Mower deck craftsman lt1000 38" deck wont disengage

[designr]

I have a 917 287011 lt1000 and when i bought it the blades wont disengage after cutting but were disengaged on starting, now the the belt broke and i bought the 90" belt put it on and the mower will stay engaged always and the clutches are about a 1/2" from the pulleys when disengaged. my question is what size are the idler pulleys i think that someone replaced them with larger ones because one is not painted. for now i will try a 91" to see if that works. but i would love to repair it correctly so if you have any ideas they are greatly welcomed thanks

 

[designr]

I have replaced the idler pulleys and also the springs with the origional equipment and still the 91"belt is not disengaging the blades. any ideas?

 

[Cliffburton99]

I was about to post the same exact problem.......

 

[ILENGINE]

First off this is the reason non OEM belts can cause problems. With that out of the way, i am assuming this mower has the cable engagement lever with the spring on the end that is attached to a long bolt, that moves an idler pulley arm. If this is the case look at the arm where the brake arm rollers contact the cam part of the idler arm. It is not uncommon for the brake arms to wear a groove into the cam part of the idler arm and will act like a detent, preventing it from releasing. If this is the case you will need to replace the idler arm, and I would also recommend replacing the brake arms as well, I have had repeat problems with the cam wear point until replacing the arms in the past.

 

[designr]

i dont see any brake arm roller it has a rod that pushes the brake arms out they are not worn could it be possible that something is installed backwards?i put a 91" belt and it is still engaged

 

[ILENGINE]

looked up the specs for the OEM belt and it is suppose to be 90 7/16 length, so a 91 should be close. Is it possibly due to various reasons the deck has moved rearward causing the belt to not disengage properly. I had a new Poulan a few years ago the OEM belt was too long due to a shifted deck hangar.