Not the seat safety switch, seems to work fine. I was thinking perhaps it might be the ignition switch. When attempting to get it to work properly, I stopped and restarted it a couple of times. One time the electric starter kept running even with turning the ignition switch off, until I turned it on and off several times. Thanks for everyones imput.

I have to agree with blazerk. You gave the deck model as 917.253820 and looking at the IPL online, that is a "shur nuff 2 beltdeck" drive with 3 pulleys on the deck. Are you the original owner of the tractor? I would like to see some pics of the deck if possible. I have no trouble with the concept of a single serpentine blet configuration, my old Huskee 4218 uses that, with a blet (I know how to spell, this is to confound the new "key word advertising" Garden Web has begun to use, misspell the word and it will not be turned into an ad link) 108" X 1/2", so I don't doubt the length you are coming up with, the problem here is that everything we see from the posted numbers shows a 2 belt system. So with that in mind, either somebody has put a different model deck on it (where did you see the deck model number?) or Sears parts system is in worse shape than I previously thought.

Metal. You don't own this lawn. This is a lawn party that anyone can attend. I certainly did not say that owning a tractor without a RIO makes you comparable to a drunk driver who kills people. Check my post again and see if you can find that statement. As for taking the tags off mattress's and pillow's, that law stops when the end-user buys the product. It is there to protect the end-user from receiving product that does not contain virgin material. Your analogy with the C10 you own is totally off the mark. The issue here has to do with people on this forum telling other members that defeating/disconnecting safety devices is perfectly OK and then giving lessons on how to go about it. And I as I said earlier, if you think that the current RIO configuration does more harm than good, then invent something better, patent it and then licence it to the manufacturers. But if you're unable to come up with a better idea, then why not stop telling others how to disconnect them? What is being served by doing so? It does not matter that your tractor is not equipped with a RIO from the factory. I own 15 tractors that are also not equipped with one but I wouldn't help disable someone's tractor that came with one. What also doesn't matter is YOUR personal opinion about the effectiveness of RIO's. Your opinion is not shared by the people who wrote the law that mandates RIO's. If and when statistics show that the RIO law isn't working, then the legislators will come up with something different. Keep in mind that the legislators themselves didn't design the RIO's. They went to the industry and told them that the statistics showed far too many people (including children) were being run over by lawn/garden tractors when the operator put them into reverse. They then told the manufacturer's to come up with a solution to fix this problem on their own because it is in the best interests of the industry to collectively solve this problem. Every time someone is injured, it costs money to try and undo that injury. Whenever someone sues as a result of an injury, someone pays. More often than not, it is the various insurance companies that end up paying. Now, I hate insurance companies as much as the next guy but the fact remains that insurance companies have to make a profit just like any other company, to stay in business. If they have to constantly pay out money as a result of injuries and lawsuits, then those losses are reflected in the premiums everyone pays. And if someone is injured or killed, then who knows what sort of loss society as a whole may incur as a result? There's a much bigger picture here than just the one that shows your lawn.

"Is there a lawn tractor similar to the Snappers that is easy to work with?" ---------------- There is! I'm also a senior, just bought a new Simplicity Regent 26hp/52". Dealer knocked off $400 and I got three years at 0% factory financing. Has a hydrostatic drive, push on foot peddle to go forward or back, no gears to shift of clutch to hold down. Has cruise control if you need it on straight aways. Hour meter to keep track of servicing. Blades engage/disengage with electric switch on the dash. Can continue to mow backing up (separate switch for this, hit it once and it stays on). Deck is really easy to remove. Pull two small pins by hand, (they're not under any tension at all), push belt lever to release belt and then unhook deck carrier from front mount. Actually did it in just over 30 seconds this weekend. Not kidding, in less than a minute I had the deck off and slid out. Deck pulls out and stands up vertically for service blades or spray fitting with lube. My last tractor took 1/4 hr (or more) of back breaking work to unhook the deck and drag it out. Had 6 pins that had to be pulled, (had to use a pliers to pull them), belt was a real bear to get off, pinched fingers every time, then wiggling it out from under the tractor it would catch on one or another bracket, etc. Used to hate it so much I stopped servicing the blades.) The Simplicity has an outstanding cut, leaves stripes in yard when finished. Turns on a dime (actually 14" diameter turning radius.) And the steering is almost as good as power steering. Not kidding. So much easier than my last tractor. Can steer with one finger when underway. No where near the effort compared to my last tractor. (It was a Ranch King, made by AYP, same as Craftsman). So far I have only two complaints. One is the belt release lever is a real stinker to move as the spring is so tight. I solved this by making an extension lever that hooks over the end of the existing lever, and now can push to to it's full release without struggling. (Cut the force required to release the belt to less than half what it was.) Second is the floating deck doesn't really come off the ground when the deck is set to cut at 4". So I have to crank deck down to 1" cut and it lifts off ground. Think I have this figured out however, if I substitute shorter deck lift cables (different part numbers) should solve problem. A fella in a different forum noticed this and figured it out. I tell you, this tractor is so easy to use and service, the neighbor kid could do it. (But he ain't going to get the chance, heh.)