Cutting Blades; Changing The Deckbelt - Craftsman T1200 247.203770 Operator's Manual

CuttingBlades
Shutthe engine off andremove ignitionkeybefore removing thecutting
blade(s) f or sharpeningor replacement.Protectyour handsby using heavy
[g oveswhen grasp ngthe bade.
Periodicallyinspect t he bladeand/or spindlefor cracksor damage,
Iespeciallyafter you've struckaforeign object. Donot operate the machine
[until damagedcomponentsare replaced.
Toremove the blades, p roceed asfollows:
1. Remove t hedeckfrombeneath the tractor,(referto CuttingDeckRemoval
earlierinthissection) t hengentlyflip thedeckoverto expose itsunderside.
2. Place ablockof woodbetweenthe centerdeckhousingbaffleandthe
cutting bladeto actasastabilizer. S eeFigure 28.
3. Remove t he hexflangenut thatsecures the bladeto the spindleassembly.
HexFlangeNut
4.
J
Figure 28
Toproperlysharpen the cuttingblades, r emove equal a mounts of metal
from bothendsof the bladesalongthe cuttingedges, p araIMtothe trailing
edge,at a25°- to 30° angle.Always grindeachcutting bladeedgeequallyto
maintainproperbladebalance. SeeFigure 29.
Figure29
If the cutting edge of the bladehaspreviously beensharpened,or if any
metalseparationispresent, r eplace the bladeswith newones.
A poorlybalancedbladewill causeexcessive vibration, maycausedamageto
the tractorand/or resultin personal injury.
5. Testthe blade'sbalanceusingabladebalancer. G rindmetalfrom the
heavy sideuntil it balances e venly.
NOTE: Whenreplacing the blade,besureto install the bladewith the sideof the
blademarked "Bottom" (orwitha part number s tampedinit)facingthe ground
whenthe mowerisinthe operatingposition.
Use atorque wrench totightenthe bladespindlehex flange nut to between
70[bs-ft and 90 [bs-ft.
Changing the DeckBelt
Besureto shut the engine off, removeignitionkey,disconnectthe spark
plugwire(s)and groundagainst the engine topreventunintendedstarting
beforeremoving the belt.
Ai[ belts on yourtractor aresubjectto wear andshouldbe replaced if any
signsof wearare present.
iMPORTANT: The V-beltfoundon yourtractorisspecially designed to engage
anddisengage s afely. A substitute(non-OEM) V-beltcanbedangerous b ynot
disengaging completely. F ora proper w orkingmachine, u seidentical equipment
beltsaslistedinthe partspages ofthis Operator's M anual
Tochange or replace the deckbelt onyourtractor,proceed asfollows:
Remove t he deck asinstructed e arlierinthissection.
1. Remove t he beltcovers from the spindlepulleysbyremoving the hexscrews
that fastenthe covers t o the deck.See Figure 30.
2. It mayalsobe necessary to loosen t he hexnut on the left deckidlerpulleyto
get the belt off the pulleyandaroundthe beltguard.
3. Carefully remove the deckbelt fromaroundthe two spindlepulleys andthe
two deckidlerpulleys. S eeFigure 30.
4. Toplacethe newbelt,beginbyroutingthe belt around the two outer
spindlepulleys asshownin Figure 30.
5. Thenroutethe beltaroundthe twodeckidler pulleys asshownin Figure 30.
6. Retighten the beltkeeperrodloosened earlier.
7. Remount the beltguardsremoved earlier.
8. Re-install t hedeck,makingsurethe belt remainsrouted aroundthe pulleys
asinstructed. The completebelt routingisshownin Figure 30.
9. Pullthe rightsideof the belt,andplacethe narrowVsideof the belt intothe
PTO pulley.
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