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This is a yard tractor with a mower deck underneath. Engaging the mower blades on it requires so much force on the lever that I have to stand up, lean forward, and push with both arms. Otherwise, I can't move the lever at all. The deck has a small adjustment for cable tension, but I have it was as far as it can go in the loose direction and it doesn't seem to make any difference. I finally got tired enough of this to try to do something about it. What I tried was to bend hooks on both ends of a nail so that I could use it as an extension between the end of the clutch cable and the idler arm that the movable idler pulley rides on. I was thinking that what I tried was the same as extending the range of the adjustment that was built onto the deck. I first added about 3/4 inch and then 1 and 1/4. Didn't help. I found a YouTube video where I guy was moving the lever back and forth, and it looked really easy to do. His John Deere looks pretty much the same as my Craftsman.
Questions: 1) Is it belt tension that I'm pushing against when I try to move the lever, or is it something else?
2) Is there something else I should try or maybe loosen it even more?

thanks, guys

when did this start occuring? slowly gets harder and harder each mowing, or did you change the belt and now it's giving you issues?

Occasionally, I have to clean and lube the deck channel and idler mount (where the idler pulley mount slides, the part on the deck that moves when the engagement lever is moved upwards to move the cable).

Something is in a bind or not assembled correctly. You need a helper to manipulate the lever while you look at what’s going on. Has a new belt been installed? Has the deck been out from under it lately. Have any of the pivot points been lubricated? Is the idler pulley bracket frozen up. I would check all of those things. You are probably going to have to pull the deck out from under it.

Sounds like excessive wear in the tensioning arm or even a jambed brake mechanism
Slide the deck out and try moving the tension arm by hand to see where it is binding .

Scrubcadet10 said:

when did this start occuring? slowly gets harder and harder each mowing, or did you change the belt and now it's giving you issues?

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It was that way right from when I bought it brand new.

MParr said:

Has a new belt been installed?

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Yes last month. I was hoping it would help, but the problem remains unchanged.

MParr said:

Has the deck been out from under it lately.

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Yes, earlier this week.

MParr said:

Have any of the pivot points been lubricated?

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No

MParr said:

Is the idler pulley bracket frozen up.

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No, it moves freely.

the.doc said:

It was that way right from when I bought it brand new.

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Oh.... warranty should have took care of that.

the.doc said:

It was that way right from when I bought it brand new.

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Now we are getting somewhere.

bertsmobile1 said:

Sounds like excessive wear in the tensioning arm or even a jambed brake mechanism
Slide the deck out and try moving the tension arm by hand to see where it is binding .

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It carries a pulley that tightens the mower belt when it is moved to the left? It moves freely. If I disconnect the clutch cable bracket from the deck, the lever moves freely. I'm not sure that tells us anything. It's connected to the end of the clutch cable by a really strong spring. Could it be that that spring is too strong?

The only names I know for most of the parts are the ones I see in the parts manual that came with it. When one of you says X and I ask if that's Y, it's just me trying to learn something; last thing I'd be likely to do on here is correct one of you guys.

Cusser said:

Occasionally, I have to clean and lube the deck channel and idler mount (where the idler pulley mount slides, the part on the deck that moves when the engagement lever is moved upwards to move the cable).View attachment 58349

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A friend gave me a leaf blower a few years ago. Since then I always blow the clippings off the deck when I'm through. Takes about two minutes. Before that I used a shop vac. Took a lot longer.

Scrubcadet10 said:

Oh.... warranty should have took care of that.

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That was in '09, and I dint know any better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

After reading all of your replies, there are a couple of more things to go through.
I assume that you have the correct belt. Since, you stated that it’s been hard to manipulate from early on.
Everything moves freely on the deck. Evidently, nothing is wrong there.
Now to the cable, cable bracket and lever. You need to determine if the cable moves freely in it’s sleeve. Disconnect the cable at the deck and move the lever back and forth. Does it move freely? Is the lever mechanism binding up? You may need to lube your cable or replace. You may need to replace the bracket assembly, where the handle is mounted.

The part numbers may be different than those listed in this video. Use this video as guidance only. It will give you an understanding of how things work.

Again, for guidance only. Your part numbers may be different.

MParr said:

Again, for guidance only. Your part numbers may be different.

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I'm with Mparr here. I had a similar issue about 8 years ago where it was getting gradually more difficult to engage the deck to the point that I cracked the mower clutch. Also make sure you have the right clutch cable for your mower, not a cheap substitute. Maybe you can keep deck on the ground and hook up clutch & cable and have someone engage the clutch while you are watching below to determine what is resisting. From the low grain picture it does look like it need a good lube at the minimum. Debris build up of grass & dirt can do wonders creating friction for parts that should be moving freely.

the.doc said:

The only names I know for most of the parts are the ones I see in the parts manual that came with it. When one of you says X and I ask if that's Y, it's just me trying to learn something; last thing I'd be likely to do on here is correct one of you guys.

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iF THE CABLE MOVES FREELY, the problem is most likely the deck and most likely the brake system. Many times we find the cheap brake systems are the problem and it can be hard to detect.

Cable housings do wear and cause binding under load even though they work fine un loaded. The spring at the end of cable is what keeps constant tension the deck belt. Also these cable are prone internal corrosion which leads to cable binding under load.

I even had to replace a nearly new cable with a few months as the mower had sat in the weather awaiting the customer to pick it up.

Also on this deck items 55 and 56 can both rust and wear binding things up.


and of course the LH blade brake can also bind up the same way. items 56 and 60.

I am experiencing same and assumed it was normal until i couldnt get engaged .I jacked it up and while laying on the ground pressure washed everywhere,and I mean everywhere.I manually moved all pulleys and belts by hand and rinsed again.Immediately after doing this ,all engaged pretty easily.I asumed it was fixed however next mowing it wouldnt engage again.Jacked it up again and with a can of spray lube,I lubed everywhere and I mean everywhere including the cable behind the engagement lever.Its been working fine since but still not easy to push up that lever.Charlie

I've experienced similar issues when my tractor's idler pulley wouldn't move readily due to dirt build-up. So cleaning and lube fixed that.