Craftsman 247.288890 Operator's Manual page 117

Toremove the blades, p roceed asfollows:
1. Remove t he deckfrom beneath the tractor,(referto CuttingDeck Removal
earlierin thissection)thengentlyflip the deckoverto expose its underside.
2. Place a blockofwood betweenthe centerdeckhousing baffleandthe
cuttingbladeto actasastabilizer. S ee Figure 24.
3. Remove t he hexflangenutthat secures the bladeto the spindleassembly.
F
Hex Flange Nut
4.
Figure24
Toproperly sharpen thecutting blades, r emove equalamounts of metal
from bothendsof the blades alongthe cuttingedges, p arallelto the trailing
edge,ata 25 °- to 30 °angle.Alwaysgrindeachcuttingbladeedgeequallyto
maintainproperbladebalance. SeeFigure 25.
Figure 25
If the cutting edgeof the blade haspreviouslybeensharpened,or if any
metal separationispresent,replace the bladeswith new ones.
5. Testthe blade'sbalanceusinga bladebalancer. G rindmetalfrom the
heavysideuntil it balances e venly.
NOTE: Whenreplacing the blade,besureto installthe bladewith the sideofthe
blademarked "Bottom" (orwith apartnumberstamped in it)facingthe ground
whenthe mowerisinthe operatingposition.
Use atorque wrench to tighten the bladespindlehex flange nut to between
70 Ibs-ft and 90 Ibs-ft.
Changingthe DeckBelt
Besureto shut the engine off, removeignitionkey,disconnectthe spark
plugwire(s)and groundagainst the engineto prevent unintended starting
_beforeremovng the be t.
All belts on yourtractor aresubjectto wear andshouldbe replacedif any
signsof wear arepresent.
IM PORTANT: TheV-beltfoundon yourtractorisspecially designed to engage
anddisengage s afely. A substitute(non-OEM) V-beltcanbedangerous b ynot
disengaging completely. F oraproperworkingmachine, u seidentical equipment
beltsaslistedinthe partspages of thisOperator's M anual.
Tochange or replace the deckbelton yourtractor,proceed asfollows:
Remove t hedeckasinstructed e arlierinthissection.
1. Remove t he beltcovers from the spindlepulleysbyremoving the hexscrews
that fastenthecoverstothe deck.See Figure 26.
2. It mayalsobe necessary to loosenthe 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 26.
4. Toplacethe newbelt, beginbyroutingthe belt aroundthetwo outerspindle
pulleysasshownin Figure 26.
5. Thenroutethe belt aroundthe two deckidlerpulleysasshownin Figure 26.
6. Retighten the beltkeeperrodloosened earlier.
7. Remount the belt guardsremoved earlier.
8. Re-install t he deck,makingsurethe belt remainsroutedaround the pulleys
asinstructed. T hecomplete belt routingisshownin Figure 26.
9. Pullthe rightsideof the belt, andplacethe narrowVsideof the belt into the
PTO pulley.
10. Whileholdingthe beltandpulleytogether, r otatethe pulleyto the left.
Continue holdingandrotatingthe pulleyandbelt until the belt isfullyrolled
into the PTO pulley.
Apoorly balancedbladewill causeexcessive vibration, may causedamageto
the tractor and/or result in personalinjury.
25