[bigbass81]

I just hlbought an 02 lx277. On my second mow I noticed a sqeak coming from the bottom of the engine. After further diagnosis. I noticed that it only makes the sound when the deck is set at 2.5 to 3 inches. If I raise the deck all the way up the noise stops, and if I put it all the way down there is no noise. Only when I pass the deck through the 2-3 inch range. Thanks for any help

 

[LZBASSTRD]

I can only think of the obvious like; is there any debris in and around the deck pulleys and/or do you need to lube the deck pulleys? New to the JD family myself but I was here and figured that I would respond. Good luck.

 

[Harryc]

One position eh...well I'd probably take the secondary drive belt off and run the PTO and see if it still squeaks. That way you isolate it to the blade drive components on the deck or not, keeping in mind that with the main belt connected you are still spinning the PTO pulley on the deck.
Hint: The secondary drive belt is the one on the deck that turns the spindles/blades.

 

[sloe]

That's from the angle of the mule drive belt on the jacksheave. Mine was doing that, and I ignored it. I ignored it long enough that the bearings disappeared.

While rinsing after a mow a couple weeks ago, I noticed this didn't look quite right:

Turns out, this was the source of all my squeaks and the extreme effort it took to get the deck started - it would almost stall the engine.

This is what it's supposed to look like:

 

[bigbass81]

The sound is coming from right under the engine. I can hear it without the mower clutch egaged. It does seem to have to do with the angle of the belt right under the engine.

 

[Harryc]

Probably a PTO clutch bearing then ... the angle of the belt right under the motor does not change. It's called a traction belt.