Filter
Top Products
11
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
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.
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.