Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Harry - The idler pivot bushing I was talking about is item 19 on page 4 of the HRM48 parts manual. The manual calls it a spacer.

Matt thanks for getting back on the spacer. It's like a lot of parts that are called different names, like the banana plate! LOL. On mine the space was a steel spacer and a bronze one would probably do a better job. I lubed it up good with some grease to prevent some rusting. It still sagged down which made the belt track off center of the idler pulley. A hole with a bolt near the spring of the idler plate leveled the idler plate and now the belt tracks in the middle of the idler pulley. Sometimes a little extra attention to detail in the engineering area helps in the long run.

Keep the Peace
Harry

Harry the idler in my RM48 deck doesn't lay flat on the surface either with a new 3/8" carriage bolt and spacer. My belt does track in the middle of the pulley (AFAIK). I was going to suggest your hardware was worn out or bent but I think you replaced the idler pulley bracket.