't see me replacing the belt. Probably just haul it off.
This also appears to apply to the snapper SPX models, mine a 2018 and I’m going to tackle it this evening. Thank you for the video, only one that is of any real help
Getting ready to change out the belt. Taking old one off then new one (1728008sm) gets here in a couple days. Appreciate you sharing your pain for this should be easy job. Advice to mower buyers, don't get a Regent (they may have changed the design but I doubt it).
Cannot believe the design. The mower (2009) has been a good one after I stopped using the power blower for grass attachment, it was tearing up the deck pulleys and spindles. Zero help from dealer. I digress, back to the belt. I was seriously considering cutting old one off and installing new one on right side of steering shaft and letting it rub the post.
Got the belt off my 2009 Simplicity Regent. TheDillio187 did a fine job going over the procedure in his (your) video. I altered the process just a bit. Instead of taking the steering wheel off, removing the retainer clip, and dropping the entire pinion shaft I removed all of the bolts securing the steering column to the pan so the assembly could wobble around. It was enough to slide the belt over the pinion mounting plate flange underneath. Also, to get the belt off the engine pulley (belt keeper pressed in pan, not enough clearance to get belt off pulley) I removed the engine mount bolts and slid engine to the side.
goes to show you that there's more than one way to skin a cat...or a Regent!
Thanks for this, just did mine. It took me several hours with a few minor mistakes but got there in the end. Impact gun really helped.
You are the best! Your detailed explanation is key to solving high-level technical problems! Keep up the good work!
one always hopes that things are designed in a way to not necessitate videos like this, but, here we are. Glad I could help!
Grabbed a Regent at an estate sale/ mower scrapyard. Got the engine running good but after seeing this I think I'm gone shelf the engine for a better machine later on, thanks for the vid
Thanks for your time helping the rest of us figure this out. We have a Snapper SPX that is basically the same design. Man! A couple more man hours spent on designing this mower better could have saved the rest of us thousands of man hours labor!
You took it farther than I did. I spent an hour under my Regent scratching my head. Decided to pass. For sale sign was much easier.
Thankyou for the video. Doing this stupid project now in the middle of my yard because I thought hey its just a belt. Should take 10 minutes. Horrible design!!!
Thanks for the video it helped a lot I just did mine with your help but I ordered new idler pulleys along with the belt parts tree had all in stock
Love this video! I just took the belt off and will be putting a new one on there when I get it, hopefully this weekend. Your video made it about a 1.5 hour job to get it off (had issues with that stupid clip that holds the steering column in place). The mower got slower and slower and eventually just wouldn't move/go up a hill. The belt felt VERY stretched and was loose and floppy so I hope this was the issue.
Had the loose steering issue on my 5 year old Regent. Couldn’t find any info on my model. But after looking at fixes for other manufacturers, thought this would be similar fix. WRONG, no easy way. Considering the steering rack, the belt, the wire, the pto. What a dumb design. Wish I saw your video first. Thanks.
Not 5 or 6 of us, but 1974 of us! You are one of the few on CZcams that I found with THIS belt on THIS model! Mine JUST broke and I came right in and started searching to get an idea what I’m in for. I worked in a small engine and mower repair shop for about a year and a half to two years, between working at Auto Repair shop and a Ford dealership. I thought it would be a BREEZE working on mowers, chainsaws, weed eaters and small engines after the nightmare of a major auto dealership,... HELL NO!! Crap like THIS had me kicking myself in the ass and back into cars and trucks as soon as I could!! I thought that I wanted to beat some engineer with a combination wrench when I was working on some of the crap they came up with on Ford car, I couldn’t believe the crap on many lawn tractors! Those engineers needed to be beat and the thrown off a damn cliff!! I think High School kids could engineer some of this stuff better!! Hell! Aside from the riding mowers and lawn tractors, everything else was basically DISPOSABLE! I cost more time in LABOR to fix most chainsaws and weed eaters than it would to FIX it! The shop I worried for also had FREE estimates, so I knew that 90% of them that came in was gonna be a waste of my time and I was NOT gonna get paid for it! AND I wasn’t allowed to TELL the customer that when they would bring them in! Commercial guys with more high end stuff would, but the average homeowner with his Ryobi weed eater was just gonna eat up my time! Oh well, just venting after watching your video and knowing what I’m in store for, flooded me with memories! LOL
I had no idea this video would be so popular, it was more so an attempt to help a few guys out and get my rant out there so that I could hopefully laugh at it later.
@@TheDillio187 you are one of the few that are actually changing the DRIVE belt, and not the deck belt and titled as the “drive belt”! I have a Snapper LT125 that is just about the same as yours with a different name. From what I can see on the ground, I’m praying that maybe Snapper mad that rack plate removable! Otherwise I might drill some bolt hole, grind off the weld and make it removable myself! Looks like that would be faster! The the next time it breaks it won’t take as long!
I had the same issue. What a dumb design for sure. The video I made of it is titled "Snapper lt200 drive belt replacement". I could not find a video of this as well. I just stumbled on this one of yours. The rest of the Snapper is great to work on but to change this belt is more work than it should ever be. I also had some comments saying how it should be done but none had any video showing what they were explaining, plus some were just wrong. That frozen pulley is what probably wore out the belt.
Stay well, Joe Z
I feel your pain - I had to go through the same troubles removing half of my Snapper to replace drive belt. I suppose, this should be left to pro mechanic, but in my area there are none so I had to do it myself. At least my belt pulleys are made out of metal not plastic. On same day I had to replace all belts on my tractor (drive belt + deck belts), so my wife kept well away from the garage for half a day because of bad language....
haha, every good mechanic cusses like a sailor.
I have the exact same mower… same issue. Came here to find a way that wasn’t THIS…. which was exactly what my original inspection said I had to do. Dammit. (sigh) Welp… gonna charge up the Bluetooth speakers and buy a bottle of whiskey for my date with Simplicity this weekend! Great video, bud… will toast you Saturday morning!
cheers buddy!
I replaced an idler pulley and thought it would be a good time to to replace the belt. I abandoned that idea when I discovered that the electronic clutch cable required removal. I replaced the idler and just replaced the used belt. What a stupid design.
I wish I had the option to do that. I am just about to finish season #2 with the belt that I replaced in this video, so far, so good. Now the engine smokes profusely upon startup, so that will need a rebuild soon. It's always something!
Thank you! Thank you! For this video. I agree whole heartedly that this design is horrible. So I managed to get new belt installed. I still have an issue with it slipping off the transmission pulley under driver seat. Tested before I reattached mowing deck. So frustrated. The belt slips underneath the white fan blades under the pulley????? Any tips?
I can’t believe I have to do this. Thank you.
Thanks buddy. I'm in this situation now. WOW! UNBELIEVABLE!!. I'm going to try and find the belt number and put it back together and make sure I can get it before I disassemble this travesty...
You wouldn't happen to remember the belt # would ya? I'll search for it later. Thank you again!
@@scottydice1426 not off the top of my head. I used an online Simplicity parts dealer and cross referenced it.
it's a pretty common belt. I think a lot of MTD mowers and what not use it as well.
@@TheDillio187 I'll find it. Thanks!
THIS WAS THE STUPIDEST DESIGN EVER! Thanks for the video, it saved me thinking too much. At least I know what Im in for! One question though, what did you use to bend that tab made into the main frame?
BFVG. (Big effing vice grips)
Were can I get the Diagram that shows how the belt is feed between the pullies?
I just looped the belt around the rear pulley and the engine, and then figured it out. It is logical when you look at it.
Good job on the post,, Going make a fuct job just that bit easier, cheers 4 doing the hard work 1st n good explanation..
Thanks Cobba...🤙
I have a simplicity regent not sure how old but you have to drop the blade clutch to take off the belt. Doesn't have a bolt to simply remove out the way
Somebody tell me how to move that black pin that is going through pulley ,out of the way,it’s a conquest , 2002-04 , it’s like it’s part of the frame without no bolts holding it
Was taking the rack and pinion gear out necessary? I'm trying to figure mine out and it's a 2013 snapper 20hp. Thanx
I don't remember now to be honest. A couple of the other replies here said it's not necessary, but you definitely need to get the belt around the steering stem.
@@TheDillio187 Thanx. Between yours and some other vids, i've got some idea at least.
I totally agree! This design is purposely created 2 force u to bring it back to snapper! I will never buy another 1
Thanks for the video. Big help.
You’re welcome. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
Timely video for me. I got to the removal of the dang steering wheel and I cannot get it off the shaft after removing the nut. Did you have any trouble with that?
Don’t forget the retaining clip under the plastic cap.
I can't get the wheel off, there doesn't appear to be a clip under the nut?
Did you have to use a wheel puller?
@@jeffgodsey2947 I would try a puller. I destroyed my wheel getting it off the second time around (don’t ask). Sourcing a new one wasn’t easy.
@@TheDillio187 ive tried a puller and got no where. Ive tried many thing. Is there something im missing?
Can you take the electronic clutch off and support it so you don't have to unplug the connector to get the belt on the front? And will the steering shaft pull out through the bottom without taking off anything else? Thanks.
I didn't try. I didn't see any way to just take off the clutch, it seemed pressed onto the output shaft. No on the steering shaft, you at least have to take the wheel off. It might just drop out of there, then. It's been some time now and I don't recall for sure.
@@TheDillio187 Thanks for responding. I ended up hoisting the front end so the tractor was vertical. My steering wheel came off fairly easily and just pulled steering shaft out without removing anything else underneath. The clutch has a bolt to remove on the bottom and the clutch also came off easily. I just tied it to the brake pedal with wire so I could get the belt on the front pulley. It was finished in half-hour or less thanks to some of your info in the video. Hoisting the front end made a big difference also, but still a ridiculous design for belt placement.
@@bome4691 if I ever have to do it again, I'll try it that way!
@@bome4691 Thanx bud. I think I got the same thing.
Thanks for sharing this video.
hope it helped you out!
How do you get the steering wheel off after you take the nut off
I had to pound mine off. Another guy suggested using a flywheel/balancer puller, which is probably the better way to go as I destroyed my wheel trying to get it off, it was really stuck.
What inch is the belt for these
I just did this job and it wasn't easy because I made a few mistakes by doing some things I didn't have to do. I removed the steering wheel (nut and keeper ring) and hosted the front end. Wiggled a front tire and the steering stem fell out. No need to take the rack and pinion and everything associated with it out. Battery does not need to come out. The biggest problem was that I had to cut the wires to the PTO to get the belt off because there was no quick connect. Have not finished and may add one for next time Tip: while you are doing this check your tension pulleys, one of mine was worn so while I had everything apart I took them off and replaced them.
How did you get the steering wheel off? I removed the cap and nut but it absolutely will not come off. How do you remove the keeper ring?
No need to take the stem out, only drop it an inch or 2 and snake the belt over the sides of the bracket.
How did you know it was time to replace the belt. My mowed struggles to climb small hills and pull and yard equipment.
the belt kept popping off of the pulleys. Sounds like yours is probably slipping badly.
@@TheDillio187 The belt has never slipped off But I cannot even pull a roller or a seeder because the tractor won’t move
@@alexblair4267 The belt is slipping around the pulley. I would just replace it now otherwise it’s going to get hot in break anyways.
Are you saying replace the belt or the pulley
@@alexblair4267 the belt, but inspect the pulleys as they can be damaged as mine were as shown in this video.
Thanks for this video i agree with how dumb this design is but thanks for helping me figure it out
i just put one on my express and what a pain in the ass had to rip everything apart
i put mine up on the rear wheels
yes the steering stem i had to take the motor pulleys off what a pain
the engineer of these a was a moron
YOU DON'T HAVE TO remove the steering stem, lift it real high or disassemble the gears .
Just remove the steering wheel and circlip, put the nut back on to keep the shaft from dropping all the way out .
Remove the 4 bolts on the bracket and let the bracket drop enough to lift the sides of the belt over the sides of the bracket instead of over the top of the shaft. 😅
the gear on mine was pressed onto the steering stem. You couldn't remove it.
@@TheDillio187 The circlip that you remove is at the top of the shaft underneath the steering wheel cover. So the entire shaft, gear and bracket assembly can then lower about 1/2" and give you enough clearance to get the belt inside the bracket.
I GOT TWO OF THESE FOR $50.00. They both looked new. I rented a trailer and got them home. One has no deck ? Both needs batteries. The one with the deck keeps throwing the belt off the pulley. Can someone please invent a belt that can be a straight line and can be threaded through all the pulleys. Then clipped, bolted, or velcrode in place. Thereby eliminating all this nightmarish disassembly ! Please let me know, you will be a hero many times over ! Get to work on it now ! PLEASE! Now I know why they were so cheap !
Thank you so much! I thought no way this was built so stupid! but it sure is! #uckin thing! Thanks again for the how to. Peace
This is when the cutoff wheel and welder comes out in my shop.
you know, another idler wheel right next to that steering stem would have been nice!
I just started trading. so much work to change the belt through the fucking steering column. Fu..ck fu....ck fu...ck. thx and greetings from Poland💪
Omg thanks for all the bad news now it time to tuff it out and do the same thing and rebuild the deck lol
Engineers.... Good music though
shh, I didn't even notice that was in the background!
First of all, son, after removing the mower deck, stand the mower up on it's rear end. Then you can work on it. By the way, drain the engine oil end place a plastic bad over the threaded gas cap for anti- spillage. about an half hour job or you're snoozing.
thanks Dad. That's not a bad idea although I'm not real sure I'd want to try to pick up my mower by the front end by myself.
@@TheDillio187 yes, dads right 😄
Its the best way to work on these damn things. Also if you have a sturdy tree branch or a open beam in your garage go to HF n buy the $45 crane. Worth every penny. No lifting
Mine is going through pulley bracket
What a pain..had a feeling there was no easy trick for this.
sorry to be the bearer of bad news :)
Yep engineer's don't have to work on the stuff they design... tell you one thing, I'd be buying the best belt money can buy!
After thought, can you add an idler in there to route the belt around that columb?
@@arthurbyers9696 probably, but then you'd need to find a different belt (longer). it's just a lazy design IMO, as they should have done just that.
This is a shit show I have the same issue right now Oh My God
good luck. The good news is, since doing this video, mine has been humming right along.
That tractor is filthy.
it happens.