Replacing riding lawn mower deck belt?

Question

Help. I removed my deck, replaced the blades and put the deck back on. Unfortunately, I can't get the belt around the pulley in front between the wheels. Is there a trick??? It is an older craftsman riding lawn mower.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Adjust your idler pully in and then out again after you have your belt on.  Also, there is a model number under your seat that should start off 917.  Copy it down and go to sears.com then click on parts.  After you do that type in your model number and then you can print off a schematic just to double check yourself.

Answer 2

Look under there for a tensioner, it's a pulley that is spring-loaded and rides against the belt face.

It may have swung away from your view.  You'll need to pull hard against the spring to get enough slack in the belt to slip it over the drive pulley.

Answer 3

Some of the Murray built lawn mowers require you to pull up the steering column to be able to get the drive belt around the engine pulley. In any case go to the Sears site and see if there's a PDF file for intruction manual, It should give you a hint on replacing either belt.