Craftsman II riding mower dies

[bart*mt372]

I have a hand-me-down Craftsman II IC gold 12.5hp riding mower. It will start and drive, but when the blade is activated the engine dies. Do any of you smart people have a suggestion of what could be wrong? I am not an expert with small engines. I have checked to see if something was stopping the blades from turning, but I was able to turn the pullies by hand.

Thanks,
Bart

 

[sunspot]

Is your activation electric or do you throw a lever? If it is a lever, something is seized. Do the blades turn fully 360 degrees? Sometimes the pan gets a ding and jam's the blade(s).

 

[bart*mt372]

Thanks for the reply. It has a manual lever, the pulllies seem to turn buy hand.
Bart

 

[sunspot]

I may of misstated. I was asking if the blades (both of them) will turn for more than a full circle. You might have to lift the mower up on it's side a bit to see them turn. A second person helping is useful.

Lift it from the left side so the engine oil doesn't flow to the carb. Don't ask me how I know this.

 

[asylum575]

Like posted earlier, it's probably an obstruction preventing the blades from spinning. It creates such a load that the engine bogs down. On my 18hp, the engine is strong enough to keep spinning and burns out the belt. Actually smokes the belt. The deck comes off fairly easy. Two pins on the forward arms, then from the right side there is a pin that holds the deck up and a pin for the engage arm. On the left side there is a pin on the back side of the deck and a cousin to the right side one that holds up the deck. Total six pins. Then just slide it out. Once out, put tension on the belt and see if you can spin the spindles. Very simple design.
I have a 1993 18HP Craftsman that keeps running and running. The deck has been replaced then rebuilt and repaired. I don't have the heart to but her out of her misery. I have a BX24 with a deck that's just waiting for the Craftsman to give up. Nice thing about the craftsman is the three bin bagger. It's great for lawn cleanup. A bagger for the Kubota would be about $2G

 

[elad]

Check the pulleys on the deck individually by hand. One or more could
be starting to freeze up. Happened to me. replaced pulley- problem
solved. It was the idler pulley in my case. elad

 

[asylum575]

Bart,
You have to first diagnose or at least try to diagnose the problem. From your post, it sounds like the deck. Pull the deck off and slide it out. If the engine starts and runs good, you have identified the deck as causing the problem. Worse case scenario is you get a new deck. I see them on craigslist and ebay all the time. You can get a new deck for about $250 and used for about $50-150.
Now that you've identified the deck as the problem, take a good look at everything. Go to sears.com and put in your model # under Parts and print out a PDF of your deck. While your there, print out a PDF of all tractor components and save it. These deck are very repairable.

Good luck

 

[oldmech]

Hi! I think often engine is missing power. A good condition engine slip belts. Look for carburator. Drain and look for good supply of fuel at float needle. Clean and adjust fuel jet. Good Luck! Oldmech

 

[bart*mt372]

Thanks to all that replied. I guess the next step is to pull the deck. What am I looking for? When you spin the pullies by hand they seem to turn.

Bart

 

[asylum575]

Bart,
Pull the deck and see if the engine runs. Run it in all the gears for a while. If all seems good, let out a great big Whew! If the tractor runs fine without the deck, you have isolated the problem as the deck and the reair or replacement makes the mower worth keeping. Give it a good look. What's nice is you have two spindle, so you can compare to each other. If all looks good, check the center arm that attaches to the tractor. This engages the blades. I had mine in desperate need of grease. It didn't puch over cleanly and caused the deck to miss. Everything should move freely. Most guys never grease these decks. Think about all the hours of dusty use with no lubrication. Worse case scenario is a new deck on ebay for ablut $200.

Good luck.