•Avoidstoppingwhendrivingupa slope. Ifit is necessaryto stop whiledrivingupa slope,start up smoothlyandcarefullyto reduce the possibilityof flippingthe tractoroverbackward.
ENGAGING THE BLADES
Engagingthe PTO(BladeEngage)transferspowerto the cuttingdeck orother (separatelyavailable)attachments.Toengagethe blades, proceedas follows:
1.Movethe throttle/chokecontrolleverto the FAST(rabbit)position.
2.Graspthe PTO(BladeEngage)leverandpivotit all the way forwardintothe engaged(ON)position.
3.Keepthe throttleleverinthe FAST(rabbit)positionforthe most
efficientuseof thecuttingdeckor other(separatelyavailable) attachments.
iMPORTANT: Inthe ReverseCautionModetheenginewill auto- maticallyshutoff ifthe PTOisengagedwiththe speedcontrollever in positionfor reversetravelwiththe ignitionkeyin the NORMAL MOWINGposition.
USING THE DECK LIFT LEVER
MOVING THE TRACTOR MANUALLY
Yourtractor'stransmissionis equippedwitha hydrostaticreliefvalve for occasionswhen it is necessaryto movethetractormanually. Activatingthisvalveforcesthe fluid in thetransmissionto bypassits normalroute,allowingthe reartiresto "freewheel."To engagethe hydrostaticreliefvalve,proceedas follows:
1.Locatethe hydrostaticbypassrodinthe rearof the tractor.See Fig. 10.
Toraisethe cuttingdeck,movethe decklift levertothe left,then place itin the notchbestsuitedfor yourapplication.Referto SettingThe CuttingHeightearlierinthis section.
MOWING
Tohelpavoidbladecontactor a thrownobjectinjury,keepbystand- ers,helpers,childrenandpetsat least75feetfromthe machine whileit is inoperation.Stop machineif anyoneentersthearea.
Thefollowinginformationwill behelpfulwhenusingthe cuttingdeck withyourtractor:
Planyour mowingpatternto avoiddischargeof materialstoward roads,sidewalks,bystandersandthe like.Also,avoiddischarging materialagainsta wallor obstructionwhichmaycausedischarged materialto ricochetbacktowardthe operator.
•Do not mowat highgroundspeed,especiallyif a mulchkitor grasscollectoris installed.
•For bestresultsit is recommendedthatthe firsttwolaps becut withthe dischargethrowntowardsthe center.Afterthe first two laps,reversethe directionto throwthe dischargeto the outside for the balanceof cutting.Thiswill givea betterappearanceto the lawn.
•Do notcut thegrasstoo short.Shortgrassinvitesweedgrowth andyellowsquicklyindry weather.
•Mowingshouldalwaysbedonewiththe engineat full throttle.
•Underheavierconditionsit maybenecessaryto go backoverthe cutareaa secondtimeto geta cleancut.
•Do NOTattemptto mowheavybrushandweedsandextremely tall grass.Yourtractoris designedto mowlawns,NOTclear brush.
•Keepthe bladessharpandreplacethe bladeswhenworn.Refer to CuttingBladesin the ServiceandMaintenencesectionof this manualfor properbladesharpeninginstructions.
Figure 10
2.Pullthe hydrostaticbypassrodoutward,thendownandto the left, to lockit in place.
NOTE: Thetransmissionwill NOTengagewhenthe hydrostatic bypassrodis pulledout. Returnthe rodto itsnormalpositionpriorto operatingthe tractor.
iMPORTANT: Neverattemptto movethe tractormanuallywithout first engagingthe hydrostaticreliefvalve.Doingso will resultin serious damageto thetractor'stransmission.
HEADLIGHTS
•The lampsare ONwheneverthe tractor'sengineis running.
•The lampsturn OFFwhenthe ignitionkey ismovedto the STOP position.
17