Exmark Commercial 30 Blade Engagement Belt Change Detailed Step by Step

In this video I do a detailed step by step showing the process on how to change the blade engagement belt on an Exmark Commercial 30 lawn mower. Over time the belt will start to wear out, develop cracks and stretch causing poor performance while mowing. If your engine rpm sound good but the blade rpm feels and sounds slow then it may be time to change this belt.
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[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Leave a comment down below and let me know if you have changed the belts on your Exmark Commercial 30.

[@gregoriogregorio22]

What the part number, thanks for the video 👍🏽

[@doglover2547]

Thank you for posting a video on how to change the blade engagement belt. Mine breaks every year. You did not need to take the engine guard off to remove the black cover. I keep my cover off. Less cleanup.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Thanks for watching

[@RamThisDTO]

Great explanation thanks for posting. Long time Deere tech, just moved to a smaller dealer that sells Exmark. Have to change this belt today and I was sort of dreading it, but its not as bad as I had thought after seeing how you did it. Now after lunch I'm gonna knock it out fast!

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Glad you found value in the video. Thanks for watching.

[@kevinbrooks1104]

Great video i have had nothing but trouble with my 30 in walk behind. The tranny went out with in a few years of ownership but it always something between the cabled or the belts i mow in Spokane wash our grass is different

[@SamuraiSamoht14]

Thanks for showing this!

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Thanks for watching.

[@choppinbladeslawncare]

Great video, I find if I put any strain on the blades- attempted to scalp or overgrown grass- the belt slips and does what you said with the blades running slower until heated up. My dealer convinced me that I needed a new pulley which was bs and all it needed was the belt. I understand the meaning of a “finishing mower” and this mower is just that, but I service weekly, biweekly and clean ups, and this mower can’t handle that, does fine on weekly lawns though. Lastly I have put the engaging slowly technique in to play and it seems to help belt life.

[@StillLiving]

Appreciate it. I was able to help my buddy get his belt on, was done in a couple minutes.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Glad it helped. Thanks for watching.

[@jamesonlamrouex8700]

Hey so I just changed my belt on mine. Now when I cut it sometimes does not cut at all and leaves strips of un cut grass. The belt is tight and I’m not sure what to do

[@mizaelgarcia1522]

I change my belt brand new and my mower is still not working right the belt keeps on slipping when it’s not engaged but the blades don’t spin until I engage them

[@chucko956]

Does anyone know or have the problem why the blue belt always stretches and makes the blades not engage properly it happens almost every 3 months and I have to replace it

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

The only thing I can think off is to make sure your engaging the blades slowly. Don’t just grab the bail handle and fully engage them. That’s alot of force on the belt at once. I have heard lots of guys complain about their belts wearing out, but as you saw in the video that was the first time I was replacing the belt in 3 years using the machine full time as the main mower in my business. My thoughts were with my experience using larger mowers that have manual PTOs that always say to engage blades slowly. Also when I first got the mower and tried to engage the blades quickly the mower would almost stall with the amount of force and I thought to myself those belts will not last long if that is the case. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.

[@chucko956]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess thankyou that’s actually very helpful.

[@shadowsa91]

I changed the blade engaging belt, i use it weekly for my lawn car businesses until my other mower is fixed, but the problem I'm trying to figure out is why does the belt slip off sometimes and I got to put it back on the pulley. Do i need to replace one of the pulleys? I'm perplexed with this situation, cant take it to my local exmark dealer they're 3 weeks backed up.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Did you put the bracket back on the same as it was that limits the transmission movement? If that’s installed wrong or missing then the transmission could rotate and cause the belt to slip off. That’s the only thing I can think of. Thanks for watching.

[@shadowsa91]

I'm pretty sure that it can only go back on one way. I will double check this Sunday

[@brianrod28]

What is the name of the first belt you mentioned? The one that you said looks like a vehicle timing belt? Is that the drive belt? I just hit a rock today and it snapped, need to order new one. Thanks!

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

I’d call it the timed blade belt. Thanks for watching

[@ericslawnandlandscape]

That's great that this is your first time changing the blue belt. I have to change this belt a few times per season. I have the Exmark 30" with the Kohler Engine. What do you think that bracket is for near the transmission?

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

I’ve heard others say they change the belt often as well. I wonder if it has something to do with it being blue vs the original that’s black. Although it’s the original Exmark replacement part. How do you engage your blades? I do it very gently. I pull the handle just slightly to get the blades spinning then kinda ease into engaging the blades fully so that it kinda ramps up the blade rpm. I think if you just pull the handle quickly the initial jolt will wear out the belt much quicker. I guess I’ll find out if my theory is correct if I can get through this season on the blue belt and if so how many seasons I can get on it vs the black one. Thanks for watching.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

The bracket beside the transmission is to limit the transmission from tilting in that direction and having the belt fall off. Considering it’s just a spring putting tension on it I suppose there is some rotational movement of the transmission at times that could cause the belt to come off if there was not a bracket there.

[@ericslawnandlandscape]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess The Blue belt seems to lose tension over time from the friction I imagine. It does turn black and even rips apart if not replaced. You could be right about not engaging the blades too fast. I will try to pay attention to that this season. Thanks for the information on the bracket also. Have a great season!

[@kevinp5017]

Here’s a question and a bit of a dilemma at the same time. I have used Honda hrx217’s and Honda commercial mowers for my landscape business here in the lower mainland. As of September 2023 Honda will no longer be making mowers. I’ve watched all your videos on the Exmark commercial 30 and it makes sense to go that direction. I have phoned a few dealers, including Fraser Valley equipment, and they said they either don’t carry Exmark or don’t have it in stock. Wondering what you suggest moving forward? I’d like to purchase a mower and be able to have it serviced at the same location. Thanks for all the videos.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

I’d just keep Using the Honda until you can find a Exmark 30 new or even a good used one. Fraser valley does carry Exmark so they would be able to order one if they are available. They are very popular though and production may still be not back up to normalcy since the pandemic created so many supply chain issues. My brother in law wanted one last year and settled for a good used one he found on Craigslist. It was a 8 year old model but in very good condition as it was originally purchased from a home owner that used it only on their own lawn. Thanks for watching.

[@kevinp5017]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess Thank you for the reply. This helps a lot. I don’t know many local guys that run these mowers and all my research comes from reviews out of the States. It’s nice to know that a local guy is having success with them cutting in the wet here in BC. It makes a purchase as large as this less scary. Thanks for the tips and help.

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

Those blue kevlar belts look cool, but haven't seemed to last too long on my rider or my 30.....might still be on the 30, because she went in for warranty work ( AGAIN 🙄 ) around the end of last season, but definitely didn't last on the 60.

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

Ok interesting. That’s just the belt the dealer I went to had in stock for them. I was wondering why it was a different color. It is a genuine Exmark part so I guess I’ll see if it lasts as long as the original black one. Thanks for watching.

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

@@LawnCareBusinessSuccess well, hopefully yours lasts, but if it doesn't, I'd like to hear about it. Maybe the belt on the 60 was defective, or a stick ( which I never found any evidence of ) 🤷‍♂️

[@westcoast6162]

6:46 just grab something to push the transmission forward then remove the trans belt, then the blades belt

[@colt2206]

Might as well go ahead and peel off the rest of that decal while you are at it

[@philliphall5198]

Seems it’s getting harder to get parts for these 😢😢😢 Not good

[@LawnCareBusinessSuccess]

I disagree. Never had an issue with Exmark. In fact I’ve had that discussion with my dealer when I asked how come they only carry a few brands. They said because those are the only brands that have good parts availability and distribution where if a guys mower goes down they can get parts in a day or two. He said lots of other brands have approached them but their parts distribution is not good so he won’t carry their mowers. Said he knows landscapers rely on their equipment to earn an income and can’t afford to have a mower down for extended time waiting for parts. That’s why he only carries a few brands including Exmark. Thanks for watching.