Craftsman 247.288843 Operator's Manual page 114

Cutting Deck Removal
To remove the cutting deck, proceed as follows:
1. Place the PTO (BladeEngage) l everinthe disengaged (OFF) p ositionand
engage the parkingbrake.
2. Lowerthe deckbymovingthe decklift leverinto the bottomnotchon the
rightfender.
3. Remove t he self-tappingscrew (A)thatsecures the belt-keeper r odfrom
around the tractor'sPTO pulley,then remove the belt keeperrod(B).See
Figure 18.
Note: Makeamentalnotewhat holethe otherendof the belt-keeper r odis
insertedinfor reinstallation purposes.
4. Remove t he belt (C)from aroundthetractor'sPTO pulley.SeeFigure18.
Avoidpinching injuries. N everplaceyour fingers on the idlerspring or
betweenthe belt anda pulley while removing the belt.
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Figure18
5. Looking at the cuttingdeckfrom the left sideofthe tractor,locatethe bow-
tie pinthatsecures the decksupportrodonthe rearleft sideof the deck.See
Figure 19.Remove t he bow-tiepinthat secures t he decksupportrod,and
carefully remove the decksupportfromthe decklift arm.
6. Repeat t he above stepsonthe tractor'srightside.
NOTE: Thebow-tieclipsshouldbe re-installed from thetop down.
7. Movethe decklift leverintothe top notchon the rightfenderto raisethe
decklift armsupandout of the way.
Bow-Tie Clip
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Figure 19
Remove t he bow-tiecotterpinsecuring the deckstabilizerrodto thedeck.
Slide the decklift rodfrom the mountingbracketonthe deckasshownin
Figure 20.
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Figure 20
9. Carefully remove the PTO cable from the rearof the cuttingdeckby
removing the bow-tiecotter pinwhichsecures it. Remove t he springfrom
the deckidler bracket. S ee Figure 21.
22