# Briggs & Stratton 1022 belt problems



## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

I have purchased a new B&S 1022e snowblower. In the first snow it worked wonderful. In the second (200 mm), we got half the driveway cleared. On the second half of the driveway, when doing the heavy snow at the plow furrow, the engage handle popped off and the belt jumped the track. I expected an easy fix - pull the cover, replace belt, and be on the way. However, I discovered that the space between the paddle pulley and the housing was too narrow to get the belt through. The only way I could find to fit the belt back on its track was to get a wheel puller from Harbour Freight and remove the pulley, put the belt back on and replace everything.


I can't find hardly any other information about this problem (including its former version as Murray 1022), anywhere on the net. B&S says to "take it to the authorized dealer"! The authorized dealer doesn't even have the belt on hand!


Does anyone else know about this issue? Is it a design failure or am I missing something really simple?


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Now I'm wondering how good Briggs snowblowers are?

There's been a couple possible purchase inquiries the past few weeks.

Belts should be an easy replacement. Many times the auger has to separated from the tractor, nuisance but still relatively easy. I have a bunch of Murrays belt replacement is minutes if not seconds.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Welcome to the forum! I certainly haven't heard about this, but that doesn't mean much. There are lots of machines out there, and this might be just a "one-time", fluke event. 

What do you mean by the "engage handle popped off"? It came off of the handlebar? Or like your hand slipped, and the engage lever was released quickly? 

I would go over the machine to check the adjustment of the auger-engagement cable or lever tension. I'd look at any features that may keep the belt in-position on the pulley. 

I just realized that this is a single-stage machine, not a 2-stage. So there is probably just 1 belt. And what I was picturing on my 2-stage machine, for belt control, likely will not apply. 

Pictures of the belt area, preferably with the cover removed, might be helpful for those of us not familiar with this particular blower.


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## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

*more info*

The unit is a near copy of many of the current 208cc single stage models. The 'engage handle' (a rod bent to hold the cable, held with spring tension between sides of the handle) did pop off of the primary handle causing the control cable to release suddenly. Yes, it should have been a ten minute repair, but for the tight squeeze between the pulley and housing. 



BTW, I have made numerous calls trying to locate the belt somewhere in eastern Iowa, but even the 'diamond' dealers don't have it yet. I suspect that by this time next year, many more will be out there since they seem to be popular at the box stores.


Thanks for the replies.


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## russ01915 (Dec 18, 2013)

Take that bail handle and with your hands, spread it a little wider at the open end of it, before installing it. Then make sure the cable is connected, I attached a picture of the part


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## SimplicitySolid22 (Nov 18, 2018)

This might help with belt....listen to the boys as well.


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## SimplicitySolid22 (Nov 18, 2018)

Do you have the specific model number of your Briggs???


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## DriverRider (Nov 20, 2016)

jwings said:


> I have purchased a new B&S 1022e snowblower. In the first snow it worked wonderful. In the second (200 mm), we got half the driveway cleared. On the second half of the driveway, when doing the heavy snow at the plow furrow, the engage handle popped off and the belt jumped the track. I expected an easy fix - pull the cover, replace belt, and be on the way. However, I discovered that the space between the paddle pulley and the housing was too narrow to get the belt through. The only way I could find to fit the belt back on its track was to get a wheel puller from Harbour Freight and remove the pulley, put the belt back on and replace everything.
> I can't find hardly any other information about this problem (including its former version as Murray 1022), anywhere on the net. B&S says to "take it to the authorized dealer"! The authorized dealer doesn't even have the belt on hand!
> Does anyone else know about this issue? Is it a design failure or am I missing something really simple?



OK. It is a single stage then I gather from other posts. Removing the lower plastic pulley at paddles for installation of a belt is required on all the late model Toros' also. No big deal, undo the bolt holding pulley and slide pulley off a bit.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

:welcome: to SBF jwings

Looks like the belt is on Ebay for $25 Briggs & Stratton 709868 Belt-drive

Usually if you get the tensioner pulley out of the way you can roll the belt back on but I guess not in the Briggs case. :sad2:

.


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## Zavie (Sep 23, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> :welcome: to SBF jwings
> 
> Looks like the belt is on Ebay for $25 Briggs & Stratton 709868 Belt-drive
> 
> ...


Is the belt broken? From the OP's post I can't tell. I thought the belt just came off. Does he need a new belt? 
The new Toro's, like mine also require the pulley to be removed to change the belt. Here is the procedure in this exciting video from Toro:


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## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

*Pulling the Pulley*

Unfortunately, unlike the Toro plastic pulley that comes off easily, this one has a cast aluminum pulley that won't budge without some serious help, I.e., the wheel puller. When replacing the pulley, should I apply somethig like a Teflon spray so it removes more easily next time? (I use the spray in the woodshop to keep things moving smoothly.) When the pulley was off last time, I noticed some rust on the shaft - probably what makes it hard to remove. The attachment mechanism is a nut that has an elongated slot to lock the shaft onto the pulley, so I don't think lubing the pulley will cause that problem


Is it at all possible that the housing is installed too close to the pulley, I.e., might there be room in attachment holes around and behind the motor pulley? I suspect that there is not, but it wouldn't take much adjustment to make a LITTLE more room to insert the belt.


Of all the videos showing how to change belts this one with Ariens Path Pro 22 seems to most like this B&S machine, but here the belt goes easily over the pulley. https://youtube/3O0c2U1UmPk


Thanks for the advice. I do have belts on order, but earliest one will be here on Thur! Unfortunately we expecting yet another big dump tonight, so I guess it's still shovel time!


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## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

*One step closer to success*

I spent some time with the machine this morning following up on the suggestions. The video of the Toro and pulley removal motivated me to see if the same move was possible with the B&S. What I saw is that once the hold down nut is removed, the pulley rotates freely around its axel. However, attempting to remove it required the use of the HF wheel puller. Once the pulley was completely free, I saw that the end of the shaft was just enough bigger than the body that it held up the last bit of removal. I took a file and ground down the portion of the end until the pulley slipped on and off freely. At that point it looked like the Toro video! The pulley slid on and off very easily. 
(See the photos to see the bare axel and with the pulley attached. The claw marks on the pulley are from my earlier attempts to make this thing work!!)

What this makes me wonder is this particular axel had the defect in it that caused the problem. If that is the case, the method of replacing the belt is in fact to remove the one pulley lock nut, thread the belt and then put the belt around the pulley and finally back into the housing. 

Now if someone could just SPEED UP THE INTERNET so that I can get a belt before tomorrow morning!!!


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## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

*One step closer to success*

On Sunday, I spent some time in the garage working the issue of the belt attachment. From the Toro video showing the pulley being removed, I was motivated to try the same. However, the pulley needed some extra help, i.e., the HF wheel puller, to come off. Once off, I noticed that the impeller shaft was a bit larger at the end. The pulley would move back and forth, but I decided to file the end portion down until the pulley slid back and forth freely. (See the attached photos)


Now I am waiting for the belt(s) to arrive tomorrow. Hopefully, I will be able to thread the belt back on, do some adjustment and be on the way. As I said in the initial post, this belt seems to be hard to find (and non-existant locally!). Has anyone found a more time efficient way to get parts? The one ordered were on Jan 23, with delivery not until Jan 31. In the case of the "Briggs and Stratton Store", I had to send a nasty-gram requesting a refund since no belt was on the way. That triggered them to ship the belt. (BTW, this is one site that is linked to the B&S main site, even though the customer service rep claimed that they were not in any way part of B&S).


It seems that the moral is to schedule your breakdowns two weeks before you need the machine. Otherwise, you may end up with a lot of manual shoveling!


Thanks all!


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## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

*Success with Briggs & Stratton 1022 belt*

In a previous post, some of the issues with the belt of this unit (brand new!) were discussed. After a long wait for the belt to arrive and some time in the garage with the unit, here are my observations. First of all, the impeller pulley would not come off without a wheel puller tool. This is importannt since removing the pulley is the only way to make the belt fit between the pulley and the housing. Secondly, the pulley would not go back on without some persuation. That made me decide to get aggressive and file down the portion of the shaft that was too large to let the pulley slide on and off. After some filing, the shaft was finally suitable to allow the pulley to slide on and off easily.
The lesson is that this model should be handled like a late model, single stage Toro that requires the pulley to be removed and replaced. Once the pulley fits the shaft, the belt change take a minimal amount of time (10 ot 15 minutes). Without the field mod (filing the shaft), the pulley will never come off without some serious tools. Hence, the unit was shipped with a serious defect. If you find this happening, this is what you need to do.
BTW, the generic part for the belt is 4PK945. When I received the official B&S part, I did a lot of research and found that most of the auto parts stores in town carry the belt (in both kevlar and non-kevlar models).


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## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

*more info (pics)*

Here are some pics of the unit.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Single stage, if it's easy to pull the pulley, do it; or find a way to remove the metal cover or loosen the bolts to move it forward 1/4" , or bend the metal back, or use a jig saw and cut the metal back a little.I

Many times the Owner's or Service manual shows how to replace the belt.


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## Brylo (Feb 7, 2019)

Used 3 times and the auger seized up. The tensioner was loose where it mounted to the frame. Wondering If it caused idler to pull off track and make belt jump. Was wrapped tight around auger. Damaged the belt...zero luck in getting a new one. Order and a week later they say out of stock! Twice this has happened. Wondering about converting to a basic V pulley design. Total junk.


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## Brylo (Feb 7, 2019)

Thanks to the part number from jwings above I have ordered a new belt and already have a tracking number as opposed to "awaiting shipment" for a week. Way cheaper too! My belt was too mangled to read any numbers.


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## jwings (Jan 26, 2019)

In the days since the belt issue was resolved, we have had some snow to practice on. In every case it has performed exactly as it should. In retrospect, it seems that there was some combination of manufacturing defects and possible assembly errors. 



Maybe this fits the paradigm of making most units work, while handling the number of defective units.as the complaints come in as the cost of doing business.' In response to my comments regarding the purchase, the company said "the unit has a three year warranty so take it to repair shop to have it fixed." I suspect that if I had done that, I would still be waiting for the shop to get around to fixing it! Having made the fix in the defect I really hope that this machine will be relatively carefree from here on out.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I'm glad it's working better! 

Yesterday I replaced the belt in my new-to-me Toro SS. My pulley at the paddles had to come off as well, but no puller was required, fortunately. It just slipped off, and then back on. It was easy enough that I got complacent, and didn't think to put anti-seize on the shaft, unfortunately. My pulley is plastic, though (with a keyed metal hub at the center), at least yours is metal!


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## Brylo (Feb 7, 2019)

I was able to guide the belt around the pulley by hand..turning the auger as I went and guiding the belt... but it is a tight fit. Even with the tensioner mounted tight now I notice that the belt is right up against the flange on that pulley...towards the engine..rather than centered..like an alignment issue. Did have a big snowfall in WI the last couple days and it worked great. It is a powerful unit for a single stage. Best thing to me is being able to buy the belt now...and at a third the cost.


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## snowinginmichigan (11 mo ago)

jwings said:


> *Success with Briggs & Stratton 1022 belt*
> 
> 
> BTW, the generic part for the belt is 4PK945.


Thank you very much for this part number, it is an exact fit on my BS 1022EX, and saved me about $15! I bought this snow blower in late 2019, and it looks like BS updated the pully, see image. All I had to do was secure the auger (used a vise grip clamped to the auger shaft, and the end of the handle hit the upper part of the shroud and stopped it from turning) then used a 1" socket on a breaker bar and turned the pulley nut *clockwise* to loosen. By the way, the nut is integrated into the pully, it is all one piece. I am on my 3rd winter and love this snow blower. It easily cleans 8-10", is easy to handle, and seems to be built pretty tough judging by what I have put it through.


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## sherman37 (2 mo ago)

jwings said:


> I have purchased a new B&S 1022e snowblower. In the first snow it worked wonderful. In the second (200 mm), we got half the driveway cleared. On the second half of the driveway, when doing the heavy snow at the plow furrow, the engage handle popped off and the belt jumped the track. I expected an easy fix - pull the cover, replace belt, and be on the way. However, I discovered that the space between the paddle pulley and the housing was too narrow to get the belt through. The only way I could find to fit the belt back on its track was to get a wheel puller from Harbour Freight and remove the pulley, put the belt back on and replace everything. I can't find hardly any other information about this problem (including its former version as Murray 1022), anywhere on the net. B&S says to "take it to the authorized dealer"! The authorized dealer doesn't even have the belt on hand! Does anyone else know about this issue? Is it a design failure or am I missing something really simple?


 I have two of them, first season, both keep popping the belt.. gotta be a service bulletin by now... prob going to return both


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## sherman37 (2 mo ago)

jwings said:


> I have purchased a new B&S 1022e snowblower. In the first snow it worked wonderful. In the second (200 mm), we got half the driveway cleared. On the second half of the driveway, when doing the heavy snow at the plow furrow, the engage handle popped off and the belt jumped the track. I expected an easy fix - pull the cover, replace belt, and be on the way. However, I discovered that the space between the paddle pulley and the housing was too narrow to get the belt through. The only way I could find to fit the belt back on its track was to get a wheel puller from Harbour Freight and remove the pulley, put the belt back on and replace everything.
> 
> 
> I can't find hardly any other information about this problem (including its former version as Murray 1022), anywhere on the net. B&S says to "take it to the authorized dealer"! The authorized dealer doesn't even have the belt on hand!
> ...


I have two, they both pop the belts so much they are useless.


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