1641 electric PTO problem
 

I recently acquired a 1641 which has a problem with the electric PTO for the mower deck. Over the weekend, I removed the deck, sharpened the blades and
greased all of the spindles. Then I readjusted the PTO air gap to 0.017" per the owners manual.
With the deck off, the PTO comes on and seems to spin OK. When I put the deck back on and engaged the PTO, the engine stalls (at full throttle).
I played around with the mower drive belt tension but it did not make any difference. Next, I released the drive belt idler ratchet so there was a fair amount of slack in the belt. When I tried the PTO, the belt would turn and spin the mower blades but one or more of the spindles was squealing moderately loud.
So, do this mean I have a spindle problem. When I had the deck off all of the
spindles seemed to turn ok. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
Thanks.

Check all of the idler pulleys and the spindles...I'm guessing one of them is going to turn hard.

The way you worded your post, it sounds like you are engaging the PTO clutch at full throttle. Don't do that...the clutch will have a short life.