Sears Craftsman riding lawn mower help

[coolbrze]

A friend (not in the landscaping biz ) has a 15 yr. old Craftsman 14.5 Hp riding lawn mower and was cutting grass in the rain a few weeks ago. He said the wet grass started jamming up the mower blades but kept cutting anyway. Afterwards it seemed as if the belt stretched as anytime you'd hit thicker grass it would start to bog down. He just called & told me that it's gotten real bad, when you hit thick grass (that it should be able to cut easily) it bogs down and starts to squeal and both the blades & engine RPMs slow down considerably. I told him I wasn't sure what it was but that it sounds like the clutch, any ideas, other than not cutting w/ a POS in the rain?!

 

[rekees4300]

Sounds like the deck is getting clogged with wet grass buildup and the squealing noise is probably a belt slipping. Solution is to tighten and/or replace belt(s) and cut dry grass. Wet grass is REALLY hard on mowers.

 

[twoone]

HI'
I have one of these myself been using it almost every week all these years I'ed bet it's the belt that squeal tell you that it's probably worn and the wet grass surely put a load on it. wonder what the blades look like. Paul
p/s I still have the owners manual and parts list if I can offer any further help please contact me.

 

[KubotainNH]

There's probably an inch or 2 of grass stuck to the bottom of the deck slowing the blades down. That and dull blades. Mowing heavy wet grass means the need to do a good wash under the deck right after mowing. Seeing the motor is actually slowing down I don't think the belt is slipping much. So check the blades, the underside of the deck and make sure everything spins freely when the belt is disengaged.

 

[mostly_gas]

If a belt does not help then start checking spring tension, slop in the spindles, and the like.