StensOEM Replacement Belt 265-242 Compatible with/Replacement for John Deere LX255, LX277, LX279, LX288, LX277AWS, LX280 and LX289, with 42C, 48" and 52" Deck M118684, M143019, M144677

Perfect fit

Comparable to JD OEM. Returned because I needed mower deck belt not drive belt and already had a JD spare drive belt. I've had good experience with the quality of Stens products.

Exactly the same as the John Deere belt except 1/2" shorter which was not a problem due the leeway in the tensioner. Most other options are not cogged on both sides of the belt but this one is and appeared to be of high quality and works perfectly for a lot less the OEM part. No need to spend the extra money whatsoever.

The belt fit properly but broke only after a few cuts. Cheap material. Won't buy again. Poor quality.

I didn’t think the belt was the correct one because the styling changed. It wasn’t smooth like the old belt that broke. So I drove to John Deere and asked them for a replacement. They showed me the same style belt and the cost was $12 more. As you can imagine I didn’t buy it. The new belt from Amazon works great!

Typically I would not go aftermarket on something as important as a drive belt. However, I have an issue with my tractor deck, that is causing it to eat through belts about every 2-3 hours of use. While they order the parts to get it corrected, I have no choice but to mow with the known issue. I have gone through 4 belts in about 2 weeks. These seen to work well, though side-by-side with an OE belt, you do notice a difference.

I got the 1 year extra warranty/insurance on this because I have 5+ acres to mow (I am very aggressive at also going for med brush which puts lots of strain on the mower) there are many hidden low stumps, small branches from oak and brush, rock "heads"(that I forget about or somehow regrow after I knock off the top with a single/double jack), rocks my darned dog digs up and throws going for whatever he is going for, and grass that is sometimes wet and over a foot tall. I have tried many belts including oem. I wish I did not spend the xtra on warranty/insurance, because this has made it well past its 1 year mark I usually go through at least 2 belts within a season even if I am trying to be more careful ( hey If you know the sierra foothills/mtns- this plot used to be walls of brush- thats where the low stumps come from and have made the mower come to a complete halt usually @ least once per mow session (that is just an average the frequency is becoming less and less.

I was using an OEM belt of unknown age (more than 3 summers/three-hundred plus hours of cutting time) and while it was working fine, it was showing signs of wear (cords showing on edges) and starting to dry-rot/crack. I put this on my GX345 with 48C deck and cut approximately 160 hours over the past two summers. About to start summer number three and the belt looks great.

Came on time. Perfect fit and works great on my John Deere.

Perfect fit.

So far so good,