The manual instructions didn't work for me either. People can solve problems differently. I'm glad that this helped you out.

That’s what I did too

Thanks for letting me know. I've learned a great deal from other videos. It is oddly satisfying to use a tool that you have done the maintenance on yourself. Create your own path to being a Lawn Hero!

Thank you for your kind words. If I can't find a video to explain something, I try to make the video I would have wanted to watch. Enjoy your landscaping!

I'll give it a try the next time I drop the deck. Thank you for watching!

I'm a bit surprised that this worked. On my Z335E the rear pulley is locked and doesn't spin free. There doesn't seem to be any easy way to take the spring loaded pulley cover off, which would make things much easier. There could be differences in your model and mine. I have heard of other people using cordless impact drivers to spin out the blade bolt. Easier is better. Thank you for sharing your method. It may make life easier for others! Now, let's cut some grass.

I did mine the same way. If you pull the pulley to get the tension off and then have the belt seated in all the v's except the pulley before the tension pulley you can spin that pulley and roll the belt on with your left hand, since there isn't tension yet it should not matter if your rear pulley under the motor is locked or not the belt will slip as you turn it. Once it is seated in the last V, just release your free hand pulley that is tensioned.

My Z335E has 73 hours on it. I did the oil change, oil filter, air filter and spark plugs at 50 engine hours. I'm bit worried about doing the valve adjustments, but I won't have to face that for a while. All the parts are available on Amazon. The oil change is easy as you just bend the tube down to let the oil out. No getting underneath the engine. I did have trouble with the oil filter. There is little room to swing an oil filter wrench. Apparently John Deere has an easy oil change system for people like me, but I don't have it. The air filter is so easy to change I actually laughed when I did it. I pulled out my torque wrench to screw in the new spark plugs. I had to service my third hand 1963 Honda CB160 when I was a broke high school student. A pain in the neck, but the knowledge and skill has lasted me a lifetime. The john Deere is easy by comparison. The first time I pulled off the mower deck I had to spend a half hour with a putty knife scraping gunk off the bottom. I changed the mower blades (video) a few engine hours later so it wasn't too bad. There is a wash out port to connect to a garden hose. Anyone who has used this, let me know how it works. It's hard to see under the deck until you pull it off. I appreciate your watching and let's all keep our yards looking pretty!

Yeah, I couldn’t find the grease fittings the first time I went looking for them, either. You have to remove the deck foot plate. The mower height “L” pin has a 13mm socket on it just for this purpose. Leave the deck all the way down to give yourself as much room as possible to raise the black spindle covers. I have a “42A” style Z335E. The operator’s manual for my particular model can be found at techinfo-omview.apps-prod-vpn.us.e06.c01.johndeerecloud.com/omview/omuc28756/Prop65_English(johndeerecloud.com) (view only). Scroll down the left side of screen and (click on “Section 40 Service Lubrication” and then “Lubricating Mower Deck Spindles”. The “Grease” section identifies the correct John Deere Factory recommended grease. Then click on the picture to make it bigger. This shows one side of the deck. Lift the black spring loaded cover and the grease fitting is there. Google image search “zirc fitting” if you are not sure of what you are looking for. (I’m explaining for the general audience.) The cover is undoubtedly chock full of grass clippings. I put on some eye protection goggles and blew it out with a leaf blower. You can use your hand or a rag, but it is a lot more work. The grease (zirc) fitting is more or less parallel to the ground sticking out from the shaft under the pulley. The spring loaded covers are a real hassle and I had to kneel on the ground just to see under them. I had to lay on the ground to grease the fittings. I don’t like the covers at all. You have to do both sides. The “48A” and “54A” mowers have two more fittings, but I don’t have those. Happy mowing!

The link doesn't seem to be working. You'll have to go to the John Deere site and search for it. You don't have to buy it. There is a "view only" icon for the manual.

@@camgere Thanks for your help! 👍

The owner's manual is now available online as a pdf download techpubs.deere.com/en-US/Search/Equipment There may be more than one belt available so you should probably look up your specific model at partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/ Thank you for watching.