# Drive Belt Replacement on DeWalt 733 thickness planer



## kkaiser25 (Sep 10, 2009)

The belt finally broke on my 733 after several years of use. Before I get a replacement, I would like to know how difficult it would be to replace it. In other words should I just get it done?


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

Its not hard to get to the belt, I've taken my 733 apart to fix a parallel problem. I don't think it would be to hard to fix the belt…mind you I guess you have probably either fixed it by now or bought a new one, I just looked at the date when you posted this originally LOL!


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Just did mine 2 months ago. Not a big job at all, and it give you a chance to blow all the crud out while you're at it.
Bill


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## richardf (Nov 8, 2009)

I replaced mine last winter. The company gave me a replacement belt when I bought my planer new. Lasted 6 years before it finally broke.

Well I took the planer apart and exposed the area where the belt needed to go and I had a hard time getting it on. I tried working it back and forth tried prying it with a screwdriver but it seemed to tight. I was thinking about soaking it in hot water and then trying to get it back on, but I didn't want it to warp out of shape. How I finally got it on was placing it on the small pully and trying to catch it on the bigger pulley while turning, and after some fustration it just rotated on. I don't know why it decided to go on right then, but it worked. You might have to play around with it, and do what Bill suggested, and remove all the excess crud. Me thinks the belt will go on when the belt is good and ready


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## vrice (Jan 12, 2011)

Mark, I've got a DW733 that is about 3yrs old. It appears I now have a "parallel" problem. I've been scratching my head for days on this one. Just saw your note here. Can you point me to anything that helped you solve your problem?


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

Vrice, I opened up the top removing the housing around the actual guts of the thing. Now its been a while since I've done this but as I recall there are a pair of threaded rods on either side of the cutter head. As I recall there is some kind of adjustment on each rod, I'd have to dig up my manual and have the planar in front of me. It is late here now, but I will turn the heat on in the shop and take a look at it tomorrow. It was not a hard fix and it hasn't given me any grief since I did it. If I can find a camera I'll try and post some pictures as well.


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## vrice (Jan 12, 2011)

WOW! That was quick. Thanks for you help. I've searched my documentation till I'm blue in the face and can't find anything about adjustments to parallel. I'll go crack this thing open in the morning to see what I can see. Thanks again.


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## vrice (Jan 12, 2011)

Well, Google is amazing resource. After a number of searches over the last few days I finally hit the right combo of keywords and found this doc on the Dewalt site. I'll give this a shot tomorrow.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

That is a much better diagram than what I used. Once you get it open and take a good look at it it just kinda makes sense. As I recall I had to run a couple of test pieces through to get it bang on, but over all it was a fairly painless exercise.


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## vrice (Jan 12, 2011)

Problem solved. This turned out to be dead simple. Simply removed the plastic cover on the bottom, exposing the chain/gear mechanism for the head lift. Then loosened two set screws on the right gear. Then just a matter of adjusting, via the crank, until the head was parallel with the table. Took a little trial and error, via some cuts. But all-in-all, done in about 30-45 min. Parallelism tolerance within 0.001".


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Thanks for the info on this posting , guys : ) 
Very useful tips . 
My 733 is still holding up well , other than I may need new rollers due to some occasional slippage . I think they have become too hard and can't grip the wood as well as they used to. Anyone else have experience with this problem ? Thank you : )


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## Prairiedf (Mar 3, 2016)

Hi,
Thanks so much for the advice. I just changed my belt in about five minutes. Here's what I'd add to the discussion:
After removing the side cover and little cover exposing both pullies the belt rides on, remove the chain retainer, gears and chain. Place the drive belt on the little pulley first, then find a socket and wrench to fit the nut on the big pulley (15/16ths) and start the belt on the big pulley. Use the socket to rotate clockwise (so as to not loosen the nut) and it should rotate right on. Might have to push the belt in a groove or two to center in on both pullies, while rotating pullies.
Thanks for the help with this you all,
Greg

About the post just above mine, do you think rubbing alcohol would clean and soften the rollers?


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