Mower Deck Maintenance; Servicing The Cutting Blades - Toro GrandStand 74534TE Operator's Manual

Mower Deck
Maintenance

Servicing the Cutting Blades

To ensure a superior quality of cut, keep the blades
sharp. For convenient sharpening and replacement, you
may want to keep extra blades on hand.
WARNING
A worn or damaged blade can break, and a piece
of the blade could be thrown into the operator's
or bystander's area, resulting in serious personal
injury or death.
• Inspect the blades periodically for wear or
damage.
• Replace a worn or damaged blade.
Before Inspecting or Servicing the
Blades
Park the machine on a level surface, disengage the blades
and set the parking brake. Turn the ignition key to off.
Remove the key and disconnect the spark plug wires
from the spark plugs.
Inspecting the Blades
Service Interval: Before each use or daily
1. Inspect the cutting edges (Figure 78). If the edges
are not sharp or have nicks, remove and sharpen the
blades. Refer to Sharpening the Blades.
2. Inspect the blades, especially the curved area. If you
notice any cracks, wear, or a slot forming in this area
immediately install a new blades (Figure 78).
Figure 78
1. Cutting Edge
2. Curved Area
3. Wear/slot Forming
4. Crack
Checking for Bent Blades
1. Disengage the PTO, move the motion control levers
to the neutral locked position and set the parking
brake.
2. Stop the engine, remove the key, and wait for all
moving parts to stop before leaving the operating
position.
3. Rotate the blades until the ends face forward and
backward. Measure from a level surface to the
cutting edge, position A, of the blades (Figure 79 ).
Note this dimension.
1. Measure here from blade
to hard surface
4. Rotate the opposite ends of the blades forward.
5. Measure from a level surface to the cutting edge of
the blades at the same position as in step 3 above.
The difference between the dimensions obtained in
steps 3 and 4 must not exceed 1/8 inch (3 mm). If
this dimension exceeds 1/8 inch (3 mm), the blade
is bent and must be replaced; refer to Removing the
Blades and Installing the Blades.
WARNING
A blade that is bent or damaged could break
apart and could seriously injure or kill you or
bystanders.
• Always replace bent or damaged blade with
a new blade.
• Never file or create sharp notches in the
edges or surfaces of blade.
Removing the Blades
Blades must be replaced if a solid object is hit, if the
blade is out of balance or is bent. To ensure optimum
performance and continued safety conformance of
55
Figure 79
2. Position A