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, blade bell support, blade, and blade adapter from the engine crankshaft. See Figure 12.
NOTE: When removing the blade, blade adapter, etc., be careful not to remove or lose parts above it associated with the engine pulley.
3.The blade can be sharpened with a file or on a grind- ing wheel. Do not attempt to sharpen the blade while it is still on the mower. When sharpening blade, follow original angle of grind. Grind cutting edges equally to keep blade balanced.
4.Remove blade from the adapter for testing balance. Balance the blade on a round shaft screwdriver to check. Remove metal from the heavy side until it balances evenly.
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.
Figure 12
Loosen
Screw
Here
Baffle
Figure 13
5
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
5.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.
6.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.
Belt Care
1.Disconnect the spark plug wire and ground it against the engine.
2.Drain the fuel tank or place a piece of plastic beneath the cap to prevent gasoline leakage.
3.Tip mower on its side (air cleaner side of engine up).
4.Remove blade, blade adapter, and related hardware as instructed in Blade Care above.
1
2
Figure 14
5.Loosen
6.Working from the rear of the mower, carefully remove belt from transmission pulley.
7.Once belt is off transmission pulley, push down on deck baffle to access engine pulley and slide belt off this pulley and out from under deck. See Figure 14.
8.Replace with new belt, working it between the deck and baffle, first around the transmission pulley and then the engine pulley.
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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