Great suggestions in the previous thread! I hope that your collective expertise can help with my issue.
I have a 14-year old Craftsman 8.5 horse snowblower (mfd. by Murray). Last weekend, while clearing out from the blizzard that hit Minneapolis, I noticed that the auger wasn't keeping up, so I replaced the auger belt with a OEM Murray belt from Sears. After clearing my sidewalk, I again noticed that the auger wasn't keeping up. (I bought it when I lived in the UP of Michigan, and it handled snowfalls like this beautifully.)
The idler is adjust to maximum tension, but the belt is still loose. Today, the auger stops with the slightest resistance. I took off the belt and measured it, and it's a quarter-inch longer than the spec (38-5/8 instead of 38-3/8). Could it have stretched that much so quickly? (It's now about the same as the belt I took off, which was 4-years old.)
Any ideas?
I have a 14-year old Craftsman 8.5 horse snowblower (mfd. by Murray). Last weekend, while clearing out from the blizzard that hit Minneapolis, I noticed that the auger wasn't keeping up, so I replaced the auger belt with a OEM Murray belt from Sears. After clearing my sidewalk, I again noticed that the auger wasn't keeping up. (I bought it when I lived in the UP of Michigan, and it handled snowfalls like this beautifully.)
The idler is adjust to maximum tension, but the belt is still loose. Today, the auger stops with the slightest resistance. I took off the belt and measured it, and it's a quarter-inch longer than the spec (38-5/8 instead of 38-3/8). Could it have stretched that much so quickly? (It's now about the same as the belt I took off, which was 4-years old.)
Any ideas?