BLADES
Besureto shutthe engineoff,removeignitionkey,disconnectthe
sparkplugwire(s)to preventunintendedstartingbeforeremovingthe
cuttingblade(s)for sharpeningorreplacement.Protectyourhands
b_ us ng heavygoves or a ragto graspthecutt ng bade.
Thebladesmaybe removedasfollows:
1. Removethedeckfrom beneaththetractor,(referto CuttingDeck
Removal)thengentlyflipthe deckoverto exposeitsunderside.
NOTE:Placea blockof woodbetweenthedeck housingandthe
cuttingedgeofthe bladetohelp in breakingloosethehex nutsecuring
theblade.
2. Usea 15/16"wrenchtoloosen thehex flangenutsecuringthe
bladetothe bottomof the spindleassembly.Securethespindle
byeitherholdingthe bladetightly,or byusing a secondwrenchto
holdthe nutat thetop of the spindle.
3. Continueholdingthebladeontothe star hubof the spindle,and
removetheflangenut andcuttingblade.
4. Repeatthepreviousstepsto removetheotherblade.
5. Toproperlysharpenthecuttingblades,removeequalamounts
ofmetalfrom bothends ofthe bladesalongthe cuttingedges,
paralleltothe trailingedge,at a 250to300angle.
iMPORTANT:ifthe cuttingedgeof the bladehasalready been
sharpenedtowithin1-5/8"width fromthe oppositeedge,or if any
metalseparationispresent,replacethebladeswith newones.See
Figure20.
f
_aration
)lindWing
SharpenEdge
Evenly
1-5/8inch
Figure20
.
7.
Itis importantthateachcutting bladeedgebegroundequally to
maintainproperbladebalance.
Apoorly balancedbladewillcauseexcessivevibrationand may
causedamagetothe tractorand resultin personalinjury.The
bladecan betestedby balancingit ona round shaftscrewdriver.
Grindmetalfromthe heavyside untilit balancesevenly.
iMPORTANT:Whenreplacingtheblades,makecertain the sideofthe
blademarked"Bottom" facesthegroundwhen the moweris turnedto
theoperatingposition.
iMPORTANT:Notethat thestars ofthe blades(and spindles)arenot
symmetrical.Thebladecanbe installedoneach spindlein onlyone
direction.Carefullyalignthestar holeof thebladewith thestar ofthe
spindleshaftwheninstallingeachblade. DO NOTimproperlyalignthe
bladeandspindle shaft,andattemptto seatthe bladeontothe spindle
bytighteningthehex flangenut.
8. Rotatethe bladeasnecessaryto alignits star holewith thestar
ofthe spindleshaft,then slidethe bladeonto thespindleshaft.
Threadthehex flangeontothe spindleshaftand usea torque
wrenchtotightenthe hexflange nutto 70to 90foot-pounds.
9. Repeattheaboveproceduretoinstallthe otherblade.
Checking Blade Timing
Duringnormaloperationthetimingofthe cuttingbladescan be altered
byabnormalloadson one,or both,cutting blades.Regularlycheckthe
timingarrowsonthe spindleassembliestomakecertain theyare 900
fromeachother.
Ifthe timingarrowsarenot 900fromeach other,proceedasfollows:
1. Removethedeckfromthe tractor.Removetheidlerbracket
backstop.RefertoFigure21.
f
Bracket IdlerBracket& Spring& Screw
Backstop IdlerPulley
Figure21