I bought this 38-inch Craftsman lawn tractor, which I think is from model-year 2008, off Facebook Marketplace a couple of years ago for next to nothing. I bank rolled what I got for the even older Cub Cadet I had bought off Craigslist in 2017 into it too. So, I had a functional tractor with a bagger for a fraction for what these go for new these days. Go, me! Best is, it has given me little trouble in the three summers I've had it. That was until I rode it over the cast iron water meter in my front yard with the blades engaged several weeks ago.
I've always been careful going over this thing but that day I guess I clonked it just right. Or wrong. Due to a high water table in our sub-division, our lawn has been slowly sinking, and our water meter now sticks up like a massive pimple. The day I rode over it, a "CLANK" rang out so loud every dog, cat and bearded dragon on our block ran for cover.
How hard could it be to get a new belt? Well, Craftsman didn't make many tractors with 38-inch decks, and the parts and serial numbers were as hard to decipher as hieroglyphics. Folks at Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply and Menards were little help. They meant well, but even the ones who knew what a "PTO" switch was were as clueless as I was.
I bought a belt at Menards labeled for a 38-inch deck, but I struggled like hell to get it on. I ultimately was able to pry it on with a screwdriver, but it was so tight, the engine wouldn't crank. I popped it off and it turned over. Whew. I thought I somehow seized the sucker; stranger things have happened. Obviously, I needed a belt with a larger circumference. I know, I know. Measure the old one. Well, I would have, but idiot over here threw it out the day it broke.
Half-a-dozen belts later, some too small, some too big, I found one at Lowes I felt fit snug enough yet had enough slack that the engine would crank with the blades not engaged. Wouldn't you know it, though? When I went to start the engine, the battery was dead; someone (me) had left the key in "lights on" mode and although the bulbs are burned out, there's still a draw on the battery. Strangely, it was so dead, my Harbor Freight juicer couldn't charge it. Odd. AutoZone tested it, it was fine, and they charged it for me.
Got back home, plopped the fully charged battery in, hooked it up, jumped on my rig and all I got was a "thunk-thunk", and...oblivion. The. Ferk. A couple of YouTube videos helped me deduce it was either my starter was fried or the starter solenoid was toast. Again, the battery tested fine, and it was fully charged.
I pulled the starter and had AutoZone test it and it worked fine. Must be the solenoid, right? I picked up a new one at Home Depot for $15.
Semi-decent YouTube videos I found made it seem as though replacing the solenoid, which is a switch that sends battery voltage to the starter after you turn the ignition key to on, is a snap. Naturally, that wasn't the case on my Craftsman as it's buried under the seat behind the battery tray, not conveniently next to the starter like it is on tractors in the YouTube videos.
I won't bore you with the details but know just finding this little SOB let alone figure out how to get it out and back in was an f-bomb filled, wrench throwing, knuckle scraping afternoon. In fact, one of the toughest "DIY's" I've ever done; and I've rebuilt cars, repaired large and small appliances, remodeled bathrooms and kitchens and removed hornets' nests by hand. I like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain. gum and coffee too.
I did get it in, eventually, and then, good grief, the old "thunk-thunk" was back. No go. Growing increasingly despondent, because at this point, what could possibly be the problem, I ordered a new starter off Amazon although the old one tested fine at AutoZone.
Holy smokes, that didn't work either! "Thunk-thunk". I was at a standstill marooned on Facebook Marketplace Island.
My salvation was a Reddit thread I found. There were multiple threads of people going through what I was going through where their tractors, regardless of brand, wouldn't start despite new starters and solenoids installed; some with new ignition switches. All of them said their issue was a bad battery. Couldn't be my problem, right? Mine was only two-years old and my friends at AutoZone said it was good. They couldn't be wrong, could they?
Curious, I bought a battery at Walmart for $32 and the wonderful kid behind the counter told me some smaller tractor batteries, some just a year old let alone two-years old like mine, are susceptible to cell damage from heat, cold and over-charging. Motorcycle batteries, which are even smaller, have the same problems. "Cells" go bad on them much quicker than cells on car batteries do.
I dropped the new battery in, sprayed some starter fluid in the carburetor to make things move along as quickly as possible and...old blue fired up in the blink of an eye. Yes. Finally!
Frankly, I don't know what the heck happened. Seemed the problem was a bad battery like that Reddit threads alluded to, but I have questions I'll never get answered. Was the battery failing or did AutoZone damage it by over-charging it? In fairness, before all this, sometimes I'd got that "thunk-thunk" when I went to start it, but after a couple of thunks, the engine would crank. I don't get that now so maybe the solenoid was going and the stress of the too-tight belt from Menards pushed it over the edge? Then, what happened to the battery? Again, I'll never know. I packed the new starter up and returned it.
Once I got my tractor back online, I blasted through the thick blanket of leaves on my property mulching them down into a neat pile on my tree lawn for the city to suck up. One thing, though, the new deck belt pops off when I disengage the blades; better that than binding the engine up. I don't know if there's a problem with the deck or the belt is too big. It's not the end of the world but I will try a smaller belt next weekend. Not one small enough to high jack the engine, of course.
My wife marvels how I have to learn things the hard way all the time; our younger son is much the same way. What did I learn from this saga? First off, lots about how lawn tractors work but more importantly, I ain't never gonna mow over that damn water meter again.
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