Cutting Blades; Changing The Deckbelt - Craftsman 247.288862 Operator's Manual

CuttingBlades
Shutthe engineoffand removeignitionkeybeforeremoving the cutting
blade(s)for sharpeningor replacement.Protectyour handsby usingheavy
[g oveswhen graspng the bade.
Periodicallyinspect t he bladeand/orspindlefor cracksor damage,
Iespeciallyafter you'vestruckaforeign object. Donot operatethe machine
[until damagedcomponentsarereplaced.
Toremove the blades, p roceed asfollows:
1. Remove t he deckfrom beneath the tractor,(referto CuttingDeck Removal
earlierin thissection) t hengentlyflip the deckoverto expose itsunderside.
2. Place ablockof woodbetweenthe center d eckhousing baffleandthe
cuttingbladeto actasastabilizer. S eeFigure 21.
3. Remove t he hexflangenut thatsecures t he bladeto the spindleassembly.
HexFlangeNut
4.
Figure21
\
Toproperlysharpen the cutting blades, r emove equalamounts of metal
from bothendsofthe blades alongthe cuttingedges, p arallelto the trailing
edge,ata 25 °- to 30 ° angle. A lwaysgrindeachcuttingbladeedgeequallyto
maintainproperbladebalance. SeeFigure 22.
Figure22
If the cutting edge of the bladehaspreviously b eensharpened,or if any
metalseparationispresent,replacethe bladeswith new ones.
A poorly balancedbladewill causeexcessive vibration, maycausedamageto
the tractor and/or result in personalinjury.
5. Testthe blade'sbalanceusingabladebalancer. G rindmetalfrom the
heavy sideuntil it balances e venly.
NOTE: Whenreplacing the blade,besureto installthe bladewith the sideof the
blademarked "Bottom" (orwitha part number s tampedinit) facingthe ground
whenthe mowerisinthe operatingposition.
Useatorque wrench to tighten the bladespindlehexflange nut to between
70Ibs-ft and 90 Ibs-ft.
Changing the DeckBelt
Besureto shut the engine off, removeignitionkey,disconnectthe spark
plug wire(s)and groundagainst the engineto prevent unintendedstarting
beforeremovingthe belt.
All belts onyour tractor aresubjectto wear andshouldbe replacedif any
signsof wearare present.
IMPORTANT: The V-beltfoundon yourtractorisspecially designed to engage
anddisengage s afely. A substitute(non-OEM) V-beltcanbedangerous b ynot
disengaging completely. F ora properworkingmachine, u seidentical e quipment
beltsaslistedinthe partspages of thisOperator's M anual.
Tochange or replace the deckbelt onyourtractor,proceed asfollows:
Remove t he deck asinstructed earlierinthissection.
1. Remove t he beltcovers from the spindlepulleysbyremoving the hexscrews
that fastenthe covers t o thedeck.SeeFigure 23.
2. It mayalsobe necessary to loosen the hexnut on the left deckidler pulleyto
get the belt offthe pulleyandaroundthe beltguard.
3. Carefully remove the deckbelt fromaroundthe two spindlepulleys andthe
two deckidler pulleys. S eeFigure 23.
4. Toplacethe newbelt,beginbyroutingthe belt around the two outerspindle
pulleys asshownin Figure 23.
5. Thenroutethe beltaroundthe twodeckidlerpulleysasshownin Figure 23.
6. Retighten the beltkeeperrodloosened earlier.
7. Remount the beltguardsremoved earlier.
8. Re-install t hedeck,makingsurethe belt remainsroutedaround the pulleys
asinstructed. T he completebelt routingisshownin Figure 23.
9. Pullthe rightsideof the belt,andplacethe narrowVsideof the belt intothe
PTO pulley.
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