20 Most Recent Poulan 42-Inch Steel Deck 17.5 HP Briggs & Stratton I/C Engine With 6 Speed - Page 9 Questions & Answers

Souns like the PTO is either stuck in the on position or electrically shorted. Make sure the PTO is FULLY disengaged by moving the lever a few times. If yours is electric PTO, it's probably a short.

Most dealerships now have electronic parts catalogs. Am sure that they would be happy to print out the relevant pages. Some manufacturers also make parts CD's available to end users.Last ditch effort would be to borrow a technical manual from the dealership. Hope this helps....JB

Thanks for stopping by...
When you said "cleaned the carb" - did you disassemble, and clean - or just spray carb cleaner into it?

Sitting for 2 years - the additives in the gasoline can leave a varnish that will clog the tiny jet orifice in the carb bowl.

You'll need to disassemble, and clean out the jet with a wire.

Popping and sputtering can be caused by a few things:

Old Gas - drain and refill with fresh.
Dirty Air Filter - Check and clean/replace it.
Poor Fuel mix/ratio - clogged Carb Jet or sticky butterfly.
Poor Spark - check/change the plug.
Fuel Vaccuum - remove the gascap - and start... the vent hole may be clogged. Clean and/or replace it if it starts running better with the gas cap off.
Clogged Fuel Filter/inlet screen - backflush the tank and the debris should wash back into the tank. Rinse out and re-install.

This is most likely a fuel delivery or spark issue.

Change the fuel and plug first... and give the carb a GOOD cleaning... then re-check.

Thanks!

Hi, check the valve clearances and also check that the rocker posts are not loose in the head. The valves should be 5 thou inlet and 7 thou exhaust with the piston just past top dead centre of compression stroke. If the valves or posts are loose the decompressor on the camshaft won't function and this will cause your problem. Hope this helps, regards Phil.

Likely the seat safety switch is malfunctioning.

I'm sure there is a choke on the dash of the tractor. I believe there should be 2 knobs. One for choke and one for pto. If not check on your throttle lever it could be all the way up on it.

If the Engine is running fine and you are still not getting power to the hydrostatic drive, you probably have a loose belt or a pulley that is starting to seize up on it's shaft, by the sounds of it I would guess the latter, a squealing belt is caused by the coefficient drag of the belt against the pulleys it operates on. Check all the pulleys for free movement and make sure the routing of the drive belt is correct. Check the wear of the belt itself if it is cracked or burnt in spots this will cause slippage also.Good Luck.

A good set of wrenches would do the job, probably 3/4" or 11/16" or so.
Be advised you may be turning opposite the regular way in which screws are removed (i.e. turning right to loosen, left to tighten).
There should be a point where you could shove a screw driver into the body of the deck to hold the blade in place, buy also be careful not to get the screw driver hung up on something else when torquing the bolts free,. and always remember to keep your hands out of the way so you don't get wacked if the wrench slips!
Best regards
Ck

http://www.poulanpro.com/ddoc/POUO/POUO2003_USen/POUO2003_USen_185498_.pdf

it sounds like something in the transfer case is locked up?

There is a safety switch for the brake clutch and if the seat safety switch is not activated by someone sitting on it, then the mower will die. So if you are sitting in the seat and the brake clutch is released and the seat safety is faulty then the engine dies, so the seat safety is where you should start looking.

Sir try to replace the spark plug, feel free to send feed back good day and best regards.

The first thing to check is the belt. You need to see if it is broken or has slipped or is bound up. Then check the blade engage mechanism is still attached to the deck properly and working properly. Check the tensioning pulley and the idler pulley.

Hi,

Check the drive belt to the transmission. May either be "stretched and loose", or off.
Best regards, --W/D--

Pull the center cap. It should be held on by an E-clip. Use a flat screwdriver and put it in the openings and twist to loosen it and slide it off. Then remove the washer and the wheel. Watch out for the key, you need to keep it. The key is a little rectangular piece of metal with a square cross section that allows the axle to engage the wheel.

I hope you find this helpful.

Check your float for leaks and correct height. Clean carb. Good Luck...

Your belt is not on correctly. Review the path and make sure you have it on correctly. There should be a idler pully somewhere and it should apply tension with the foot petal is released.

Thank you for your question @ FixYa.com

You said that it starts fine, so lets start with the easy stuff. Have you checked the air filter, spark plug, and valve lash lately? If filter dirty, you can gently tap it and knock out a lot of junk. For the spark plug you can clean it with a wire brush. If you do not feel confident in the filter or the plug, replace them, they are not too expensive. Try starting and test it, if still lacking power, check and set valve lash if necessary to .004, four thousandths with a feeler guage.

There are a couple other things that are a little more involved. Please let me know how it goes.

You can find the model number under the seat by the battery. With that number you can go get the belt at a local lawn mower repair parts shop. And with that number you can find the routing on an illustrated parts drawing by going to a lawn mower/ small engine repair parts website such as partstree.com or outdoordistributors.com. If you can not find it I can tell you, but I would like to glance at the drawing to see if the deck is the one that I am familiar with, so I would need you to send me the model number from the tag.

I hope this helps you get it done.