My Craftsman DLT 3000 is running fine, but I am unable to get the blades to engage. When I raise the lever to get the blades to engage, it is stiff, and I get no movement from the blades. Looking at the little steel cable that the lever is connected to there's not great tension on the cable. When I got underneath it to look at it, I saw that the steel cable is connected to a spring. That spring stretched, but I'm unsure if it stretched enough to do what it is supposed to do. I am unable to see what the spring is connected to, so I don't know if something is faulty with the cable, the spring, or something further down the system. Can anyone here provide some clarity or a typical solution to this problem? Thanks!

Check the belts. Make sure they are going over the pulleys correctly(see diagram on blade deck) also, check to see if they are stretched-out. That's usually what the problem is.