Re
move the bolt and blade sup
port which
holds the blade and adapter to the en
gine
crank
shaft. Re
move the blade and adapter
from the crank shaft.
WARNING: Pe ri odically in spect the
blade adapter for cracks, es pe cially if
you strike a for
eign ob
ject. Re
place
when nec es sary.
For best re
sults your blade should be sharp.
The blade may be resharpened by re mov ing it
and ei
ther grind
ing or fil
ing the cut
ting edge
keep ing as close to the orig i nal bevel as pos -
si
ble. It is
ex tremely
im
por
tant that each
cut
ting edge re
ceives an equal amount of
grind ing to pre vent an un bal anced blade. Im -
proper blade bal
ance will re
sult in ex
ces
sive
vi bra tion caus ing even tual dam age to the en -
gine and mower. Be sure to care fully bal ance
blade af
ter sharp
en
ing. The blade can be
tested for bal ance by bal anc ing it on a round
shaft screw
driver. Re
move metal from the
heavy side un til it bal ances evenly.
Be fore re as sem bling the blade and the blade
adapter to the unit, lu bri cate the en gine crank -
shaft and the in
ner sur
face of the blade
adapter with light oil. In stall the blade adapter
on the crank shaft with the “star” away from the
en
gine. Re
fer to Fig
ure 18. Place the blade
with the side marked bot
tom (or with part
num
ber) fac
ing away from the adapter. Align
the blade bell sup port over the blade with the
tabs in the holes of the blade and in sert the
hex bolt. Tighten the hex bolt to the torque
listed be low:
Blade Mounting Torque
Cen ter Bolt 450 in. lb. min., 600 in.lb. max.
To in
sure safe op
er
a
tion of your unit, ALL
nuts and bolts must be checked pe ri od i cally
for cor rect tight ness.
CAUTION: Cutting grass in sandy
soil conditions causes abrasive
wear to the blade.
Af
ter pro
longed use, es
pe
cially in sandy soil
con
di
tions, the blade will be
come worn and
lose some of the orig
i
nal shape. Cut
ting ef
fi
-
ciently will be re duced and the blade should be
re placed. Re place with an ap proved fac tory re -
place
ment blade only. Pos
si
ble dam
age
re sult ing from blade un bal ance con di tion is not
the re spon si bil ity of the man u fac turer.
BELT REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT
1. Dis con nect the spark plug wire and
ground it against the en gine.
2. Drain the fuel tank or place a piece of plas -
tic be
neath the cap to pre
vent gas
o
line
leak age.
3. Tip the mower on its side. Block se curely.
4. Re
move the blade and blade adapter as
de scribed previously.
5. Move rear height ad
juster to the high
est
po si tion. See Fig ure 21.
6. Using a 3/8" socket re
move three hex
screws hold ing the baf fle to the deck. See
Fig ure 19.
7. Pivot baf fle to wards the rear of the mower.
See Fig ure 20.
8. Re move the hex bolt hold ing the trans mis -
sion to the mower hous
ing. See Fig
ure
21.
14
Figure 18
Blade Adapter
Blade
Hex Bolt
Blade Bell
Support
Figure 19
Hex
Screw
Hex
Screw
Hex
Screw
Figure 20
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