Craftsman 917.376671 Lawn Mower, Use blockof wood betweenbladeand, lawnmowerhousingand tightenthe

LAWN MOWER	4. Use blockof wood betweenbladeand
Alwaysobservesafety ruleswhenper-	lawnmowerhousingand tightenthe
formingany maintenance.	blade bolt,turningclockwise.

TIRESRecommendedtighteningtorque:35-40ft.lbs.

•Keep tiresfree of gasoline,oil, or insect IMPORTANT: Bladebolt is heat treated. controlchemicalswhichcan harmrubber. If bolt needsreplacing,replaceonly with

•

Avoid stumps,stones,deepruts, sharp

approvedbolt shownin the RepairParts

objectsand other hazardsthat may

sectionof this manual.

Bladeadapter

Key

Crankshaft

causetire damage.

DRIVEWHEELS

Lockwasher

Checkfront drivewheels eachtime before

/

/

you mow to be sure theymovefreely.

The wheelsnot turningfreely meanstrash,

grasscuttings,etc.areinthedrivewheelarea

and mustbe cleanedto free drivewheels.

If necessaryto cleanthedrive wheels,be

sure to cleanboth frontwheels.

1.

Removehubcaps,Iocknuts& washers.

bolt

Hardened

2.

Removewheelsfrom wheel adjusters.

washer

Trailing

edge

Crankshaft

3. Removeany trash or grass cuttings

TO SHARPEN

BLADE

from insidethe dust cover,pinionand/

NOTE: We do not recommend sharpening

or drive wheelgear teeth.

the blade - but if you do, be sure the blade

4. Putwheels back in place.

is balanced.

Care

should

be

taken

to

keep

NOTE: Ifafter cleaning,the drivewheels

the blade balanced. An unbalanced bladewill

do notturnfreely,contacta Sears or other

cause eventual damage to mower or engine.

qualifiedservicecenter.

• The blade can be sharpened with a file

BLADE CARE

or

on

a grinding

wheel.

Do

not attempt

For bestresults,blade mustbe keptsharp.

to

sharpen

while

on the

mower.

Replacea bent or damagedblade.

•

To

check

blade

balance,

drive

a

nail

into

A CAUTION:Useonlyareplacementblade

a beam

or

wall.

Leave

about

one inch of

approvedbythemanufacturerofyourmower.

the

straight

nail

exposed.

Place

center

Usinga blade not approvedby the manu-

hole

of

blade

over

the head

of the

nail.

facturerof your mowerishazardous,could

If blade

is

balanced,

it should

remain

in

damageyourmowerandvoidyourwarranty.

a horizontal

position.

If either

end

of

the

TO REMOVEBLADE

blade

moves

downward,

sharpen

the

1.

Disconnectspark plugwire fromspark

heavy end until the blade is balanced.

GRASS

CATCHER

plug and placewire where it cannot

•

The

grass

catcher

may

be

hosed

with

2.

come in contactwith plug.

Turnlawn moweron its side. Make

water,

but

must

be dry

when used.

sure air filter andcarburetorare up.

•

Check

your grass catcher

often

for dam-

3. Usea wood blockbetweenbladeand

age

or

deterioration.

Through

normal

mowerhousingto preventbladefrom

use

it will

wear.

If catcher

needs

replac-

turningwhen removingbladebolt.

ing,

replace

only

with

approved

replace-

NOTE: Protectyour handswith gloves

ment

catcher

shown

in

the

Repair

Parts

and/orwrap bladewith heavycloth.

section

of this

manual.

Give

the

lawn

mower model number when ordering.

4.

Removeblade bolt byturningcounter-

clockwise.

GEAR

CASE

5.

Removeblade& attachinghardware

• To keep your drive system

working

(bolt, lockwasher& hardenedwasher).

properly,

the

gear

case

and area

around

TO REPLACEBLADE

the

drive

should

be kept

clean

and

free

1.

Positionbladeon the bladeadapter

of

trash

build-up.

Clean

under the

drive

cover

twice

a season.

aligningthe two (2) holesin the blade

The gear case is filled with lubricant to the

with the raisedlugs on the adapter.

proper

level at the

factory.

The only

time

2.

Besure thetrailingedgeof blade(oppo-

the lubricant needs attention is if service

sitesharpedge)isuptowardtheengine.

3.

has

been

performed

on the

gear

case.

Installthe blade boltwith the lock

washerand hardenedwasherinto

If lubricant

is

required,

use

only

Texaco

blade adapterand crankshaft.

13

Starplex Premium 1 Grease, Part No.

750369.

Do

not

substitute.