by dart451 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 4:56 pm
I'm working on a Craftsman tractor, 917.275821...ordered a new belt 144959 supposed to be a 95" belt. I even measured the belt and it comes up to 95". So, I did have trouble getting the belt on...seemed to tight. Anyway, I cannot get the mowing deck to disengage. It disengages when I stop the engine, and usually when I start, the blades aren't turning...but if I tough the throttle or touch the engagement bar at all, it engages and stays engaged till I shut it off! I've had the mowing deck disconnected 3 times now, I can manually disengage the pulleys easily...nothing is binding...I even replaced the Return Idler spring and it didn't help. Again, it seems the belt is tighter than it should be in disengage mode. Haven't run into this problem before...usually, you install a new belt, you're good to go! Any suggestions? I'm thinking I need a longer belt!??