Tires; Cutting Blade - Craftsman 247.290000 Operator's Manual

8.
Feed the deckbelt throughthe beltkeeperbracketandworkit aroundand
ontothe PTO drivepulleyasshownin Figure 33.
Tires
Neverexceed the maximum inflationpressure shown on the sidewallof tire.
The recommended operatingtire pressure is:
Approximately 10psiforthe reartires
Approximately 14psiforthe front tires
IMPORTANT: Referto the tire sidewall f orexacttire manufacturer's r ecommended
or maximum psi.Donot ovednflate.Uneven tire pressure c ouldcause the cutting
deckto mowunevenly.
CuttingBlade
Shutthe engineoffand removeignitionkeybeforeremoving the cutting
bladefor sharpeningor replacement. P rotectyour handsbyusing heavy
[g oveswhen grasp ng the bade.
Periodicallyinspect t he bladeand/or spindlefor cracksor damage,
[especiallyafter you'vestruckaforeign object. Donot operatethe machine
[until damagedcomponentsarereplaced.
Toremove t he blade,proceed asfollows.
NOTE: It maybeeasier t o change the bladebyfirst removing t he deck from
beneath the tractor,(referto CuttingDeck Removal earlierinthissection)
thengentlyflip the deckoverto expose its underside. I t ispossible to change
the blade, h owever, w ith the deckstill attached to the tractor.Ifattempting
to change the bladewith the deckstill installedon the tractor,first movethe
decklift leverto its highestcuttingposition.
1. Remove t he mulchplug,deckchuteor bagging chute,if equipped, e xposing
the deckchuteopening.
2. Usingablockof woodor 2x 4,insertit into the deck openingandrotatethe
bladearounduntil it wedgesthe woodbetweenthe deckopeningandthe
cuttingblade, a sshownin Figure 39.
3. Remove t he hexflangenut thatsecures t he bladeto the spindleassembly,
andremove the blade.See the Insetof Figure 39.
NOTE: Thedeckspindlehasanormalthread.Toloosen, r otatethe flangelock
nut counterclockwise.
Figure 3 9
Toproperlysharpen the cuttingblades, r emove equal a mounts of metal
from bothendsof the bladesalongthe cuttingedges, p aralleltothe trailing
edge,at a25°- to 30° angle.Always grindeachcutting bladeedgeequallyto
maintainproperbladebalance. SeeFigure 40.
Figure40
If the cutting edge ofthe bladehaspreviouslybeensharpened,or if any
metalseparationispresent, r eplace the bladeswith new ones.
A poorly balancedbladewill causeexcessive vibration, maycausedamageto
the tractor and/or result in personalinjury.
Testthe blade'sbalanceusingabladebalancer. G rindmetalfrom the
heavy sideuntil it balances e venly.
NOTE: Whenreplacing the blade, b esureto installthe bladewith the sideof
the blademarked "Bottom" (orwith a partnumberstamped in it) facingthe
groundwhenthe mowerisinthe operatingposition.
Useatorque wrench to tighten the bladespindlehexflange nut to between
70Ibs-ft and 90 Ibs4t.
28