We inherited A Craftsman Yardmaster lawn tractor. It is at least eight years old. Is there a mulching conversion kit available for the mower deck (42")?

it covers the hole on the deck

Try lowering the deck on the mower, it might be too high and it's just sucking the leaves up without cutting them

Have you looked beneath the deck with someone engaging or disengaging the blade lever? Get underneath and observe how the belt travels from the engine pulley back, and follow it in the loop it travels to see how it works with the lever engaged and disengaged.

I too have had that same problem. I found that "old" blades when repeatidly sharpened and worn will cause the same problem, also aftermarket blades instead of original manufactures recommended blades may not be dimensionally correct, too short. I have had to go back to using original blades to correct the problem.
This should work for you.
Good luck.

On a two blade deck, such as yours, there is generally an overlap between the cutting coverage of the blades so that you do not leave a mohawk. This does not work well on turns however, and the sharper the turn, the more grass is left. Overcoming that issue brings you up to a 3 blade deck. If your mower is leaving a strip of uncut grass while cutting in a straight line, somehow you are running blades for a smaller deck, thus there is no overlap. The mandrels are offset, one slightly in front of the other so that the blades do not hit each other. I would measure under the deck and see how long a blade could be and still fit within the deck and not strike the other blade, then ask a parts store to sell you something longer than what you have now.

They make a mulch cover for the discharge chute and a good set of mulcher blades. You need the 9 digit model number from the label under the seat and you can get them from sears

Parts for your riding mower (except engine) should be available through www.searspartsdirect.com for at least 10 years from date of mfg and sometimes as long as 30 years. When you go to the website, you will need the tractors model number. It is located on a sticker on top of the rear fender assembly. Raise the seat to see it. It probably looks something like 917.385880 . The engine parts are available through sears or through other online sources such as www.partstree.com or www.milacalawn.com . For engine parts, you will need the model and serial numbers from the engine. These numbers are usually located on a metal plate that is riveted to the upper shroud, or on a sticker on the side of the upper shroud. Find a local mower repair shop, they will also have access to these parts for you. Your local shop will usually be alittle higher in price, but will offer installation advice that is priceless.
Good luck!

having trouble with mulching unit on 22hp tractor.Mulching kit installed by dealer at time of purchase.What is happening is grass is kicking up on the top of the mowing unit,covering the belts and everything else.I need to do a major cleaning every time I use the tractor.Any one got some solution.

I have seen dull blades, blades not installed right and an un-level deck cause that.

Hope this helps.

Sounds like you may have made a common mistake, getting one or both of the blades upside down.