Set the park brake. Put the belt over the stem of the stack pulley- not over the drive pulley part. Roll over the trans pulley. Then work the belt on the drive pulley, put the belt through the loop guide and through the idlers. Done.

Tom,

It won't go. I took the deck down completely, pushed it all the way forward, and finally was able to work the new belt on. However, now that the belt is on, I cannot push the deck back into place. I have checked the belt multiple times, and compared it to other 38" belts. It's the right belt.

Doing it without moving the deck hasn't worked. I have no clue how I was able to do it the first time. However, the belt became shredded, for some reason, and I now wonder if I had put it on right the first time. There is no movement, other than the left spindle pulley moving in about an half-inch, and the inner pulleys moving. I still have an inch and half go to just to coax it around the last pulley.

Tom, I did set the park brake. I also put the belt around the front stem, instead of it's lower pulley. Then I threaded the belt through the middle deck pulleys and to the outer spindle pulleys. I still need another inch and half, at least, to work the belt around one of the spindle pulleys.
There are two arms extending from the front of the deck to the chassis of the tractor. There are threads and bolts on each arm, meaning I can adjust these to bring the deck forward or move it back. Can these be used to allow the belt to be installed?

download manual using link. See Pp 20 for deck belt routing diagram/instructions.

purchase OEM belt, not aftermarket

good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: owners manual

I have the manual downloaded. I will look into the OEM belt. Thanks, both of you!

138255 belt is the proper belt. The 801 belt that it came with was a slightly different cut. It is slightly an odd size (95.25) belt by my charts so yes, get the AYP/ Sears belt for it. One thing that came to mind is that lots of these the belt has to go over the shifter rod 1st. SO if your shifter seems in the way, do that first.

Ok. Thanks, Tom! Thanks everyone, for their input.