EDIT 7/04/19: So after three summers with the set-up below the belt stretched out and suddenly would no longer engage the pulley wheels. Literally two passes, turn off the engine, go inside for 2 minutes then back to work, or so I thought, nothing. Turns out the belt listed below had also split to the mesh on the outside. 3 years of mowing about every 10 days late may to the end of October, maybe 30 mows of and acre and a half, so I guess that is OK for a belt. I am going to try Kevlar like I have on the snow blower. I have bought one from a wall of blue Kevlar Huskee belts of every length from a place that supplies tractors . . . We'll see how that holds up. Turns out that one of the pulley wheels stripped out as well. Weak metal with shallow spline grooves. The two I ordered are EXACTLY the same ones as shown below, down to the part number and logo (which I could not see on the pics). I find it hard to believe more than a few (or one) factory churns out these things. I bought from this place simply because I could get it in 2 days, before July 4th. (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ0QPWW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). It seems that if anything impedes or interferes with the blades, or the mandrels are not spinning smoothly, or jamming the belt engage on really fast will strip these pulley wheels out. Like I tell my dogs, "Gennn-tle . . ." I thought I could leave the mower deck on year to year since I "found" a snowblower, but this has shown me that you have to check the smoothness and ease of the mandrel spinning, as well as check for other strange things. Weird stuff happens under there . . . Happy July 4th ! And remember NO M-80'S IN 55 GALLON DRUMS !!! A year ago my decades old, used Craftsman 42” mower deck decided not to work anymore which led me on an adventure . . . I ended up rebuilding the entire deck. I got 5 of the 6 bolts holding the mandrels on. After cracking not one but two ¾” sockets trying to get the last of the ancient mounting bolt off I used a grinder to cut off the remaining limb of the old mandrel. A prime example of what I call “The 4 Bolt (or nut or screw) Rule”- and all tinkerers/handipeople have experienced this – three of the bolts you need to remove come out easily and the fourth one takes an hour and often involves one or more of the following: a torch, a drill, a sawzall, a sledge hammer. I wire brushed and spot sanded the deck and treated the rust with Corroseal (great stuff but DON’T LET IT FREEZE !) The mandrels fit perfectly, the spindle wheels fit perfectly but the springs that tension the belt were more than a challenge. There must be an art to putting those back on. My buddy and I were lucky to have not lost a finger or two. We did have safety glasses on. Once assembled the cut was great (and even . . .) and the deck was smoother than I’d ever felt it . . . for a while . . . CHECK THE MANDREL/SPINDLE MOUNTING BOLTS FREQUENTLY until you know they are on tight will not loosen. Halfway through the second mow (2 acres, uneven) I felt some vibration. Turns out two of one of the mandrel mounting bolts had come out which displaced the mandrel and hence the blade. Easily remedied. No problem . . . or so I thought. This year when I went to put on my newly refurbished deck for finally what I expected to be a hassle free mowing season after sharpening the blades and spinning them I noticed a wobble in one of the pulleys. After a few select foreign phrases and thinking the spindle needed replacing again I removed the pulley wheel and noticed it was stripped but was held in place by the nut. There are more than a few comments about these pulleys being light and prone to stripping. Noted. However the other pulley is doing fine. Had it not been for my oversight of checking the mount bolts this one would have been as well. Now I await the arrival of the replacement pulley but due to a typical wet, dank, cool NH “spring” there is no rush. One last thought. While you have your mower deck off buy another drive belt as well. Mine looked fine but after the pain in the butt that is putting that deck back on it was revealed that the old belt was really stretched out and only barely able to partially engage the blades. So off came the deck again and on went the computer. Below are the parts I ordered and were proven through a season of mowing (May into October). Craftsman Sears Craftsman Husqvana Deck Spindle, they fit and work great. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B61C8JS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Maxpower 561713X Commercial Style Mulching Blade for 42-Inch Poulan Rider, Replaces 134149, Set of 2. Solid, heavy, come sharp and take a nice edge. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AN89R9O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Craftsman 153535, 173436, 129861, 177865, Spindle Pulley. They work . . . https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TMIOQO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 EXACTLY THE SAME PULLEY WHEEL ! But on Prime. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ0QPWW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I'm going with Kevlar. This one only lasted 3 summers. OEM Duplicate Belt Replaces 144200, 532144200 Craftsman Poulan Husqvarna seems to be fine. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UNZ15V0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
