Replacing The Deck Drive Belt; Mower Blade Care - Craftsman 247.25001 Operator's Manual

11. Rollingthe Beltintothe PTOPulley.
a. Usingthedecklift handle,raisethedecktothe position that
provides the longest h orizontal runof thebeltbetween thedeck
idlerpulleys andthe PTOpulleyonthe bottomoftheengine.
b. Makecertainthe beltis in the spindlepulleysof the deck,
and that the backsideof the beltis againstboth thefixed and
movableidler pulleys.Referto Figure35.
c. Sittingbehindthe ridingmower,facing forward,makecertain
the belt is nottwisted;then reachbeneaththe ridingmower
to graspthe beltand pull it towardthe PTOpulley.
Use cautionto avoidpinchingyourfingerswhenrollingthe belt off the
PTOpulley.
d. Pull the rightside ofthe beltrearwardand placethe narrow
V sideof the belt intothe PTOpulley.See Figure37.
e. Whileholdingthe beltand pulleytogether,rotatethepulley
to the left (See Figure36). Continueholdingand rotatingthe
pulleyand beltuntil the beltis fully rolledintothe PTOpulley.
REPLACING THE DECK DRIVE BELT
1. Removethe deck from beneaththe riding mower,(referto Deck
Removal o n page30).
2. Remove thehexwasher screwssecuring thebeltcoverstothedeck
and remove thebeltfromthespindlepulleys. R eferto Figure 40.
Hex
Washer_
Screw
Hex
Washer
Screw
Figure40
3. Installthe newbeltaroundthe spindlepulleysas shownin Figure
40 and reinstallthe belt covers.
.
Routethe belt rearwardbetweenthe two idler pulleysand reinstall
thedeck followingthe instructionsin DeckInstallation.
Mower Blade Care
Beforeperforming anymaintenance, p lacethe PTOswitchin the"OFF"
position, e ngagetheparkingbrakelever,turntheignitionkeyto the
"OFF"positionand remove the keyfrom theswitch.Protectyourhands
byusingheavygloveswhenhandling the blades.Whenservicingthe
mower deck,be carefulnotto cut yourselfon the sharpened blades.
The cuttingbladesmustbe kept sharpat all times. Sharpenthe cutting
edgesof the bladesevenlyso that the bladesremainbalancedandthe
same angleof sharpnessis maintained.
If the cuttingedge of a bladehas alreadybeen sharpenedmanytimes,
or if any metalseparationis present,it is recommended that new
bladesbe installed.Newbladesmay be obtainedthroughSears Parts
& Repairor by calling 1-800-659-5917.
The bladesmaybe removedas follows.
1. Removethe deck from beneaththe ridingmower,(referto Deck
Removal o n page30) thengentlyflip the deck overto exposeits
underside.
.
Usea 15/16"wrenchto hold the hexnut on top of the spindle
assemblywhenlooseningthe hex nutsecuringthe blade.A block
of wood maybe placedbetweenthe deck housingand thecutting
edge of the bladeto help in breakingloosethe hex nutsecuring
the blade.See Figure41.
//
Wood Block/
He× Flang,
Spindle Assembly
Figure41
3. When reinstalling the blades,be surethey are installedso that the
wind wingsare pointingupwardtowardthe top of deck.
4. Tightenthe blade nutsto 70-90ft. Ibs.
5. Reinstall t he deck (referto DeckInstallationon page 31).
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