Disassemble the carburetor and give it a judicious cleanout using spray carb cleaner and compressed air. You might also want to post the engine model number and the Craftsman technical model number (9 digit number under the seat). Of course, if this machine has a fuel cutoff solenoid valve on the carburetor, that might not be working and could cause the same symptom you are reporting. Take your can of "starting fluid" and throw it in the trash. You should not use it on these light duty engines. Spray carburetor cleaner is much safer (for the engine) to use as an alternate fuel by spraying into the carb throat when diagnosing fuel problems.

try to jack up the tractor so the rear wheels are off the ground. start it up and put it in drive/foward and see if whats left of the axle spins as it should. if ok, then try in reverse as well. if still ok, then try to grab the opposite wheel that is spinning and attempt to put a load on it as it spins slowly, this might take two people. if still ok. then do what the previous poster said and get it welded at a welding shop. there is a possibility that something is floating around inside the hydro unit causing this thing to jam up, like a broken gear tooth or maybe just a lot of ground up metal or dirt. rtu sealant can cause this problem as well, if the hydraulic pump has no screen to prevent things like this from getting into it. so I would flush and change the hydro fluid and filter as well. If the axle does not spin as it should while in gear, then you will need to open the trans case up and inspect it very closely, and try to find what is broken. if nothing, then I would suspect the pump itself. if something broken, try to find a replacement at sears service center. if this is not possible, swap it for a new transmission. you can try www.surpluscenter.com for a new, bolt in lawn tractor transmission. try to see if they can cross reference your part number or model number to one of theirs. hope this helps. altbob

Thanks for the tip about the JD forum, rcbe! I didnâÂÂt know that existed but I visited there last night (havenâÂÂt posted anything yet) and it does seem that all those âÂÂJDâ types hang out there! LOL I took a pic with the tension rod engaged and disengaged. I took an eyeball measurement of how far the pulley moves forward when it is engaged and it is about 3/4 of an inch which sounds about right to me. Now here is the interesting part: Thanks to jimmy56 (and I have no idea why I didnâÂÂt think of this!), I put the deck back on and got out the string and, when the tension rod is engaged the length of the string is 60 and 1/4 inches. The belt for the 48 inch deck according to the documentation (M143019) is 63.386 effective length (outside circumference) and is supposed to be .410 thick making the inside curcumference just a hair short of 63 inches. That is 2 1/4 inches longer than my string measurement! I'm not sure what to make of this but I have made absolutely sure that the deck is assembled correctly and attached to the tractor correctly. I can't vouch for all of the parts (like the deck hanger) being the correct part but I was told it was 'fine' the last time it was used to mow (which has been more than a year now). Thanks for all the suggestions to date. This is a great forum full of great people. I think I will cross post this over to weekendfreedommachine forum and see if any of the JD heads have any advice. Stil very open to any other advice if this latest post clicks with anyone!

Thanks for all the follow up guys. I read all your comments, 3 & 4 times, and then went ahead and ordered the Craftsman anyway. I couldn't overlook the 9 good years I remembered with it and couldn't get past the $2K extra for the Simplicity. Well I ordered the tractor on a Thursday and it couldn't be delivered until the following Monday as Sears was out of stock, On Monday I got a call from them that there was a delay and I couldn't get it until Wednesday. On Wednesday I got a call that it wouldn't be delivered until Friday. As I had taken the afternoon off from work that day to accept the delivery, I had some time to reflect on some of the tractor's past issues like its problem with leaves in the fall. Every year, because of its design, leaves would get caught in the frame and would come into contact with the muffler and catch fire. I started blowing the leaves separately each year to avoid that, but eventually the tractor caught fire at some point anyway. Usually I could just clear it out with a stick, but last year, the fire was so big, I had to run to the house to get a fire extinguisher before the fuel lines ruptured. Strangely enough, although scarred, the damn thing kept running. Then there was the time that a delivery truck pulled into the driveway while I was mowing and surprised me. I shut the engine off too quickly and was rewarded with the loudest backfire I'd ever heard. About 20 minutes later I tried to restart it, but it just turned over without catching. After a couple of hours I tried again and it fired up. From that point on, it would start only when cool, but as soon as it heated up, the engine would die and not restart until it cooled off sufficiently. So I called out the trusty Sears repairman who, after much headscratching, told me I needed a new carburator for only $350. I'm fairly handy and the facts and diagnosis just didn't match up, so I put him off while I thought about it. After much research and a talk with a great guy from a Massachusetts Koehler distributor, I finally determined that it was the ignition module that had gone bad and the backfire was probably unrelated and coincidental. I changed out the module and the tractor was back to normal. Had I allowed the Sears service guy to replace the carburator, I would have been out $350 and still scratching my head along with him. There are other stories, but life is short. By the time Sears called me the next day and rescheduled again for the following Monday, despite not being able to understand a single word the woman on the other end of the phone was saying, I had utterly changed my mind and cancelled the Craftsman. I called up a Simplicity dealer I had spoken to earlier and made a good deal with him and the Conquest 23/50 was delivered two days later, fresh out of the crate, prepped, primed, and ready to go. The delivery guy was also a repairmen and went through the whole tractor with me and even gave me some advise on the leaf blower I was having trouble with, which proved to correct the problem. I mowed the lawn that day with the new Conquest and it sliced through the 5 weeks of growth like a hot knife through butter. It didn't even hesitate and didn't leave one ragged spot on the lawn. It was great. I still don't know if it's worth an additional $2K. I guess only time will tell. But it's shiny and new and works like a charm. I have a great dealer to help me when I need it and I'm a very happy guy. As for the Craftsman, I'm not putting any money into it except to buy a used snow/dozer blade if I can find a cheap one. And since it won't seem to die, I'll plow snow with it until it does. Thanks for all your help. It's been an experience.