MTD 44M warranty Blade Care, Changing the Belt, sonal injury, Maintaining Your Lawn Mower

Blade Care

WARNING: When removing cutting blade for sharpening or replacement, protect your

hands with a pair of heavy gloves or use a heavy rag to hold blade.

1.Disconnect spark plug wire from spark plug. Turn mower on its side making sure that the air filter and the carburetor are up.

2.Remove bolt, bell blade support, blade, and blade adapter from the engine crankshaft. See Figure 5-3.

3.The blade can be sharpened with a file or on a grinding wheel. Do not attempt to sharpen the blade while it is still on the mower. When sharpening blade, follow original angle of grind. Remove metal from the heavy side and grind cutting edges equally to keep blade balanced. Balance the blade on a round shaft screwdriver to check for balance.

WARNING: An unbalanced blade will cause excessive vibration when rotating at high

speeds. It may cause damage to mower, and could break causing personal injury.

4.Lubricate the engine crankshaft and the inner surface of the blade adapter with light oil. Slide the blade adapter onto the engine crankshaft. Place the blade on the adapter such that the side of the blade marked “Bottom” (or with part number) faces the ground when the mower is in the operating position. Make sure that blade is aligned and seated on blade adapter flanges.

5.Place blade bell support on the blade. Align notches on the blade bell support with small holes in blade. Replace hex bolt and tighten hex bolt to torque: 450 in. lbs. min., 600 in. lbs. max.

To ensure safe operation of your mower, periodically check the blade bolt for correct torque.

Changing the Belt

1.Remove two shoulder screws securing front drive cover to mower deck. Refer to Figure 5-4. Press inward on sides of front drive cover and release tabs that secure it to the height adjuster brackets. Remove drive cover from mower.

2.Loosen screw holding belt tension spring to transmission. See Figure 5-4. Do not remove screw completely. As you loosen it, tension on the belt will be released.

3.Push transmission up a little and slide belt off the transmission pulley. Lift mower to access belt from underside of mower. Slide belt off of engine pulley and around the blade. See Figure 5-5.

4.Replace with new belt, working around blade. Make sure belt is firmly seated on engine pulley while pulling from the other side and sliding it around the transmis- sion pulley. Tighten screw loosened earlier to secure belt tension spring to the transmission. Reassemble front drive cover.

Figure 5-3: Remove blade and related hardware.

Figure 5-4: Remove cover and loosen transmission screw.

Figure 5-5: Remove belt from around blade.

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Maintaining

Your Lawn

Mower

WARNING

When removing the cutting blade for sharpening or replacement or when sliding the belt around it, protect your hands with a pair of heavy gloves or use a heavy rag to hold the blade.

An unbalanced blade will cause excessive vibration when rotat- ing at high speeds. It may cause damage to mower, and could break causing per-

sonal injury.

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