Advertisement
Section 5: Maintenance
_
efore inspecting,cleaningor servicingthe machine,shutoffengine,wait for movingpartsto stop,dis-
connect s parkplugwire and movewire awayfromsparkplug.
Failureto followtheseinstructions canresultin seriouspersonalinjuryor propertydamage.
Mowerbladeis sharp.
• Wear heavy leather gloves when
workingnear or with blade for protec-
tionfrom sharpedges.
• Wear safety approvedeye protection
when sharpening bladeto protecteyes
from flying metaldebris.
RemovingMower Blade
IMPORTANT:The bladecoupler
(D, Figure5-5) may come off the engine
shaft when removingthe blade. If it does,
do not losethe squarekey (C). The key
fits intoa squareslot inside the blade
coupler. Without it, the blade will not
rotate.
1. Removethe spark plugwire from the
spark plug and move it away.
2. Tip mowertowards the muffler onto
itsside. See Tippingthe Mowerfor
Servicein this Section.
3. Usea 3/4" wrench to loosenthe blade
screw (A,Figure5-5). Hold the blade
with a glovedhandto preventthe blade
from rotating.
Figure5-3: Removing or installingblade.
4. Removeblade screw and Bolleville
washer(A, B,Figure5-5).
5. Removeblade.You may haveto give
the bladea tap to jar it loosefrom the
mountingtabs.
17
Curved
end down
Curved
end clown
Mower Deck
\
r
Il!
\
Lawn
Figure 5-4: Correct blade installation,
Figure5-5: Mowerbladc assembly.
Installing Mower Blade
1. Removethe spark plug wire from the
spark plugand move itaway.
2. Tip mowertowards the muffler onto
its side. See TippingtheMower for
Servicein this Section.
3. If the bladecoupler (D, Figure5-5)
and/orsquarekey (C) came off the engine
shaftduring blade removal,reinstallthose
parts back onto the engineshaft.
4. Positionthe blade with the curved
endsfacing downward (Figure5-4).
5. Slip the Beilevillewasher (B, Figure
5-5) onto the screw (A). Face the dished-
in sideto the blade.
6. Mountthe blade ontothe two tabs of
the bladecoupler. Makesurethat you
seatthe bladecompletelyonto the
coupler.
7. Insertthe screw and washerthrough
the bladeand into the bladecoupler.
Tighten with a torque wrench to 35 ff-lbs.
Sharpeningand
BalancingMower Blade "
IMPORTANT:We recommendthat the
bladebe sharpened by a professional
sharpeningservice. Replace a cracked or
severelyworn bladewith a new one.
1. Removebladefrom the mower. See
RemovingMower Blade.
2. Clampthe bladein a vise. Usea metal
file or grinder to sharpenthe bladewhile
maintainingthe original cutting angle. It
is very importantto maintainthe original
cutting bevelto insurethe most effective
cut.
3. To retainblade balance,removethe
sameamount of materialfrom both ends
of the blade.
4. To checkbladebalance,placethe
bladeon a rounded pivot such as a pencil
or pen under the center hole. Hold blade
parallelto ground then release. See
Figure5-6. If bladeis unbalanced, t he
heavierside will lean downward.
5. Usea file to lightlyremove material
from the heavierside of the blade.
6. SeeInstallingMowerBladeforinfor-
mation on how to re-install.theblade.
REMOVING AND
REPLACING DRIVEBELT
This procedurecan be madeeasierby
removingthe blade(see Removing
Mower Blade);however,blade removalis
not absolutelynecessary.
I
Figure5-6: Balancebladeonpivot to checkblade balance.
Advertisement
