Adjustments; Lubrication; Maintenance - MTD YardWorks Series 400 Operator's Manual

It is rec om mended keep ing drive ways and side walks
•
on the op er a tors right while mov ing. Con tinue mow -
ing us ing this pat tern, hav ing the left side of your
lawnmower next to the un cut grass. Mulching with
the cut ting area of the mower on the lawn avoids
grass clip pings in un de sir able ar eas.
WARNING: If you strike a for eign ob ject, stop
the en gine. Re move wire from spark plug, thor -
oughly in spect the mower for any dam age, and
re pair the dam age be fore re start ing and op er at -
ing the mower. Ex ten sive vi bra tion of the mower
dur ing op er a tion is an in di ca tion of dam age. The
unit should be promptly in spected and re -
paired.

ADJUSTMENTS

CAUTION: DO NOT AT ANY TIME MAKE ANY
ADJUSTMENT TO LAWNMOWER WITHOUT FIRST
STOPPING THE ENGINE AND DISCONNECTING THE
SPARK PLUG WIRE .
Height Adjusters:
(See Figure 12).
Stop mower and dis con nect spark plug ca ble be fore
•
chang ing mower cut ting height.
The wheel ad just ers give
•
you nine (9) dif fer ent cut -
ting po si tions. Me dium is
the best for most mow ers.
To change the height of
•
cut, squeeze ad juster le -
ver to ward t he wheel ,
mov ing up or down to se -
lected height.
NOTE: All wheels must be
in the same height of cut.
When cut ting in heavy or moist grass, the rear of
•
lawnmower may be raised higher to al low better dis -
charge of the grass.
Carburetor Adjustment
Mi nor car bu re tor ad just ment may be re quired to
com pen sate for dif fer ences in fuel, tem per a ture, al ti -
tude and load. Re fer to the sep a rate en gine man ual
packed with your mower for car bu re tor ad just ment
in for ma tion.

LUBRICATION

CAUTION: DISCONNECT
BEFORE SERVICING.
WHEELS - If your mower is equipped with ball bear -
ing wheels, lu bri cate at least once a sea son with a
light oil, all other types re quire no lu bri ca tion. How -
ever, if the wheels are re moved for any rea son,
lu bri cate the sur face of the axle bolt and the in ner
sur face of the wheel with light au to mo tive oil.
Fig ure 12
SPARK PLUG WIRE
ENGINE - Fol low en gine man ual for lu bri ca tion in -
struc tions.
BLADE CON TROL - Lu bri cate the pivot points on the
blade con trol han dle and the brake ca ble at least
once a sea son with light oil. The blade con trol must
op er ate freely in both di rec tions.
Cutting Blade
WARNING: Be sure to dis con nect and ground
the spark plug wire be fore work ing on the cut -
ting blade to pre vent ac ci den tal en gine start ing.
Pro tect hands by us ing heavy gloves or a rag to
grasp the cut ting blade.
Tip mower as spec i fied in sep a rate en gine man ual. If
•
it is not spec i fied tip with car bu re tor up.
Re move the bolt and blade sup port which holds the
•
blade and adapter to the en gine crank shaft. Re move
the blade and adapter from the crank shaft. See Fig ure
13.
WARNING:
adapter for cracks, es pe cially if you strike a for -
eign ob ject. Re place when nec es sary.
For best re sults your blade should be sharp. The blade
may be resharpened by re mov ing it and ei ther grind ing
or fil ing the cut ting edge keep ing as close to the orig i -
nal bevel as pos si ble.
each cut ting edge re ceives an equal amount of grind -
ing to pre vent an un bal anced blade. Im proper blade
bal ance will re sult in ex ces sive vi bra tion caus ing even -
tual dam age to the en gine and mower. Be sure to
care fully bal ance blade af ter sharp en ing. The blade can
be tested for bal ance by bal anc ing it on a round shaft
screw driver. Re move metal from the heavy side un til it
bal ances evenly.
Be fore re as sem bling the blade and the blade adapter
to the unit, lu bri cate the en gine crank shaft and the in -
ner sur face of the blade adapter with light oil. In stall
the blade adapter on the crank shaft with the "star"
away from the en gine. Re fer to Fig ure 13. Place the
blade with the side marked bot tom (or with part num -
ber) fac ing away from the adapter. Align the blade bell
sup port over the blade with the tabs in the holes of the
blade and in sert the hex bolt. Tighten the hex bolt to
the torque listed be low:
Blade Mounting Torque
Cen ter Bolt 450 in. lb. min., 600 in.lb. max.
To in sure safe op er a tion of your unit, ALL nuts and bolts
must be checked pe ri od i cally for cor rect tight ness.
CAUTION: Cutting grass in sandy soil condition
causes abrasive wear to the blade.
Af ter pro longed use, es pe cially in sandy soil con di -
tions, the blade will be come worn and lose some of
the orig i nal shape. Cut ting ef fi ciently will be re duced
and the blade should be re placed. Re place with an
9

MAINTENANCE

Pe ri odically in spect
It is ex tremely im por tant that
the blade