# Auger Belt Slap



## GotZoom05 (28 d ago)

Evening,

Looking for suggestions as to what I am missing. 
I have a 24” craftsman (MTD) snowblower and decided to replace the OE auger belt as it had some stretch to it. I had previously tightened it up a couple of years ago and figured it was time.

Replaced it with a new belt by Troy Bilt but same part number 754-04050. Packaging said it would fit many brands. Only difference is this replacement belt was toothless. 

Removal and installation was a breeze. Fired right up and I took it for a spin. Auger works great except for when I release the auger handle I get lots of belt slap inside the cover for a few seconds and then it goes away but it happens every time. Adjusted and re-adjusted and no matter where it sits I get belt slap when disengaging the auger. I also get the same if I very slowing engage the auger. I have ordered another belt that has MTD on the carton and with teeth but not sure when it will get here and we are literally in the middle of a blizzard right now lol. 

Only thing I can think of is that this new belt is too big. I know it should be somewhat loose while not running but I can remove from the top pulley by hand pretty easily.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Help me keep my sanity! 😆


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

Welcome to SBF, glad to have you here.

Is everything moving freely re. the auger idler mechanism/did you grease it up while you were in there? May just be sticking temporarily.


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## GotZoom05 (28 d ago)

Yanmar Ronin said:


> Welcome to SBF, glad to have you here.
> 
> Is everything moving freely re. the auger idler mechanism/did you grease it up while you were in there? May just be sticking temporarily.


Thank you!
Yes, everything is moving freely but I didn’t not grease anything. Is the idler mechanism you mention the older pulley or something else?
Everything worked fine yesterday with old belt. No belt slap at all. I also ran and tested with the belt cover off tonight to see if I could spot something but it all looks good. When I disengage the auger it’s like the belt on the top end frantically jumps off the pulley until it slows down or stops from the momentum.


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

Someone who knows these better than I do will be along shortly... but yes I was thinking of a pulley/roller-type setup.
Was (is) there a way for you to compare the new belt length with that of the old one? If anything you'd think the old one should be stretched a little longer.

Currently 0122hrs EST... please stand by. 😎


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## gpguy2008 (Sep 27, 2020)

I have the same issue with my Toybilt (MTD) 1130 Storm. I replaced my original (notched) belt with a new (non notched) OEM MTD belt. Same part number. The original belt was ok but I wanted a spare so I put a new one on. I think it’s possibly because the solid belt isn’t as flexable as the notched belt as well as being new. When you engage the auger it takes a couple revolutions to fully seat in the pulley so there is some slap. And when you disengage the belt moves out of the pulleys and slaps a bit until everything fully stops. I haven’t used mine much since so it may get better as it’s used more and the belt becomes more flexible.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Couple things ... seems for both of you that your machines came from the factory with a cogged belt. Why did you not replace it with the same cog belt?

Also, on most snow blowers, especially the ones with the Kevlar V-belts and such, there are belt guides that are there for that exact reason, which can be adjusted. On some machines, these belt guides are molded into the belt cover. If these plastic molded guides wear down, it can be easily remedied by riveting on a piece of tin or such.


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## GotZoom05 (28 d ago)

Oneacer said:


> Couple things ... seems for both of you that your machines came from the factory with a cogged belt. Why did you not replace it with the same cog belt?
> 
> Also, on most snow blowers, especially the ones with the Kevlar V-belts and such, there are belt guides that are there for that exact reason, which can be adjusted. On some machines, these belt guides are molded into the belt cover. If these plastic molded guides wear down, it can be easily remedied by riveting on a piece of tin or such.


In my case all I was able to find locally was a non cogged belt. The inside of the cover does have the belt guide but I’m not sure of how badly it is worn if at all. I will need to look into riveting something on to help keep the belt from slapping. May also try putting the old belt back on just to see. Thanks!


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## GotZoom05 (28 d ago)

Ok so I tracked down another belt with coggs. This one is definitely shorter and closes to my OE. This one started with 954 instead of the 754 but research has told me it’s the same belt. Got it installed and tried it out. No more belt slap when engaging/disengaging. Unfortunately I do get a very quick belt slap inside the cover at idle every couple of minutes. Guessing I need to maybe adjust the tension? Feels pretty good right now but maybe not?


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## plowed in (Jan 18, 2019)

I know the engineers work out the details, but if you are getting belt slap maybe a shorter belt is in order? My machine calls for a 1/2x37" belt and the slap is horrendous even after tightening adjustments to the max. A 1/2x36.5" belt made all the difference. All adjustments returned to the minimum settings and the belt just works as intended. I even have adjustment now to allow for belt stretch


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## laser3kw (Feb 11, 2018)

gpguy2008 said:


> I think it’s possibly because the solid belt isn’t as flexible as the notched belt as well as being new.


This ^^.
The notch belt is better suited for small diameter pulleys. The notches allow the belt to wrap in a tighter radius and sit deeper into both pulleys.
I just replaced mine with a D&D Kevlar belt of the same width and length. Let it break in for a round or two and see if it gets better. If you are unhappy with it, do as "plowed in" suggest and get a slightly shorter belt. Also, part number 954-04050 is the same belt, just an MTD number.
PS - if the old belt still has a little life left, don't throw it out. They are a great back up if you chuck one in the middle of a job.


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