20 Most Recent Craftsman 20 Hp 42" Deck Lawn Tractor - Page 5 Questions & Answers

None, read tammy answer 1 up.

I remove spindles,drilled and tap housings for fitting. In middle of housing. Remove inner seals on bearings. Light oil on idlers.

17hp with filter 4.0 pints.

What wrong?

check for a seized spindle bearing

check to make sure your cable is in tact its called a pto clutch cable about 20 buck on ebay it may be broke inside

check bearings of all spindles the belt drives Find the one that has seized and replace the bearings. They all suffer from water and dirt getting in

check ign coil , check air gap between coil and flywheel,

you most likely have a shorted or open safety switch. you did not mention year or model # so I can only guess what configuration you have, but typically there are the following safety switches on a riding lawn mower: clutch/brake on switch (under floorboard at clutch, this allows you to get off the tractor with engine running if brake is applied), Reverse gear safety switch (will shut engine off if attempting to go in reverse with blades on...follow the gear handle rod down to transmission, may be internal or external of differential), there is also usually a disable switch to allow blade operation in Reverse and this is usually relay operated via a button or turn of the key position, Seat safety switch (under seat and usually is disabled via engaging the clutch/brake switch, this switch will kill the motor if you come off of the seat unless brake is applied), and of course a switch that is tied in to tell when blades are engaged (engage handle or PTO switch). It is actually simpler than it sounds and you dont' need to be an electrician to figure it out. start out with a visual inspection of the switches that you can see. I would suspect the transmission position (reverse) switch first, do you have an override? if so, turn it on and see if engine stays running with blades engaged. hope this helps and here is a link to a company that deals mower parts and has alot of great parts breakdown illustrations online. A craftsman is pretty much the same as a MTD or White Outdoor model, so look those up and it will show you the areas where switches are.
http://www.superxpower.com/pages/parts/viewbybrand/55/HusqvarnaPowerEquipment.aspx

Possibly the safety switch under the seat is faulty.

your owner's manual has diagram. If you need one, come back.I'll find you one.

42 go to sears they have them also try ebay u may find 1 there i needed 1 for my sears ltx1000 went to ebay a bought a new 1 on auction for $175