Hi,I'm trying to reassemble the BBC on my john deere 12sb walk behind mower, it is 21" selfpropelled with a Briggs & Stratton 2 cycle motor. While I had the transmission apart to add grease, I pulled the lower half off of the brake clutch and now cannot reassemble it. I know the sequence that the parts go but can't compress the large washer enough to get the center bolt to grab the crankshaft. If anyone has experience with these clutches, any advice appreciated. http://s915.photobucket.com/albums/ac357/streamlight/?action=view&current=JohnDeere12SBBladeBrakeClutch.jpg http://s915.photobucket.com/albums/ac357/streamlight/?action=view&current=JohnDeere12SBBladeBrakeClutch002.jpg

I recently removed and reinstalled the electric clutch on my Craftsman GT5000, while doing some other repairs. I looked through all the Briggs & Stratton torque specfications. They specify virtually every fastener on the engine EXCEPT for the crankshaft PTO bolt. Mine is a 7/16 bolt with fine threads. For your request I, again, searched every Briggs document I have and found no specs for that torque. So, you might want to do what I did. I figured that the only mistake I could make was to torque it too much and break the bolt! So, I tightened the bolt to about 80 Ft-lbs, rememberimg that the rotation of the engine will tend to tighten the bolt more, so there is probably no risk of the bolt backing out by itself.

exmar, You wrote: "Almost never mow with this...". Well then....the best solution is to just remove the deck! However, if you want to repair the clutch, they are relatively simple mechanisms. I assume from your picture that your's is very similar to the Warner clutch shown in justalurker's pdf file. The bearings are sealed and probably OK. But if needed, they are relatively easy to replace, if you have a 'three leg puller'. Bearings cost only about $10 each. Most likely, your clutch is frozen due to rust. Since you don't use it very often, I would bet that the clutch surfaces have 'frozen' together with rust. These clutches do no not have any 'clutch material' like a car clutch. The clutch is a simple steel to steel clamp. All the better for rusting together... I would remove the clutch to see clearly if the two parts are fused together. Then you might be able to free them up simply by backing off the adjustments. I recently repaired a rusted clutch that way. If that does not work you might have to pull the pulley to free them. Galaxieman

cub cadet 2544 doesn't have a traction belt - has direct shaft drive.. OP - when you pull off that PTO clutch, you may be able to access the inner idler brg which is most likely frozen up. If you can replace just that brg, you may be able to save some $$$....Look for a number stamped on the brg flange and use it to match up a replacement at a brg shop..