help with my Suburban 400

[ray gershon 1]

I installed a 5 hp Briggs on my Suburban 400 with the pulley system as shown. When i push in the brake petal to shift to another gear, all the tension is released but the belt still turns the pulley on the trans.  Is the a fix for this? Would appreciate any suggestions. 

[8ntruck 9,373]

You need to support the bottom of the belt to keep it off of the crankshaft pulley.  Usually, there is a tab on the belt side of the belt guard that performs this function. 

 

Wheel Horses generally need to have the belt guard installed to keep the belt off of the crankshaft pulley in order to stop the belt and be able to shift gears.

 

to the forum.  Lots of good folks here.  I'm pretty sure that as a group, the regular contributors here have broken and fixed just about everything on a Wheel Horse that can be broken and fixed.  Even better, they share their opinions and advice freely - sometimes it is even helpful.

[sqrlgtr 4,163]

You might be acle to make/use sumin like this (The tab on top of idler pulley). Main thing is belt has to stop turning for everything to work right. Pulled this pic off interweb and is not my mochine.

[parsonsponyz 416]

[Achto 32,913]

 

This is what I made for my 400 with a Predator on it. Note that I added belt brakes on the engine pulley too. Not sure if they were necessary, but I had room for them with my home made belt guard.  

 

Edited yesterday at 03:36 PM by Achto

[peter lena 10,105]

@sqrlgtr  @Achto   noting those idler pulleys  , tiny bearings , a lubricant that will  stay with them / and  stand up to heat / stress , belt wear / fraying  will show you that , experimented with  lubes , and application . ideally  , rubber  side grease shield , lucas  xtra hd , green chassis grease , polyurea , 550 deg flash point , never had a  failure, REGULARLY  EXPERIMENT with REPEDITIVE FAILURES , @ achto, thought about a  short  horizontal ski  on the belt , push down ? enhance , hand off  ? only asking , nothing sarcastic , if its not bouncing , you are good .pete 

[WHX?? 58,339]

A belt brake as Squirrelly and Achto show will cure the issue. While your at it get a boot for the shifter. keeps dust and dirt and most important water out of the tranny. 

https://wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/product/wheel-horse-3577-shifter-boot/

[Dave D. 121]

This is good info. Gotta make a belt guard and some belt keepers when I get to that stage of the rebuild.

 

Dave

[peter lena 10,105]

@WHX??  been using  a silicone grease , on the UNDERSIDE OF THE BOOT ?  the trans irregularities' are what  causes the drag on the boot issue , grease enhanced slide , put  boot on in place , let it show you , where  it wants to be , then trap that spot with a wide tie wrap , on shifter stick , since doing that years ago , my shift  boots  are  trouble free. always experimenting with  any issue , basically , how can I stop this ? think the most interesting thing , is it always shows you the way , like a pto lever start area . a gold mine of detailing , magical difference , pete

[953 nut 70,166]

On 11/11/2026 at 4:45 PM, ray gershon said:

When i push in the brake petal to shift to another gear, all the tension is released but the belt still turns the pulley on the trans.  Is the a fix for this?

 

The crankshaft on your engine is turning counter clockwise and the engine pulley will PULL the belt driving the transmission input pulley unless the slack on the bottom of the belt is restrained, that is why a belt guard is important.            It also prevents injury.         

[C-85 826]

I’m in the process of working/restoring one too!  So far I don’t plan on using any attachments and I’ve removed its outer pulley and I’m putting this cover (can) over the PTO.  It will be painted red soon!