I hit a woodchuck hole while mowing which caused the engine to stop when the deck bottomed out. The blade is disengaged and the shift lever is in neutral and the drivers seat is depressed but the engine won't turn over. There's no apparent damage to the deck ofr mower. Craftsmen 42" model #247.288811

Safety and Preparation Serious injury can occur if the engine or mower blades accidentally start while you are working with lawn tractors. To prevent this, drive the Murray lawn tractor onto a flat work surface and disengage the mowing deck cutting blades. Engage the parking brake to keep the mower from moving; chock the wheels with a wooden block or brick. Adjust the mowing deck to the lowest position. Turn off the engine and remove the key from the ignition. While not necessary, you may even wish to disconnect the spark plug wire from the spark plug. Mowing Deck Removal You must remove the mowing deck on a Murray lawn tractor to gain access to the belts. Remove the adjustment rod hairpins, followed by the adjustment rod pins from the front left and right sides of the mowing deck. At the rear on the left and right sides, pull out the retaining hairpins and slide the mowing deck suspension links from the adjuster plates to separate the rear mowing deck from the frame. Remove the blade control rod stud, including the hairpin and washer, from the top of the blade control lever shift linkage at the left rear of the deck. Remove the front hanger rod, including the hairpin and flat washer that hold the rod in place. Loosen the belt guide retaining bolts with a socket wrench and remove the engine stack pulley belt so you can slide the mower deck out from under the tractor Transmission Drive Belt Installation Slide the new transmission drive belt between the engine stack pulley belt guides, over the belt guide plate and under the engine stack pulley. Fit the transmission drive belt around the top engine stack pulley. Push the free end of the transmission drive belt up through the transmission shifter hole in the lawn tractor floorboard. Slip the transmission drive belt loop over the transmission shifter. Pull the transmission drive belt down through the transmission shifter hole. Fit the transmission drive belt around the transmission drive pulley and tighten the transmission drive pulley belt guide retaining bolts to hold it in place. Fit the transmission drive belt flat side around the idler pulley. Slide the idler pulley onto the idler pulley stud while holding the belt in place. Tighten the transmission idler pulley retaining nut with a socket wrench to secure the idler pulley to the idler pulley stud. Mowing Deck Drive Belt Installation Pull back on the right side mowing deck mandrel pulley spring-tensioned belt retainer. Guide the new mowing deck drive belt around the right side mandrel pulley and release the belt retainer. Pull the drive belt spring-tensioned retainer away from the mowing deck idler pulley, guiding the deck drive belt around the idler pulley. Fit the mowing deck drive belt around the left side mandrel pulley and under the rear mowing deck cross link rod between the right and left side mandrel pulley. Slide the mowing deck under the right side lawn tractor frame, reconnecting the deck to the frame in reverse order of removal. Engage and disengage the mower deck while driving the mower to test the belt for proper operation.

Did the smoking stop when you disengaged the blades? If so it is most likely your belt that is smoking. Make sure all the blades turn freely by hand to ensure you have not hit anything that may have bent a shaft on one of the blades. If one of the shafts is bent and wont turn FREELY, the belt driving the blades would slip and start smoking as it tried to turn them.

With the mower turned off and the deck at its lowest setting, check the top of the deck for any debris like rocks or sticks. Then watch the top of the deck while you move the engage lever. If nothing is moving, you either need to adjust the cable, reattach the cable, or install a new cable. If you see the lever with the pulley on it moving, when the engage lever is locked on, check the tightness of the belt. If it's loose, that is your problem and it could be a stretched belt.

check your return spring on the deck. it goes from hole in bracket welded to deck to hole in moving lever that one of the deck pulleys is attached to. if spring is missing or broke, it will not dissengage or may dissengage slowly. If spring is there, the moving lever may have debris under it or may be bent. If spring is there, remove deck and try pushing the pully with the spring to see if it breaks free.

The belts may be loose.With the mower off,engage the blades and check the tension.Next would be to get under the mower and check for debris in and around the lever that engages the blades.Sometimes trash will get hung up in there and the blades will disengage.The next step would be to inspect the pulleys for debris and to make sure the spindles are not bent.While at the pulleys make sure there are no burrs or cacks in the pulleys,as that will cause the blades to disengage.

Hi, re check your hanging bracket positions if it was ok before changing blades as been incorrect will cause the deck to travel to far when disengaging the blades, regards Phil

If this mower has a manual lever that has to be pushed up in order to engage the blades then check the tension pulley that connects to the lever cable on the top of the deck,it probably need to be lubricated or cleaned in order to move freely back to the normal position.

Hi,
When the mower is off and the clutch is disengaged you should not be able to physically turn the blade(s) if you can then you need to adjust the blade brake (look on the mower deck and you should see what appears to be a brake pad). Your owners manual will show you how to adjust. If you need a copy of the owners manual then I would suggest going to www.managemyhome.com and downloading a free copy of the manual for your mower (Need model number which starts is located under the seat).
Good luck!

Sometimes the belt can jump off one pulley and cause the problem,follow the belt around all the pulleys and see if it came off one.there may be a belt loosening lever on the lh side of the mower deck, if so unlock it and reroute the belt around the pulley. If you need to replace the belt the manual has a good description on how to do it and should take 30 min with only a couple of tools.

Lawn mowers in general can be dangerous, but riding mowers and lawn tractors are even more so. Some models have better safety features than others. You’ll want to look for, at the very least: * A system that prevents the engine from starting unless the blade is disengaged and the machine is in neutral. * An automatic blade shut-off that stops the mowing blades if you stand up rather than sit on the machine, or if you leave the mower/tractor. * A system that stops the blade if you shift into reverse, or at least a lock that requires you to make a deliberate decision to mow in reverse.