Took a look underneath. Not good. Deck is ok, main belt is worn bad. That is a chap fix though. But looked and the idler pulley is shot. I do know where to get a new one buts its not gonna be cheap. Maybe I will get the engine running and then buy the part.

The engine Roars to life! After a battery charge, change out of the gas, and some starter fluid, the engine ran! At first it ran kinda rough but after a min or two it was running smooth and restarted easily.

Well I went out to try to get the idler arm off with no luck. Rounded off the bolt trying. The next step is to cut a notch with my dremel and then get it out with a flat head on the end of a ratchet. Got rained out today so next dry day will be unbolting.

Well, after failing (again) to get the arm off, I found that the pulley came right off (not good), but in a way this is good. See, I think that if I take a piece of non-slip rubber and wedge it between the pulley and the shaft (it rotates, don't worry), and seeing as the inside is "grooved" (think 3-4 rings), maybe it will hold in place. And seeing as I have a four-dollar belt, the pulleys shot anyway, and it was a free mower, its worth a shot.

Well after my jury rig failed i found something rather intresting. Just the shaft (it rotates, remember) puts enough tension on the belt to hold it in place. I tested it thoroughly about our hilly property and it was 100% good.

Went out and mowed a good portion with no problems other than a lil belt slip when engaging the blades. The shaft and belt are fine.

Well if this setup holds for the season I will do a restore on the body. I may start a new project or just continue this one. Well I think thats all for now!