Craftsman 917.270723 idler pully assembly

[bkenobi]

That sounds about right. I checked the pulleys this evening ad they are solid. When I pick up the deck by the hooks, the arm closes the gap and comes in conact with the pulley.

I'll check the weld to see what it looks like.

This is with no load on the hooks.

 

[bkenobi]

This is with the hook being pulled on.View attachment 510746

 

[woody]

Looks like it could be the bolt that holds the arm. it may be worn or the hole in the deck is worn and allowing it to pull up and into the pulley.

 

[bkenobi]

The mower repair shop said it could just be that the brake pad is worn out. When that happens, the arm gets pulled up toward the pulley. The pad is down to bare metal anyway, so may just replace them as a start.

 

[tomplum]

A missing pad could spark at the end where it contacts the pulley, but will never cause wear at the top of the arm.

 

[bkenobi]

I have just the one picture from the 6th post to work with to reinstall the spring. It may be good enough, but if anyone has something better/additional/written installation instructions/etc.

 

[bkenobi]

I installed new lever/brake arms on both sides since the pads have worn through. Upon my first test, I heard bad sounds and saw sparks again. It appears that when the deck is installed, the lever arm closes the gap. I thought perhaps a spacer was missing, so I pulled the deck and removed the pulley. Well, there is a missing spacer, but I think I found the real issue!

 

[woody]

to bad your not closer, I have one of those on the shelf in my shop. we have several craftsman mowers in the family so I keep one handy.

 

[bkenobi]

I'm going to order a backup since they apparently don't last forever. I replaced both sides a few years back so I'm surprised this one grenaded. Btw, can someone confirm how many spacers are supposed to be installed? I have 1 on the top side of the pulley bur none on the bottom on that side. There are 2 (1 above/1 below) on the other side. The schematic shows 1 below only.

 

[bkenobi]

Fwiw, I replaced the shattered mandrel and shaft. The idler arms are new as well. As expected, everything's working like a champ.