I have a 2004 craftsman 18 hp LT1000 lawn tractor with a 42" mowing deck. For some reason the mower will not disengage when I release the handle. I can get it to work sometimes if I slap the handle out of the slot quickly or if I raise the deck all the way up and bump it a little. I have cleaned out any debris from around the pulley area and from around the small return spring. I even sprayed wd 40 under the pulleys and that helped a little. Any Ideas?

Electric or manual release? Any warranty? Wd-40 is just a water displacer, and will of course attract more dirt. You'll see little pivot points under there, lube those.

I have a 2004 craftsman 18 hp LT1000 lawn tractor with a 42" mowing deck. For some reason the mower will not disengage when I release the handle. I can get it to work sometimes if I slap the handle out of the slot quickly or if I raise the deck all the way up and bump it a little. I have cleaned out any debris from around the pulley area and from around the small return spring. I even sprayed wd 40 under the pulleys and that helped a little. Any Ideas?
Mine does the same thing. Let me know what you find out

I have the same problem.

I received an answer at:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/lawn-garden/craftsman-15-5-42inch-deck-will-not-disengage-85596.html

Hope this helps.