GARDEN WAY 12194, Owner'S Manual

25

Section 5:  Maintenance 

CHECKING AND ADJUSTING THE
TENSION ON THE DRIVE BELTS

Maintaining correct tension on the drive
belts is important to good tilling perfor-
mance and long belt life.  A loose belt will
slip on the engine and transmission
pulleys and cause the tines and wheels to
slow down – or stop completely – even
though the engine is running at full speed.
A loose belt will also result in premature
wear to the belt.

While checking belt tension, also check
for cracks, cuts or frayed edges. A belt
that is in poor condition should be
replaced.

The tension on a new forward drive belt
should be checked after the first two (2)
hours of operation.  Thereafter, check the
tension after every ten (10) hours of 
operation.

The reverse drive belt, because it is used
more sparingly, will probably not require
an initial tension adjustment until a signif-
icant number of operating hours has
passed.

To Check and Adjust Tension on the
Forward Drive Belt:

1. The check for correct belt tension is the
same as that described in item 5 of “Step
4: Attach Forward Clutch Rod” on page 8.
Before performing this check, shut off the
engine, disconnect the spark plug wire,

and allow the engine and muffler to cool
down.  If, after following the adjustment
procedures, you cannot get the correct
gap on the forward clutch rod adjustment
bracket, you will need to make a sec-
ondary adjustment as described next.

2. Disconnect the Forward Clutch Rod (A,
Figure 5-9) from the swivel plate (B) by
removing the innermost hairpin cotter (C).

3. Unthread the Forward Clutch Rod (in a
counterclockwise direction as viewed
from the front of the unit) until one or two
threads on the rod extend above the rect-
angular nut (D, Figure 5-10) on the
forward clutch bracket.

4. Remove the belt cover.

5. Slip the forward drive belt (E, Figure 5-
9) off the engine driven forward drive
pulley by pushing it off (away from the
engine) with your left hand while pulling
the engine starter rope with your right
hand. 

6. On the left side of the unit (as viewed
from operator’s position) remove the
hairpin cotter from the clevis pin (F,
Figure 5-11) that connects the forward
idler arm (G) to the forward adjustable
link (H).  Push inward on the forward idler
arm (G) and remove the clevis pin (F).

7. There are two holes in the forward
adjustable link (H, Figure 5-11). Push
inward on the forward idler arm (G) and
install the clevis pin (F) through the inner
hole in the forward adjustable link (H) and
out through the single hole in the forward
idler arm (G).  Secure the clevis pin with
the hairpin cotter.  NOTE: While pushing
inward on the forward idler arm, be sure
that the forward drive belt is moved off to
the right side of the tiller. This creates
more room to install the clevis pin when
the forward idler arm is pushed inward.

IMPORTANT: With the clevis pin installed
in the inner hole of the forward adjustable
link, the number of additional belt tension
adjustments that can be made is limited.
If, with future tension adjustments, you
find that you cannot screw the forward
clutch rod any farther into the rectangular
nut on the forward clutch bracket, it
means that the forward drive belt must be
replaced.  Before doing so, the clevis pin
must be returned to the OUTSIDE hole in
the forward adjustable link.

WARNING

Follow the belt adjustment
instructions carefully. An
incorrect adjustment could
result in the Forward
Clutch  mechanism engag-
ing too soon.  This could
cause loss of tiller control
and result in personal
injury or property damage.

Figure 5-10:  One or two threads on
Forward Clutch Rod should be exposed
above rectangular nut.

D

Threads

WARNING  

Before inspecting, cleaning or servicing the unit, shut off engine, wait for all

parts to come to a complete stop, disconnect spark plug wire and move wire away from spark
plug.  Failure to follow these instructions can result in serious personal injury or 
property damage.

Figure 5-9:  Disconnect Forward Clutch Rod
and move forward drive belt out of groove in
engine forward drive pulley.

A

C

Remove belt (E)

from groove

B