General Transmissions GT37401 Variation Belt

I have a Craftsman riding mower with the RS 800 transmission (pedal forward and reverse), and reverse has been very weak. Forward worked, but was fairly slow, walking speed at best. This should work on any Husqvarna, Ariens, etc as well with the GT RS800 plastic transaxle.This belt solved the problem, the original (326 hours) was worn down to nearly 1/2 the original height, no wonder it stopped working well. My mower really hauls now, and slow speed engagement is not jumpy like it previously was.It is mentioned that this can be a maintenance item, and I would expect another 300 hours out of the new belt, which is a great value considering it is an external swap.The rear fuel tank models require you to drop the transmission, so you need to remove the reverse switch wire on the left front of the transaxle, and remove the forward/reverse linkage by popping off the rotor clip.Push the left foot lever in, and lock the parking brake, and you should be able to fish the main drive belt off the top pulley, and out of the guard. Push the foot lever again, and release the brake, and let it go, which lessens the brake spring pressure, allowing you to remove the cotter pin and washer from the brake linkage on the left side.It took about a half an hour to do the swap. General Transmissions suggests super glue in the 4 threaded screw holes holding on the variation pulley system. Don't use thread locker, it dissolves plastic!

Craftsman T3000 w/plastic RS800 transmission @ 250hrs losing drive power/speed. Have already installed both the "Debris Kit" (150 hrs) and the "Inversion Security System" (209 hrs) on this super-high maintenance transmission - so I figured the variator belt was next. Replaced both this variator belt and the drive belt - drive power restored. Belt I removed did not appear to be damaged/excessively worn or visibly out of spec - but drive power definitely restored - so worth the money, I guess. This model is one of the badly-engineered tractors where the boffins put the fuel tank in the rear, so dropping this rubbish transmission has become an annual maintenance headache. I quit replacing the axle "seals" every time I drop it; since there's almost an inch of lateral play in the axle, but it does require thorough cleaning - top is full of nooks and crannies to hold dirt/leaves - which will render it inop. Hope that helps!

After reading about how this wasn't a wear item I ordered one anyway after trouble shooting and finding nothing wrong. My mower started not pulling up hills like it used to (behaved like a slipping drive belt). Replaced clutch spring, drive belt, no change. Inspected CVT pulleys, variator levers, looked for debris, etc. No issues. Finally with nothing else but this CVT belt to change I tried it. It worked. Mower drives like new now. Mine had 80 hrs on it. General should get their documentation straight and add this item as a wear item. I believe mine was glazed around the outer edge where it rides on the pulleys. Old belt length and width appeared same as new, but I didn't have a good way to measure them. Hope this helps someone with drivability issues!

Perfect fit.

I looked up my mower part number (craftsman) and found the parts list which led to a search here. The belt was pretty simple to do after watching a video of some guy who had an introduction like a wrestling star. It’s a lawn mower repair Macho Man, settle down. To summarize without the fan fare: Remove battery and box, take out spindle. The thing that is directly below the battery box. You will need a T25 bit for that. Then string belt and replace. It really was that easy. Mower now zips along like it was new. Should have replaced it a couple years ago. Seemed expensive, but an easy repair to keep my mower going a couple more seasons. Very happy with the results.

fits and works great

My 42in. Mower was so slow I had to push to make a turn, now it's back to full spd like new. It's a little tricky getting to the belt but doable with just a few tools.

Lawn mower was running slow put thus belt on now super fast