John Deere X304 42 inch Lawn Tractor Mower Deck Belt Replacement

In my effort to "go country", I attempt to change the mower blade deck belt on my John Deere X304 lawn tractor. This is another example of something I would have hired someone to do in my corporate days, but now I'm trying myself. Please join me as I figure it out and hopefully don't ruin my machine in the process.
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[@erikstoeckle8596]

Thank you for this excellent video on how to change the deck belt. I haven’t had to change mine until now and I have had mine for almost 12-years so it was due. Like yours my original belt broke during normal operations. I asked my Brother In-Law who has a farm and riding lawn mower about it and mentioned that I should be able to do it myself and verbally described how to do it, which matches your instructions and video. I am a Disabled Veteran so I wasn’t sure if would be able to do it myself because of my physical limitations, but after seeing your video I am confident I will be able to do it. Luckily my Brother In-Law lives 10-min away if I do need an extra hand. Again thanks for doing this excellent video, it helped greatly. I will update you once I actually change it on Friday. Thanks again.

[@corporategonecountry]

Thank you for your service. I wish you much success in changing the belt. I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes.

[@jeanbenoit5499]

You could not make this any clearer! Thank you. Got it done following your easy to understand and follow steps. God bless you Sir!

[@corporategonecountry]

Thank you for the kind words and God Bless you as well !!

[@junkman6492]

Thank you for the video. That belt design from JD seems overly engineered. But I guess that's what they do. Nice work.

[@corporategonecountry]

"Overly Engineered" is a good description -- well done. Thanks for watching.

[@saroku]

Worked like a charm.. I just pulled the belt from the front to expand the spring to get onto the front pulley.. seemed much easier than your method. I greatly appreciate you made this video.. for a 1st timer, maybe 35-45 mins to complete the task.

[@corporategonecountry]

I am very pleased that it helped you. I wish I had shown what you did to get the belt on the front pulley because that is much easier, just as you said. Happy mowing!

[@user-vs2sv5tn5i]

I watched your video just to see how to take the deck off, then a week later, my belt went out. Thank you for the video!

[@corporategonecountry]

My pleasure! So glad it helped.

[@Andrettijames]

Thank you for this video sir! Did it step by step with you and got my belt changed easily! 👌🏼💯

[@corporategonecountry]

Wow. Your comment means a lot to me. I'm glad it worked for you!!

[@zackwhatley6449]

On the arm where the spring is attached is a 1/4 sq. hole. After you get the belt routed per the JD sticker... place a 1/4 in drive ratchet into this hole. Pull it toward back of mower and you will get 2-3 inches of slack in this deck belt. Makes it easy to put belt over motor pully.

[@corporategonecountry]

Very helpful comment,...spot on. I wish I could embed a photo in this reply to pictorially show the arm and the direction you move it. Thanks for the help.

[@tomgearhart5195]

Thanks for the video

[@corporategonecountry]

Thanks for viewing!

[@karenjones3758]

I noticed at the end of your video the belt was not on the front pulley.

[@corporategonecountry]

Thank you very much for the comment. I went back and re-reviewed 10:23 - 11:21 and didn't see that. Can you please point out the timeframe in the video that you noticed it. i would be most appreciative. Thanks again.

[@jdd7998]

I’m looking a purchasing a used X304 that has approximately 305 hrs on it for 650 dollars. In your opinion would this be a good purchase? Also, where would I be able to buy the hood designed for the X304? Thanks.

[@corporategonecountry]

It's hard to say if it's a good purchase without seeing the condition of the unit. However, $650 is a lot less money than they sell for new, and 305 hours isn't a lot of hours. How old is it? If it's 10 years old, than that's only 30 hours a year. It's not been run that hard if that's the case. If the condition is good, yeah, probably would be a good purchase. You can find replacement hoods on eBay or Amazon. They seem to be running about $350 to $400. in the search bar on Amazon simply type in "john deere x304 hood". Good luck.

[@carlosrosalesjr7688]

Thanks bro helped me put my belt on today

[@corporategonecountry]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for viewing.