Export thread

Hello,
I have a Craftsman LT1 1500 mower but I have to lift enough off the seat to fully depress the brake pedal. This stalls the machine due to the low tolerance on the safety switch.


I have the seat moved all the way forward but I am 5'3" and the pedal is too far away.

I removed one of the connectors on the seat and that disables if I have to lift off but still it will stall out the machine if I get off the mower completely.

However , I still dont feel this is comfortable especially if I have to react fast.

I am seeking elegant ways to adjust the pedal or extend it. Being round stock for the "pedal" It makes it harder to picture attaching something to it.

Is there a product out there already? Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks

Hi, do you have a picture of it?

Photos of pedal in both states- not pressed and parking brake.
A 2x4 block of wood is about what I need with seat all the way forward. So a full 2" is probably better but 1.5" is ok.

With the space cut out seen in the frame, you would think it is adjustable. I think us not mentioned in the manual.

When you use the brake pedal do you push it with your toes or heel of foot?

Heel can't reach. I use Ball of foot but I can not flex far enough forward and with enough force to get the full stop.(without rising off the seat. )

Doesn't it seem like it should return deeper into the notch?

It does look like it should be further up yes. How old is this machine? It looks new, or not very old. What year is it? I will see if i can find others and look at 5he pedal placement. It would be hard to make something to extend it. But it may be a bent wrong part.

I have had a customer bring in for service a John Deere with wood block extensions. Just 2x4 blocks held on with hose clamps. I offered to make something else for her, but she said she was happy with what she had. And she was substantially shorter than 5'3". If I made them, I would consider notching the 2x4s for better grip on the pedal. (like in the second picture)

Pull the deck off, remove the battery then put some cling wrap over the tank filler & replace the cap or drain the tank.
Stand the mower up on its back wheels so you can get underneath easily.
There are 2 adjustments on the clutch / brake and a third if you include belt length.
Firstly check there is no build up that is preventing the pedal returning fully.
The shaft should be fully vertical in that slot , not canting forward.

A belt that is too short will prevent the pedal returning but the most common thing is something stuck under the deck.
Send us a photo of the underside and in particular the belt run around the clutching pulleys.

There is an adjustment nut on the end of the brake rod, this is used to balance the clutching & braking so the mower dissengages drive just as the brake comes on.
The short brake lever has a bolt in the middle that is used to adjust the brake but people oft adjust the brake rod to make the brake stronger which leads to a pedal position like yours.

Craftsman design the mowers and other factories make them so we need the numbers from the tag under the seat to work out which company made the mower so we can give you the proper adjustment proceedures

jester5900 said:

It does look like it should be further up yes. How old is this machine? It looks new, or not very old. What year is it? I will see if i can find others and look at 5he pedal placement. It would be hard to make something to extend it. But it may be a bent wrong part.

Click to expand...

It is from 2011. A video I saw of it seems to show that is how it came out of the factory. https://youtu.be/MgclaIRzg_k?t=23 shows one and you an see it does not retract in the notch.

zman111666 said:

I have had a customer bring in for service a John Deere with wood block extensions. Just 2x4 blocks held on with hose clamps. I offered to make something else for her, but she said she was happy with what she had. And she was substantially shorter than 5'3". If I made them, I would consider notching the 2x4s for better grip on the pedal. (like in the second picture)

View attachment 34597View attachment 34598

Click to expand...

Yes I thought of that but that means I will be the only one will be using it . If there was quick on quick off way ...
However, Yes, I guess I will be using it the most and thus if the pedal can be adjusted.

I called Craftsman and they stated it was not adjustable.

Thanks, sounds interesting. ARe you familiar with this model or just spit balling? Craftsman stated it was not adjustable.

I will get you the seat info shortly.

bertsmobile1 said:

Pull the deck off, remove the battery then put some cling wrap over the tank filler & replace the cap or drain the tank.
Stand the mower up on its back wheels so you can get underneath easily.
There are 2 adjustments on the clutch / brake and a third if you include belt length.
Firstly check there is no build up that is preventing the pedal returning fully.
The shaft should be fully vertical in that slot , not canting forward.

A belt that is too short will prevent the pedal returning but the most common thing is something stuck under the deck.
Send us a photo of the underside and in particular the belt run around the clutching pulleys.

There is an adjustment nut on the end of the brake rod, this is used to balance the clutching & braking so the mower dissengages drive just as the brake comes on.
The short brake lever has a bolt in the middle that is used to adjust the brake but people oft adjust the brake rod to make the brake stronger which leads to a pedal position like yours.

Craftsman design the mowers and other factories make them so we need the numbers from the tag under the seat to work out which company made the mower so we can give you the proper adjustment proceedures

Click to expand...

mstar said:

It is from 2011. A video I saw of it seems to show that is how it came out of the factory. https://youtu.be/MgclaIRzg_k?t=23 shows one and you an see it does not retract in the notch.

Click to expand...

Are you serious ?
Go back and have another look at that video.
Battery wiring in the wrong place, discharge chute mangled at the end and pulley guard fractured through the mounting bolt hole so flapping in the breeze.
I hope that is not how they came out of the factory cause that mower looks like it has been around the neglect block many many many times.

mstar said:

Thanks, sounds interesting. ARe you familiar with this model or just spit balling? Craftsman stated it was not adjustable.

I will get you the seat info shortly.

Click to expand...

like quite a few on this list am a repair man so one or two have passed through the shop.
Am I intimate with the exact pedal arrangement on this particular mower, no which I why I asked for the numbers.
From the numbers I can find the IPL and from that work out the details of your mower, although a photo or two will make life a lot easier.
Craftsman is correct in saying the pedal height is not adjustable. It is not.
However it is affected by debris under the mower and the brake arm setting and the transmission position and the belt condition and a whole raft of other things.
So you pedal in a funny position might not be your problem, but rather a symptom of the actual problem.

Now this is an old mower so how about the full story.
Did you buy it new ?
If so has it always been like this ?
Did you buy it used ?
If so was the owner better than 6' tall ?

Remember we can not see , hear or touch your mower we only know what you tell us and if we only get 1/2 the story you will only get 1/2 the solution.
I have seen mowers with the brake backed off so far the mower rolls quite some distance before the drive kicks in and I have seen the opposite with the brake adjusted so far up the mower was burning through belts every season.
I have seen mowers with just about nothing holding the tranny in but the brake rod and other with so much debris blocking the movement of the clutch under the mower , the mower just crawled slightly faster than a snail on wet grass

It was used by a senior citizen ish type guy I was told used it maybe 10 times a season and it was garage kept. I bought it from his son who was selling the house after his father died.
The son was maybe 5/8 but anybody taller than me I have no idea what their height is. The sun stated that he only used it 5 times this past summer.
So that's the real story in history. I was also told that he had Sears come to regular maintenance on it since he bought it.

Seat label Model 247.288811
This was manufactured 5/2011 but the die hard battery was May 2012 so I don't think it was put into service until at least then.

As for lifting the font, I don't have a way to do that I don't have a garage or hanging limbs.

At 24 seconds it confirms it should come back further. However, seems like full brake is pretty far forward so if the pedal still had to travel as far , it would not help my issue. It is hard to tell if it would have to travel as far.

So an old stretched belt might do this. What about brake. I don't know how they work and are adjusted on this one to know if a worn pad needs more travel.
https://youtu.be/8GZ7rwDXPnE⅞u