Craftsman 917.374803 Owner's Manual page 17

7. Use a wood block between blade and
mower housing to prevent blade from
turning when removing blade bolt.
NOTE: Protect your hands with gloves
and/or wrap blade with heavy cloth.
8. Remove blade bolt.
9. Remove blade, attaching hardware
(bolt, lock washer and hardened wash-
er), blade adapter and debris shield as
one assembly.
10. Remove drive belt from blade adapter
and debris shield; discard old belt.
TO REPLACE DRIVE BELT
1. Place new drive belt in the belt retainer
of the debris shield. Be sure to route
belt between belt keepers and through
slot (See Figure D).
Belt
Tab
Belt
kee
Drive
belt
Debris
Slot shield
Figure D
2. Route the other end of the new drive
belt through hole in housing.
3. Reattach debris shield to housing with
screw previously removed. Be sure tab
of debris shield is in gap of housing.
4. Position blade on the blade adapter
aligning the two (2) holes in the blade
with the raised lugs on the adapter.
5. Be sure the trailing edge of blade (op-
posite sharp edge) is up toward the
engine (See Figure C).
6. Install the blade bolt with the lock
washer and hardened washer into
blade adapter and crankshaft.
7. Use block of wood between blade and
lawn mower housing and tighten the
blade bolt, turning clockwise.
• The recommended tightening torque is
35-40 ft. Ibs.
IMPORTANT: Blade bolt is heat treated.
If bolt needs replacing, replace only with
approved bolt shown in the Repair Parts
section of this manual.
8. Return mower to upright position.
9. Install new drive belt into idler arm
assembly, then around the drive pulley.
Be sure belt is inside of belt keepers
(See Figure B).
NOTE: Pulling on the drive belt (to install
it on the drive pulley) will cause the other
end of the belt to free itself from the debris
shield retainer and properly seat itself in
groove of pulley end of the blade adapter.
10. Reattach drive cable spring to the idler
arm assembly, then reattach drive
cable to anchor.
11. Reattach drive cover with screws previ-
ously removed.
12. Connect spark plug wire to spark plug.
TO ADJUST HANDLE
The handle on your lawn mower has
multiple height positions - adjust to height
that suits you.
1. Remove knob and carriage bolt on left
side of the lower handle.
2. While holding handle assembly, re-
move knob and carriage bolt from right
side. Align hole in handle with desired
hole in handle bracket, then reassem-
ble bolt and knob and tighten securely.
3. Align left side of handle with same po-
sitioning hole as right side and secure
with bolt and knob.
Bolt
Low
Hi
ENGINE
Maintenance, repair, or replacement of the
emission control devices and systems, which
are being done at the customers expense,
may be performed by any non-road engine
repair establishment or individual. Warranty
repairs must be performed by an authorized
engine manufacturer's service outlet.
17