Craftsman 944.363391 Owner's Manual page 6

The operation of any lawn
mower can result in foreign
objects thrown into the
eyes, which can result in
severe eye damage. Always
wear safety glasses or eye shields while
operating your lawn mower or performing
any ad just ments or repairs. We recom-
mend standard safety glasses or a wide
vision safety mask worn over spectacles.
HOW TO USE YOUR LAWN MOWER
ENGINE SPEED
The engine speed was set at the factory
for optimum performance. Speed is not
adjustable.
ENGINE ZONE CONTROL
CAUTION: Federal regulations re quire
an engine control to be installed on this
lawn mower in order to minimize the
risk of blade contact injury. Do not un der
any circumstances attempt to de feat the
func tion of the operator con trol. The blade
turns when the engine is running.
• Your lawn mower is equipped with an
operator pres ence control bar which
requires the operator to be positioned
behind the lawn mower handle to start
and operate the lawn mower.
DRIVE CONTROL
• Self-propelling is controlled by hold-
ing the operator presence control bar
down to the handle and pulling the drive
control bar up to the handle. The closer
to the handle the bar is pulled, the faster
the unit will travel.
• Forward motion will stop when either the
operator presence control bar or drive
control bar are released. To stop forward
motion without stop ping engine, re lease
the drive control bar only. Hold op er a tor
presence control bar down against
handle to con tin ue mowing without self-
propelling.
NOTE: If after releasing the drive control
the mower will not roll backwards, push
the mower forward slightly to disengage
drive wheels.
• To keep drive control engaged when
turning corners, push down on the
handle to lift the front wheels off the
ground while turning lawn mower.
DRIVE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
Over time, the drive control system may
become "loose", resulting in decreased
speed. There is a thumbscrew on the
un der side of the drive control housing to
increase tension on the drive cable. Pro-
ceed as follows:
1. Turn unit off and disconnect spark plug
wire from spark plug.
2. Rotate thumbscrew counter-clockwise
to tighten the drive cable.
3. Operate mower to test drive speed.
4. If condition fails to improve after the
above steps (forward speed remains
the same), your drive belt is worn and
should be re placed.
NOTE: If mower begins to "creep" forward,
the drive cable is too tight. Rotate thumb-
screw clockwise to loosen drive cable.
Operator presence control bar
Thumb-
screw
DRIVE
CONTROL
ENGAGED
TO ADJUST CUTTING HEIGHT
Raise wheels for low cut and lower wheels
for high cut, adjust cutting height to suit
your requirements. Me di um position is
best for most lawns.
• To change cutting height, squeeze ad-
juster lever to ward wheel. Move wheel
up or down to suit your re quire ments. Be
sure all wheels are in the same setting.
NOTE: Adjuster is properly positioned
when plate tab inserts into hole in lever.
Also, 9-position adjusters (if so equipped)
allow lever to be positioned between the
plate tabs.
LEVER BACKWARD
TO LOWER MOWER
LEVER FORWARD TO RAISE MOWER
6
Drive
control bar
DRIVE
CONTROL
DISENGAGED
Plate tab
Lever