I have been rebuilding a John Deere garden tractor, and had trouble with an overheated deck belt. I decided to replace it, so when I got it off, it looked like this:
I found a socket wedged on one pulley, that had caused the stoppage; but when I saw this mess, it had to be repaired!
I stripped off the loose paint and rust, and used some rust converting primer to deal with any rust that didn't come off. Then it looked like this:
One spindle was rough, so I replaced it with new, filling this empty hole:
I found a tensioner pulley, and an idler pulley with poor bearings too, so they went also. I added a new belt with Kevlar cording internally.
Then, after several coats of paint; it just needed a little assembly. Then it looks like this:
Tomorrow, I will remount the deck; and it should be mowing time! So, what do you think of my little rebuild? Think it will work? I'll let you know how it works out.