Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - craftsman tractor mower lift linkage breaks yearly

Every spring we have to call a repairman for a $12 item to be replaced and it ends up being over $200 for repairs. It generally takes about 15 minutes to fix. My husband and his father (aerospace engineer) can't figure out from the manual how to attach this part. Anyone ever have to do this?

What is the model numbers and if you have the part number maybe we can help?

the model # is 917.273764. The part is listed on the receipt as sub link.asm 71 917 151141 1? I have no idea if that is a standard number. I know its the part that holds the blade on.

Wow, and they're charging you $200 to put that on? Sounds like they have it adjusted too tight, you're hitting something with the deck regularly, and/or there is something hitting or rubbing against the link causing it to break. 151141 is the number for the one on the left and 151140 is the one on the right side.

Cheese is right. This link is used to lift the deck and also to level it from side to side. The AYP part number is 151414 and can be obtained at a Poulan or Husqvarna dealer. This unit was made by American Yard Products for Sears and same as Poulan and Husqvarna only Husqvarna will put another three digits in front of the part number. Since I service these brands, I have not seen any failures with this part. It would pay you to look at where the failure is and watch what you might be hitting with the deck mowing or triming or a super ruff lawn that is causing excessive bouncing of the deck which would also cause a simular failure of the other side also.