Electric Clutch Installation Questions.

[Eyeball]

I have a 2001 Craftsman. 917.275041. I am awaiting the 174509 Electric Clutch. My original almost was a short. It was only .2 ohm, when it should have been between 2.3 - 3.4 ohm. the Coil in the clutch was essentially shorting out the battery and killing the engine when I engaged the blades. I melted a PTO switch before I found the problem. Anyway, I cannot find anywhere (1) how much I will need to torque the mounting bolt on the clutch, and (2) what size gap do to I set the clutch to with a feeler gage I assume. My manual only says that these settings are critical and I can ruin the clutch if I do it wrong. The dang clutch costs $216 and I can't afford to screw it up. Any help would be appreciated.

Over grown in Texas,
Eyeball

 

[ILENGINE]

The torque for the mounting bolt is 50 lb/ft, and the clutch will be preset for gap at factory, so no need to adjust.

 

[Eyeball]

Thanks Illionis. I am a layman in repair, so I have a follow up question. When I was removing the clutch, I could not loosen the main bolt because he engine would rotate as I applied wrench pressure. Is there some way to lock the engine? What I did was tighten the 3 gap bolts until the clutch was physically engaged. Only then was I able to loosen the main bolt. I am asking, because when I install the new clutch, I will have to stop the engine from rotating so I can obtain the proper 50lbs torque. It's probably something basic I don't know.

 

[Eyeball]

Illinois, I forgot to mention, my mower is an automatic. The bolt on the back engages or disengages the drive to the wheels, but in either position, it will not lock the engine from turning when I will install the main bolt in the electric clutch.

 

[ILENGINE]

If there is enough room between the engine drive pulley for the tranny and the electric clutch you may be able to get some type of wrench (pipe wrench, or big vise grips) on the engine shaft to prevent turning, or find some way to lock the tranny drive belt while you tighten the clutch bolt.