Mower deck is stuck in down (mowing) position

raise the mower put a block on the rim of the deck so the blade does not turn remove the bolt on that holds the blade in place sharpen and replace in reverse order

Sounds like you have jammed linkages which raise and lower deck, you can try this which usually works best with assistant.
With engine off, shake the deck vigorously (up,down, back and forth) while try to raise deck with lever.
Check for worn or damaged arms, springs, deck mounting points, etc and repair or replace.

Raise your deck in high grass, sharpen your blades and turn the throttle up to full speed captain. Check your belts. Good Luck...

Hi, the best way us to raise the front of the mower and use a rattle gun to undo them. If you do not have one you can place a block of wood between a blade and the deck. The blades will be tight and are a normal right hand thread. Hope this helps, regards Phil.

I own a Craftsman rider, DTY 4000, 25 HP Kohler, 48" cut, 137 Hrs. It eats a belt about every mowing or two. Did all the stuff you did. Good luck from Sears. Had cousin who is owns a lawn & garden repair business look at it today. Says the prob. is this - The drive belt pulley (elec clutch) has too a narrow "V" and the angle of wear between it and the deck when the deck is in the lowered (mowing) position is too severe. If you notice with the deck in the fully raised position the pulleys line up perfectly. Then drop your deck and see how tightly bent the belt is downward and it makes sense as to why(my) belt would first roll over then break in a few minutes. The elec clutch pulley is sold as one unit PT No. 179334 $250.00, but I'm sure it would come with the same narrow V pulley. Waiting for word from my cousin. My last Sears Mower. Cannot even sell it in good faith.

This can be happening from a couple of reasons, first if your grass is too damp this will happen with almost any mower, wait till the lawn dries out before cutting, you may be cutting the lawn when it is too high, try cutting it twice a week maybe this will help, you may try to raise the cut setting eliminating the amount of grass clippings that you have accumulated, if you are mulching or using the bag be sure the chute is clear, and lastly be sure you are running at a higher speed to push through the terrain.
Happy Mowing!!

did you check blade belt and check to see if blade is bent if not you have a broke blade houseing

raise the deck and drive up on ramps. remove blade retainer bolt then blade. be sure to notice which side of blade is down.

Park the tractor on a firm, level surface. . .
At the lower end of the lift/lower travel slot, there should be a plastic cover which you pop up so that your blade lift handle goes all the way down (it should say something about blade level on there somewhere. . . . .
After you have the handle in this position, look at the front lift arms of the mower deck and find the 2 large wing nuts, one on each side. . . . .
Loosen these while the deck is down and then retighten them Your deck is now level and will lift to its highest recommended position when you raise the lever

a lot of problems here.try this.[grass buildup]. usually cause by damp grass or blades not going fast enough to throw into box.engine cutout is then caused by grass jamming blade[s]. backfire is usually too much choke or wrong petrol/air mixture.re bent grass.try cutting driving in reverse[if strip is wide cos of back tyre then blade is uneven.]