There is a big, wrap-around lifting bar in the front of my Husky used to raise the engine assembly off the mowing deck but I can't figure out how to free the engine assembly so I can pivot it up to expose the 48" deck for maintenance. Crawling on my belly while the mower is on blocks is not my favorite way of addressing the mowing deck.

Had friend with same problem she called dealer and they told her to pull up as hard as she could with lift let go with her weight on lift. Seems that the bar on deck goes past certain point and will not go back down without brute force.

be sure the battery is fully charged. be sure the blades are sharp. be sure there is no grass or string or wire wrapped around the spindles under the deck. be sure it is firing on both cylinders . be sure the belt is in good shape .

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.

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.

Should be relatively simple. There are 4-5 cotter pins that connect the mowing deck to the bottom of the mower. Pull the pins, push the metal rods out, and remove the deck!

Instructions1 Place the riding mower on a level surface and set the emergency brake. Open the engine or tilt the seat back to gain access to the battery. Disconnect the negative battery cable with a socket. Turn off the main fuel petcock valve from the tank to the carburetor. Set the attachment clutch in the "Disengage" position. Set the motion control lever to neutral. Place the mower deck lift lever in its lowest position to drop the deck.
2 Pull the belt against the engine drive pulley, then pull upward on it and slip it off the pulley. Unclasp the small clutch retainer spring from the pulley bolt. Detach the big retaining spring and then slide the collar sleeve off. Shove the housing guide out from the br
3 Pull the retainer springs off that hold the rear suspension arms to the rear mower deck bracket. Disconnect the front link arms that hold the front of the mower deck to the chassis. Pull the lift lever to put the suspension arms at full height.
4 Slide the mower deck out from the bottom of the tractor. Tilt the mower deck and prop it up with wood blocks. Use a stiff cleaning brush to remove all mud, twigs and grass clumps. Wipe the top of the deck and undercarriage with a rag.
5 Un-thread the belt from around the idler and mandrel pulley. Place the new belt around the mandrel pulley and idler pulley first, then stretch it up to the drive pulley and loop it into the pulley grooves. Make sure the V part of the belt rests inside the pulley.
6 Use the lever to raise the suspension arms on the deck. Push the deck back under the tractor. Lower the suspension arms and replace all the retaining springs in reverse or the order in which you removed them. Slide the sleeve back into position and secure it with the spring. Reattach the spring to the anti-sway bar. Shove the housing guide back into its bracket.
7 Raise the mower deck with the lever. Reconnect the negative battery cable with a socket. Turn on the fuel petcock valve. Start the engine and engage the main drive lever. Test-drive.

THanks

Generically speaking for most decks, stand at the back of the deck with it removed from the tractor. Take a marker if needed and draw arrows on the deck to show which way the blades should be turning. Typically the leading edge (front of the deck) of the blades spins toward the side discharge. Belts are almost ALWAYS routed to provide as close to 180 degrees of wrap around the pulleys as possible, never less than 120 degrees as that would cause too much slippage. Wrap the belt around the blade pulleys and you will have quite a bit of belt left over. That gets used to wrap around the spring mounted idler Look at the spring mounted idler. You want the belt to go around the idler in such a way that it will pull against the spring, not push against the spring. A little patience and a little logic, and you can figure out just about any deck belt routing with no drawing.

A FEW THINGS TO LOOK AT ARE ,1THE PULLY SHIELDSMAKE SURE THEY AREN'T BENT TO CLOSE TO THE PULLEY'S.2 THE PULLEY BEARING'S MAY BE WORE OUT AND TO BREAK .3LOOK UNDER THE DECK TO MAKE SURE YOU DIDN'T GET SOMETHING TRAPED IN THE CUTTING DECK.HOPE THIS HELPED.