Craftsman 37031 - Deck Wash; Blade Care

DECK WASH
Yourmower'sdeckisequippedwitha waterporton itssurfaceas part
ofits deckwashsystem.
Usethedeckwashto rinsegrassclippingsfromthe deck'sunderside
andpreventthe buildupofcorrosivechemicals.Completethefollowing
stepsAFTEREACHMOWING:
1. Pushthe mowertoa level,clearspotonyour lawn,nearenough
foryourgardenhoseto reach.Removethegrassbagif attached.
house,garage,parkedcars,etc.
2. Threadthe hosecoupler(packagedwithyourmower'sOperator's
Manual)onto theendof your gardenhose.
3. Attachthe hosecouplerto thewaterporton yourdeck'ssurface.
SeeFigure19.
4. Turnthewateron.
5. Starttheengineas describedintheOperationsection.
6. Runtheenginefor a minimumof twominutes,allowingthe
undersideof thecuttingdeckto thoroughlyrinse.
7. Releasebladecontrolto stopthe engineandblade.
8. Turnthewateroff anddetachthe hosecouplerfromthe water
portonyourdeck'ssurface.
Aftercleaningyourdeck, restartthe mower.Keepthe engineand
bladerunningfora minimumoftwominutes,allowingthe undersideof
thecuttingdeckto thoroughlydry.
BLADE CARE
Whenremovingthe cuttingbladefor sharpeningor replacement,
protectyourhandswitha pairof heavyglovesor usea heavyragto
holdtheblade.
Periodicallyinspectthe bladeadapterfor cracks,especiallyifyou
strikea foreignobject. Replacewhennecessary.Followthe steps
belowfor bladeservice.
1. Disconnectsparkplugbootfromsparkplug.Turnmoweronitsside
makingsurethatthe airfilterandthe carburetorarefacingup.
2. Removetheboltandthe bladebellsupportwhichholdtheblade
andthebladeadapterto theenginecrankshaft.SeeFigure20.
3. Removebladeandadapterfromthe crankshaft.
4. Removebladefromtheadapterfortestingbalance.Balancethe
bladeon a roundshaftscrewdriverto check.Removemetalfrom
theheavyside untilit balancesevenly.Whensharpeningthe
blade,followthe originalangleof grind.Grindeachcuttingedge
equallyto keepthe bladebalanced.
An unbalancedbladewill causeexcessivevibrationwhen rotatingat
highspeeds.It maycausedamageto mowerandcouldbreakcausing
personalinjury.
Figure19
f
_ ........ Bolt
J
Figure20
5. Lubricatetheenginecrankshaftandtheinnersurfaceofthe blade
adapterwithlightoil. Slidethe bladeadapterontotheengine
crankshaft.Placethe bladeon theadaptersuchthatthesideof
theblademarked"Bottom"(orwithpartnumber)facestheground
whenthe moweris in theoperatingposition.Makesurethatthe
bladeisalignedandseatedon thebladeadapterflanges.See
Figure19inset.
6. Placebladebellsupporton theblade.Alignnotchesontheblade
bellsupportwithsmallholesin blade.
7. Replacehexboltandtightenhexbolttotorque:450in.Ibs.rain.,600
in.Ibs.max.
Toensuresafeoperationof yourmower,periodicallycheckthe blade
boltfor correcttorque.
17