Craftsman 50 inch deck replacement or swap to a smaller deck

[Myassgrass]

I have a craftsman 917.258911 I bought without a deck and I can't seem to find the one that actually goes on this mower. The deck shell itself has been discontinued. So I was wondering if a smaller deck would fit and if so what sizes thank you in advance for any help

 

[HughDaHand]

Pretty much any 3 blade AYP deck made between 95-05 should hook right up to that mower with the correct drive belt used. I know of 44", 46", 48", 50" and 54" decks. The 54" deck would also need the lift arms swapped out since it used different ones, but the rest all used the same mounting hardware as far as I know. I can't really help much with model numbers.

 

[Myassgrass]

Thank you for your reply I'll see if I can find one.

 

[Myassgrass]

Pretty much any 3 blade AYP deck made between 95-05 should hook right up to that mower with the correct drive belt used. I know of 44", 46", 48", 50" and 54" decks. The 54" deck would also need the lift arms swapped out since it used different ones, but the rest all used the same mounting hardware as far as I know. I can't really help much with model numbers.

Thank you for the info I'll keep an eye out for one.