Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

J

JohnFM

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #1

I decided to look for some lawn mower forums and ended up here.
The Machine in question is a Craftsman Professional 21" self-propelled.
Model 12AE997E099
Bought it new 10 years ago.

I need some photos or good drawing of the belt installation. I've been burning up the internet and for some strange reason there is absolutely zip information on this thing.

I wanted to put on a new belt and finally got the old one off, but there is a spring on the lever that allows the variable pulley to open and close and it came off before I could see how it was attached.
I twisted wrenches over 50 years and I've never seen anything as hard to figure out as this drive belt set up.
Course the manual only says the mower must be returned to a dealer to get the belt changed.
Any links, help, etc. will be greatly appreciated. Been scratching my head on this thing for 2 days, too far from town to make a trip in to any mower shop.

 

BlazNT

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #2

This video shows a lot of detail for your mower. See if it helps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPUGYN1bZo4

 

J

JohnFM

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #3

Hmm, no similarity at all to mine. On mine everything is under the deck. Kawasaki powered too.
Those dragging rear wheels gave me some ideas to look at tomorrow, but I really need to see how the linkage for the belt and pulley assy at the engine shaft works.

 

BlazNT

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #4

See if this helps.

 

J

JohnFM

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #5

Yeah, that's the machine. The lever, part 55, is what popped out on me.
A spring moves it down, away from the engine, then the control cable pulls against it to close the pullet halves.

The rear wheels lock up now like in that video link. If I can figure out why that's happening then maybe I can work back to the engine end and get that linkage correct.

 

J

JohnFM

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #6

Still can't figure out why there's zip info out there about this thing. Maybe this particular version was only made for a short period.
I doubt I'd have bought it if I had been aware at the time that the user had to take the thing to a dealer to get a friggen belt changed.
And where are those manuals the dealer shops would have needed?

 

Boobala

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #7

I checked ALL-OVER Hell's half acre and didn't find anything more than you fella's did ...... BUMMER !!! .. :mur:

 

BlazNT

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• Jun 27, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #8

Part number 56 is the spring you were talking about?

 

J

JohnFM

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• Jun 28, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #9

Yes, 56 is the spring. It's a fairly heavy coil with a curved tang on one end and a straight one at the other. That spring sat against a shoulder on the pin. #57.
It's fairly easy to see how things go together from the parts blow up except for how that spring is connected. The control cable hooks up at the point of that triangle shaped lever and pull against it.
After I had freed the belt from the transmission pulleys I was feeling in there trying to figure out what it took to get the belt free at that end. I could feel tension from that spring, but there wasn't all that much.
Suddenly that rod slipped out of the bracket, #58, that held it to the deck housing.
You'd think after 10 years of use there would be some wear marks from that spring, but nada.
Shoulda drained the gas and oil and laid the damn thing up side down, but who would have thought something like a simple V-belt could be so hard to get back in and then so impossible to find assembly information.

 

J

JohnFM

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• Jun 28, 2018 / Looking for a little Craftsman/MTD help

• #10

Would you believe it! I found the belt installation sequence in the manual for the Yardman version of that same mower.
file:///C:/Users/John/Desktop/698e590d-4f70-4439-8108-e9cb3bb55643.pdf
And now I see why it just felt like the control arm just fell off. The torsion spring does not go on like I thought.

In a little while I'll go out and see if I can get that thing working again, for 10 years it's worked like a top.

Now why in blazes do some resellers insist their model be returned to a dealer for this simple job and the Yardman 979 manual gives complete instructions with a full series of excellent drawings? :thumbdown: