Craftsman C459.60410 Operator's Manual page 26

WARNING
A poorly balanced blade will cause excessive vibration, may cause
damage to the tractor and/or result in personal injury.
5. Test the blade's balance using a blade balancer. Grind metal from
the heavy side until it balances evenly.
NOTE: When replacing the blade, be sure to install the blade with the
side of the blade marked ''Bottom'' (or with a part number stamped in
it) facing the ground when the mower is in the operating position.
CAUTION
Use a torque wrench to tighten the blade spindle hex flange nut to
between 70 lbs-ft and 90 lbs-ft.
CHANGING THE DECK BELT
WARNING
Be sure to shut the engine off, remove ignition key, disconnect the
spark plug wire(s) and ground against the engine to prevent unin-
tended starting before removing the belt.
CAUTION
All belts on your tractor are subject to wear and should be replaced if
any signs of wear are present.
IMPORTANT: The V-belt found on your tractor is specially designed
to engage and disengage safely. A substitute (non-OEM) V-belt can
SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE
Hex Washer Screws
Belt Guard
be dangerous by not disengaging completely. For a proper working
machine, use identical equipment belts as listed in the parts pages of
this Operator's Manual.
To change or replace the deck belt on your tractor, proceed as follows:
1. Remove the deck as instructed earlier in this section.
2. Remove the belt covers from the spindle pulleys by removing the
hex screws that fasten the covers to the deck. See Figure 28.
3. It may also be necessary to loosen the hex nuts on the deck idler
pulleys to get the belt off of the pulley and around the belt guard.
After loosening the deck idler pulleys, rotate the belt guide out of
the way on the left idler pulley to remove the belt.
4. Carefully remove the deck belt from around the two spindle
pulleys and the two deck idler pulleys. See Figure 28.
5. To place the new belt, begin by routing the belt around the two
outer spindle pulleys as shown in Figure 28.
6. Then route the belt around the two deck idler pulleys as shown in
Figure 28.
7. Retighten the belt keeper rod loosened earlier.
8. Remount the belt guards removed earlier.
9. Re-install the deck, making sure the belt remains routed around
the pulleys as instructed. The complete belt routing is shown in
Figure 28.
10. Pull the right side of the belt, and place the narrow V side of the
belt into the PTO pulley.
11. While holding the belt and pulley together, rotate the pulley to the
left. Continue holding and rotating the pulley and belt until the belt
is fully rolled into the PTO pulley.
Spindle Pulley
Belt Cover
Deck Idler Pulley
Figure 28
26
This portion of the
belt routes around
the PTO Pulley