58
Maintenance Instructions
CHECKING/SERVICING
IMPORTANT: DO NOT
overfill the battery. Electro-
lyte will overflow through the vented caps onto parts
of the machine and
WILL
result in severe corrosion.
Cleaning the Terminals
If battery terminals are corroded,
remove battery
from the mower. Using a wire brush, remove corro-
sion with a solution of
one part baking soda and
four parts water.
Rinse with clean water. Coat the
terminals with petroleum jelly or terminal protector
spray to retard further corrosion.
Charging the Battery
Check the battery charge by measuring the specific
gravity of electrolyte; if specific gravity is less than
1.225, the battery will need to be charged as follows:
1.
Charge the battery at 15 amps for 10 minutes.
DO NOT
exceed 20 amps maximum recom-
mended charging rate. Charge until specific
gravity is at least 1.250. Total charging time
should not exceed one (1) hour.
2.
After charging the battery, use distilled water to
adjust the electrolyte level to the bottom of the
vent wells [1/4 to 1/2 in. (6 to 13 mm) above the
plates].
DANGER
BATTERIES PRODUCE EXPLOSIVE
GASES
•
Charge the battery in a well-ventilated
area, so that gases produced while charg-
ing can dissipate.
•
Keep sparks, flames, and smoking ma-
terials away from the battery at all times.
•
Make sure the battery cap vents are
open (check manifold vent on each cap).
• Make sure the battery charger is un-
plugged before connecting or discon-
necting cables to the battery.
Tire Pressure
Inflate tires to pressures shown below:
Deck Caster Wheel = 20 PSI (137 kPa)
Drive = 15 PSI (103 kPa)
Rear = 20 PSI (137 kPa)
Wheel Bolt Torque
Every 100 hours check the eight (8) lug bolts that
mount the drive tires. They should be torqued to 75
to 85 ft-lbs (101.7 to 115.2 N·m).
Sharpen Mower Blades
Check mower blade(s) for
straightness, sharp-
ness, condition of
the cutting edge,
and
balance
every 10 hours
of operation (or more often when
mowing abrasive type grass or operating on sandy
soils).
Replace blades if worn, bent, cracked, or
otherwise damaged
(refer to
REPLACING/RE-
PAIRING
the
Mower Blades
in this section). Use
the following procedure to check and sharpen
blades:
NOTE: Keep blades sharp
- cutting with dull blades
not only yields a poor mowing job but slows the
cutting speed of the mower and causes extra wear
on the engine and blade drive by pulling hard.
1. Stop the engine, remove ignition key, and dis-
connect the spark plug wires
before
raising the
mower deck to service blades.
2. Raise the deck and secure it in the
TILT-UP
po-
sition. Refer to
CLEANING
the
Grass Buildup
in Mower Housing
in this section for deck rais-
ing instructions.
DANGER
NEVER operate cutter blades with the
deck in the raised position.
NOTE:
PTO shaft must be
disconnected
be-
fore checking blades for straightness.
3. Check the blades for
straightness
by marking
the blade tip position inside the deck housing,
and then rotating the opposite end of the blade
to the same position and comparing. If the dif-
ference in blade tip track is
more than 1/8 in.
(3 mm),
the blade is bent and
should be re-
placed.
