Dang, broken belts

[Sawatzky]

Well, I thought I would never have to replace the best so soon, but I was wrong. The wood I was cutting binded, and before I knew it the belts were shot. I have successfully taken everything apart but now I have 2 questions.

1. Where is the best place to get replacement belts? Should I just contact Ryobi, or is there another place to get them?

2. I have read the threads about replacing belts and it seems as though everyone has their own way of putting the belts back on the pullies. So, for those of you who have had to replace the belts, what was the best way to put them back on?

Thanks all. Hopefully I will be back in business soon!

[wreckwriter]

There's generally a set or 2 available on ebay. Do searches on bt3100 and bt3000 (tends to give a few extra results). There's also a place called M&D Mower that has most parts:

http://m-and-d.com/ryobi_tools.html

Haven't had to change mine yet so can't help on that.

[wreckwriter]

Here's some on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll..._BIN_Stores_IT

[JimD]

I tried the methods in the articles section and recommend you review them and try them. They did not work for me, however. I rolled the belts on the two pulleys and then tapped them into position with a wooden block and a hammer. I put one edge on the motor pulley and then got an edge on the blade pulley and then rotated the blade to pull the belt onto that pulley. It took a lot of tried but it worked. Boiling the belt first might have made it a bunch easier. If I have to do it again I will try boiling the belts to expand them a bit. It is not any fun but if your patience holds out, you should get it done.

Good Luck.

Jim

[Sawatzky]

Jim,
I understand what you are saying but have 2 questions

1. If I hit the belt with a block of wood, won't it only go on part way? There are two belts, so the first one to be put on has to be placed at the end of the pulley. How do you hit the belt into that position?

2. Will hitting the belts mess up the grooves in them, as the grooves are what keeps them on the pulleys?

[JimD]

Salty,

I haven't been on for awhile and just saw your questions. You have to get the belts started onto the pulleys before trying to tap them into position. If the belts are even 1/8 inch on both pulleys, I put a scrap of wood against the belt on the pulley the least and tap it with a hammer. That pushes the belt more on that pulley than the other one so now I go tap the other side. I tap on the belt where it is either aligned with or already on the pulley. By alternating between pulleys, I was able to walk the belt across both pulleys into position pretty quickly. Then I put the other belt on.

The amount of force that you should have to apply to move the belt across the pulley is pretty low. It moves pretty easy once the belt is close to fully on the pulley. At first, when it is only partially on the pulley, it moved a lot slower. I resisted the temptation to apply more force. I did no visible damage to my belts. I replaced them over a year ago and they have worked fine. If you have to apply much force, then the belt is either not really on the pulley or you are not applying the force properly. I found the belts very difficult to move across the pulley with my fingers but pretty easy to slide across with a few taps on a block of wood positioned on the edge of the belt.

Jim

[RaptrFlite]

I just posted my solution here:

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=20410

Hope it works for you