Craftsman 247.203721 - Cutting Blades Maintenance; Belt Replacement Procedures

CuttingBlades
Shutthe engineoff andremoveignitionkeybeforeremovingthecutting
blade(s)for sharpeningor replacement.Protectyourhandsby usingheavy
[g oveswhengraspngthe bade.
Periodicallyinspectthebladeand/or spindlefor cracksor damage,
Iespeciallyafter you'vestruckaforeign object. Donotoperatethemachine
[until damagedcomponentsare replaced.
Toremovetheblades,proceedasfollows:
1. Removethedeckfrombeneaththetractor,(referto CuttingDeckRemoval
earlierinthissection)thengentlyflip thedeckoverto exposeitsunderside.
2. Placeablockofwoodbetweenthecenterdeckhousingbaffleandthe
cutting bladeto actasastabilizer.SeeFigure28.
3. Removethehexflangenutthatsecuresthebladeto thespindleassembly.
HexFlangeNut
4.
J
Figure28
Toproperlysharpenthecuttingblades,removeequalamountsofmetal
frombothendsofthebladesalongthe cuttingedges,paraIMtothetrailing
edge,at a25°-to 30°angle.Alwaysgrindeachcuttingbladeedgeequallyto
maintainproperbladebalance.SeeFigure29.
Figure29
If thecutting edgeof thebladehaspreviouslybeensharpened,or ifany
metalseparationispresent,replacethebladeswith newones.
A poorlybalancedbladewill causeexcessivevibration, maycausedamageto
thetractorand/or resultinpersonalinjury.
5. Testtheblade'sbalanceusingabladebalancer.Grindmetalfromthe
heavysideuntilitbalancesevenly.
NOTE:Whenreplacingtheblade,besuretoinstallthebladewith thesideofthe
blademarked"Bottom" (orwitha partnumberstampedinit)facingtheground
whenthemowerisintheoperatingposition.
Useatorquewrenchtotightenthebladespindlehexflange nut to between
70[bs-ftand 90[bs-ft.
Changing the DeckBelt
Besureto shuttheengineoff, removeignitionkey,disconnectthe spark
plugwire(s)and groundagainsttheenginetopreventunintendedstarting
beforeremovingthe belt.
Ai[ beltsonyourtractor aresubjectto wear andshouldbereplacedifany
signsofwearare present.
iMPORTANT: TheV-beltfoundonyourtractorisspeciallydesignedto engage
anddisengagesafely.Asubstitute(non-OEM)V-beltcanbedangerousbynot
disengagingcompletely.Fora properworkingmachine,useidenticalequipment
beltsaslistedinthe partspagesofthis Operator'sManual
Tochangeorreplacethedeckbeltonyourtractor,proceedasfollows:
Removethedeckasinstructedearlierinthissection.
1. Removethebeltcoversfromthespindlepulleysbyremovingthe hexscrews
that fastenthecoverstothedeck.SeeFigure30.
2. It mayalsobenecessaryto loosenthehexnutontheleft deckidlerpulleyto
getthebeltoffthepulleyandaroundthebeltguard.
3. Carefullyremovethedeckbeltfromaroundthetwo spindlepulleysandthe
two deckidlerpulleys.SeeFigure30.
4. Toplacethenewbelt,beginbyroutingthebeltaroundthetwo outer
spindlepulleysasshownin Figure30.
5. Thenroutethe beltaroundthetwodeckidlerpulleysasshownin Figure30.
6. Retightenthe beltkeeperrodloosenedearlier.
7. Remountthe beltguardsremovedearlier.
8. Re-installthedeck,makingsurethebeltremainsroutedaroundthepulleys
asinstructed.Thecompletebeltroutingisshownin Figure30.
9. Pulltherightsideofthebelt,andplacethenarrowVsideofthebeltintothe
PTOpulley.
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