I've worked on a lot of Craftsman lawn tractors, and can't remember any attachment cable looping around a mandrell.
Some have a stand-up bracket that the skinny cable goes thru, the one that controlls the action, the cable that has the skinny wire coming out of the housing, thru a bracket, and on under & forward, to the part that puts the deck in gear. That bracket is more toward the right side of the deck, on the top side of the deck. HTH: RJ
NOTE: When describing something in the auto, mower, body repair genre---Right side is judged as you sitting on the mower/ tractor/ machine/ auto, or truck, NOT as you stand in front of it, looking at it.
A lot of parts have been ordered wrong, because of the above! Having been told this--better check again, and inform us.

It is a dys 4500 42 inch two blades, two mandrels. The bracket is on the left side. It is hooked up and works, but i cant figure out how it gets routed to the left side frame by the brake pedal without interfering with the pulleys. Isit supposed to lie on the deck and go between the pulleys then?

The cable runs along the upper left side of the frame where you will find a small C on a grommet. From there it loops down to the deck. Funny what a little day light does.

Joe