?I have a craftsman model 247.203701 the blade engagement pulls the idler too far and the pulleys rub is the cable adjustable do you have a schematic

Check to see if your idler pulley is moving freely to engage the deck. There are two pulleys that keep tension on the belt when engaged while at the same time releasing the blade brakes.

Hi Terry:
As good luck would have it, I have one of these mowers.
As I see it, there are only two adjustments possible:
1) the for/aft positioning of the mower deck as determined by the length of the central front deck positioning rod.
2) the amount of tension on the spring that holds the engage idler against the belt. That can be changed by moving the bracket that anchors the spring.
I've had my unit for several years now and replaced blades, spindles, and pulleys (I mow far too many rocks) but never had to adjust the blade drive belt.
Hope this helps

Most likely either your deck engagement cable is broken or has came the idler pulley.

Cable PN 946-04173E

Hi, first check the spring that pulls on the idler pulley for lost tension then run the blades for a 10 to 15 minutes at half to full throttle. This is necessary to bed the new belt into the old pulleys. Regards Phil.

check the idler pulley

On a lot of Craftsman decks that are cable operated, the right side idler pulley is the tensioning pulley and at the top of the bolt that holds it in place is a hole for a retaining clip. With clip removed, slide the cable end over the post and install the clip. The cable will be kinda loose with the blades disengaged, but it will not come off. By the way make sure that the cable is routed through the holder towards the back of the deck and is properly secured.

First things first! Before you installed the new belt, did you check the blades and idler pulleys to see if they all turned freely with no resistance while the belt was off and the blade brakes released? Release the blade brakes by engaging the handle with the engine off!
When you installed the new belt, did you put the back side of the belt against the flat pulleys and the inside of the belt in the V-pulleys? Did you double check to make sure you didn't inadvertently miss a belt guide getting the belt on the outside of it instead of underneath it. Did you look at the picture in your owners manual to make sure you had it routed correctly and make sure it is not rubbing against anything when you have the blade lever engaged? CHECK THIS WITH THE ENGINE OFF If you don't have your owners manual, look under the foot boards on the tractor, many of the Sears tractors have the routing diagrams there. If it is not there you can go to searspartsdirect.com , enter model number 917.257644 (NOTE the number difference) and look at the picture of the deck, it shows what the belt should look like when it is installed. You can also download an owners manual there. As best as I can remember, there is no adjustment for the idler pulleys.

Sounds like you PTO cable is broken. Part # 175067. It goes from the lever on the dash down to a deck mount and hooks to the idler pulley. When you lift the lever, it should pull the pulley and idler arm towards the rear of the deck to tighten the belt to engage the blades.

Pull the belt cover off on the side of the engage lever and you will see that it is not a wire cable that engages the idler pulley. It's a rod connected to a long spring. Perhaps the spring came off or is defective as it puts tension on the idler pulley against the drive belt when you engage the blades. Further, there is a return spring to pull the idler pulley away from the drive belt when you disengage the blades. Check all the connections for the springs and see that the engage lever is mounted tightly. Also check the idler pulley itself.

Remove the housing with the machine off

The idler pulley is designed to push up against the outside of the belt between the drive and motor pulleys when disegaged the belt should look like a loop like a race track

engage the blade clutch and watch to see if it presses up against the drive pully and the motor pulley

their should be a spring attached to the idler arm and i believe the new belt is dragging a little

you should be able to move the belt with your hands ( it should slip freely) rod is engaged or it pulls the idler away

Either a spring causes tension when the rod is engaged or it pulls the idler away

Keep working with it until it is free you may have an adjustment on the spring tension or the linkage rod has an adjustment

I am sure you can do this without an diagram good luck