Craftsman 247.203690 Operator's Manual page 28

8.
Feed the deckbelt throughthe beltkeeperbracketandworkit aroundand
ontothe PTO drivepulleyasshownin Figure 33.
Tires
Neverexceed the maximum inflationpressureshownon the sidewall of tire.
The recommendedoperating tire pressure is:
Approximately 10psiforthe reartires
Approximately 14psiforthe front tires
IMPORTANT: Referto the tire sidewall f orexacttire manufacturer's r ecommended
or maximum psi.Donot overinflate.Uneven tire pressure c ouldcause the cutting
deckto mowunevenly.
CuttingBlade
Shutthe engineoff andremoveignitionkeybeforeremoving the cutting
bladefor sharpeningor replacement.Protectyour handsbyusing heavy
[g oveswhen grasp ng the b ade.
Periodicallyinspect t he bladeandlor spindlefor cracksor damage,
Iespeciallyafter you'vestrucka foreign object. Donot operate the machine
[until damagedcomponents a rereplaced.
Toremove the blade,proceed asfollows.
NOTE: It maybeeasier t o changethe bladebyfirst removing the deck from
beneath the tractor,(referto CuttingDeck Removal earlierinthissection)
thengentlyflip the deckoverto expose itsunderside. I t ispossible to change
the blade, h owever, w ith the deckstill attached to the tractor.Ifattempting
to change the bladewith the deckstill installed o n the tractor,first movethe
decklift leverto its highestcuttingposition.
I. Remove t he mulchplug,deckchuteor baggingchute,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 39
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 of the bladehaspreviously beensharpened,or if any
metalseparationis present,replacethe bladeswith newones.
A poorly balancedbladewill causeexcessive vibration, maycausedamageto
the tractor and/or resultin 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 bladespindlehex flange nut to between
70Ibs-ft and 90 Ibs-ft.
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