I have a newer (2005) Huskee riding mower with 50" cutting deck. Mower was working fine, then suddenly the blades stopped cutting and pulleys stopped turning. Now I cannot get the clutch to engage at all. Do I need to replace the clutch? And is this something I can do myself?

Yes you could do it yourself but I would look at the simpler things first like the pto switch, safety switch or a cut wire to the clutch and its connecting plug

Thanks Doug! As I am a single female I am obviously trying to save myself money anywhere I can. I was looking at things this morning and noticed a metal plate hanging down on the main pulley from the engine to the deck. Is this the clutch? If not, then what might this plate be, and why does it look all chewed up?

The clutch will look like a oversized pulley attached to the shaft at the bottom of the engine. What you might be seeing may be a belt guide or the stablizer for the clutch. Look and see if you can tell where it should go. Look also at the wires going to this clutch.

The metal plate I am referring to is above the main pulley on the shaft coming down from the engine. I can slide it back up, but it does not stay.

Also Doug, I was under the mower looking at this plate... it looks as if it is housed just above the clutch pulley, with several thin pieces of metal that are supposed to be flush on this plate. One of these metal pieces is not flush anymore and looks as if perhaps that may be the problem. Please bear with me as I do not know all the "technical" words for the parts. Just know what I see and it doesn't look right!

Bear with me. Computer is slow and freezing up every10-15 min. Maybe the clutch has separated. Or it could be a bat wing (belt guide) I do build the John Deere units but trying to visulize what you are referring to. Is it to the clutch where you see a electrical connection?

OK I have the mower up on jacks now so I can see under it. There is a housing (the clutch?) above the main pulley from the engine. The plate I am talking about fits into the underside of this housing, and yes there is an electrical connection on the top side of this housing. Is the housing the clutch? And if it is, how difficult would it be to replace? Thank you so much for your help!

Well you could jack it up or just crawl unde, whichever is easier. Be careful under there if you jack it up. Don't need to get hurt. To remove there should be a bolt in the center od clutch. You will have to hold clutch somehow so it don't spin on you. The bolt will be very tight to get off. Once you have bolt out you can drop a little to remove the deck belt and drive belt. Most times these clutches or jacksheaves can be hard to get off shaft. After they been on a while it seems they just want to stay. Use some force. When reinstalling put grease on shaft. It seems like you need 3 hands to get to everything but not a time consuming job. Theses clutches are not cheap either. Just be careful doing this and work safe

Am I going to need a torque wrench for the bolt when I put it back in? Thanks you so much for your help! I do have 3 or 4 hands, my 12 yr old son will be more than willing to help me. Otherwise he will have to mow with the push mower haha. Thanks again!

It should be torqued but I wouldn't go buy on just for this job. I believe you can get it secure. Torque is not that critical. Just don't tighten so tight that you twist the bolt into. Good Luck