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 54). If the edges
are not sharp or have nicks, remove and sharpen the
blades. Refer to Sharpening the Blades.
Figure 54
1.
Cutting Edge
3.
Wear/slot forming in
curved area
2.
Sail
4.
Crack in the curved area
2.
Inspect the blades, especially the curved area
(Figure 54). If you notice any cracks, wear, or a slot
forming in this area (item 3. in Figure 54), immediately
install a new blade.
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 55 ). Note this
dimension. For 36 inch mower decks use Figure 56.
Figure 55
48 inch Mower Deck shown
1.
Measure here from blade
to hard surface
2.
Position A
Figure 56
36 inch Mower Deck shown
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.
36
