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The drive belt broke today on my Craftsman model # 917255441 riding lawn tractor. I went to Sears and bought a new drive belt, but I do not have a clue as to how to put it back on the tractor. I need a diagram. Can you help?
I did a search for lawn mower manuals and found this site: Mower Manuals Now, you might find (as I did) that most of them look about the same, regardless of exact model. Before you start, lower the mower deck to the lowest position it will go. This will give you clearance to work. Some models have a special service position that is lower than the normal cutting range. It is highly likely that the pulleys have guards / covers over them that must be removed with a small wrench. Make your life easy and spray them down with liquid wrench, WD-40, or some kind of solvent to loosen the bolts before you start scraping up your knuckles. Look at the two pictures I have placed below. They are from two different manuals for two different lawn mowers and, other than the angle and the amount of detail, they are just about the same. Notice the covers over the pulleys have already been removed for easy access. Update I lost my pictures; still new at this. Let me try this again.
Linda, Here is a list of Craftsman Lawn Mower manuals. Go down the list until you find your model number, then click on that, then click past a few advertisements until you see the “get manual” button light up. Click on that, and you will have your manual in PDF format. Regards, Frank
There is a belt diagram on all craftsman L&G troctors located under running board since1990….
The drive belt drives the rear axle and tires. It runs from the front pulley to a pulley located over the rear axle. You do not have to remove the deck. Put the belt on the front pulley and run it above the mower deck, through the belt tensioners, and back to the rear axle. To access the rear pulley, remove the battery and the battery holder so that you can see the pulley from above. Put the gear shift in neutral, or chock the front tires and jack up the rear axle so that the rear tires are off the ground. This will allow the rear pulley to turn freely. Reach through the battery compartment to the pulley, get the new belt started onto the right front of the pulley (you may need to use a flat screwdriver to help ease the belt into the groove of the pulley), hold the belt tight to the pulley with your right hand, use both your right and left hands to rotate the pulley in a clockwise direction. The belt will come around and finally end up in the pulley groove.
There r 2 springs on my mower deck both are broken I ordered thm from sears.I figured out where on goes the other has a lever on the left side that reaches across the back side of the deck has a hole in it for the spring . I cant figure out where the other end of the spring fastens
Hi I replace my drive belt on my Craft man 2000 ,but it keeps coming off .could you please tell me why .every time I engage the blades it comes off .
I’ve also taken photos while the belt is still intact. Once the thing breaks it will be harder to follow the diagram in the manual and also on the tractor underside. That is literally the only thing I have not had to replace with my 8 year old Craftsman. Youtube and repairclinic.com videos have shown me how to fix things nearly every time. Thanks Sid. I’m going to copy/paste your answer for future reference. With my luck, it is bound to happen sometime soon.
Had my Craftsman power belt replaced professionally. Sold the tractor and bought a Cub Cadet. A world of difference to the better.
