Grabby clutch on the old Craftsman

Greenfrog

Member
Replaced main drive belt on the craftsman lawn tractor. Seems to be grabby when the clutch is let out. Upon examination the belt seems to be a bit sticky. Belt from Amazon.
Any explanation? Thx in advance.
 
(quoted from post at 17:11:54 03/20/22) Replaced main drive belt on the craftsman lawn tractor. Seems to be grabby when the clutch is let out. Upon examination the belt seems to be a bit sticky. Belt from Amazon.
Any explanation? Thx in advance.

I don't think it's typical for a lawn mower belt clutch to be the smoothest operating thing in the world to start with???

If you are using the tractor to mow or garden and there's any dust and debris blowing around the belt won't be "sticky" long.
 
I have the same problem with a Sabre tractor I have. The belt grabs and actually seems to be rubbing when clutch pedal is down making the tractor hard to shift out of gear. The belt was a real bear to replace otherwise I probably would have returned it.
I'm even thinking about lubing it. HA!
 
If you installed a plain black rubber belt, they are sticky when new.
There are wrapped belts that can be green or blue and those aren't so grabby.
The sticky black belt will dry out and lose that stickiness over time, though.
 
Since you don't say what model Craftsman tractor you have, its hard to tell.

You do call it a 'main drive belt'. Which leads me to believe that your Craftsman has two belts, a long one and a short one and if so, it was probably made by MTD.

If that is the case, from my experience, those almost never work well unless you install the correct OEM belts and also change both belts at one time.

The correct belts are wrapped with a Kevlar cover, so when they are slackened, like when you push the clutch in, they can slip easily. They also seem to have a non-standard cross section, which probably helps they work fairly smoothly in their intended application.
 
GOOD EVENING, T.R.K: I am late to the discussion; Does the craftsman use something similar to the Deere variator? they seem to be sensitive to belt issues. My Deere model 212 claims to have a clutch, but it seems to just slacken the v-belts to *act* as a clutch.

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.
 
If your mower has two levers. One that is forward, Neutral, reverse. And one lever that is six speeds. There are two belts. You must replace both belts at the same time to get it to work correctly. I have replaced several sets over the years. Got my belts from carquest through their Prime Line of mower parts. never had a problem with any of their belts.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top