Figure 36
1. Valve stem
Mower Maintenance
Servicing the Cutting Blades
Maintain shar p blades throughout the cutting
season because shar p blades cut cleanly without
tearing or shredding the g rass blades . T earing and
shredding tur ns g rass bro wn at the edg es , whic h
slo ws g ro wth and increases the c hance of disease .
Chec k the cutter blades daily for shar pness , and
for any w ear or damag e . File do wn any nic ks
and shar pen the blades as necessar y . If a blade is
damag ed or w or n, re place it immediately with a
g en uine T oro re placement blade . F or con v enient
shar pening and re placement, y ou ma y w ant to
k ee p extra blades on hand.
A w or n or dama ged blade can br eak, and a
piece of the blade could be thr o wn into the
operator’ s or bystander’ s ar ea, r esulting in
serious per sonal injur y or death.
• Inspect the blade periodicall y f or w ear
or dama ge.
• R eplace a w or n or dama ged blade.
Before Inspecting or Servicing the
Blades
P ark the mac hine on a lev el surface , diseng ag e the
PTO , and set the parking brak e . Stop the engine ,
remo v e the k ey , and disconnect the spark plug
wire(s) from the spark plug(s).
Inspecting the Blades
1. Inspect the cutting edg es ( Figure 37 ). If the
edg es are not shar p or ha v e nic ks , remo v e and
shar pen the blades; refer to Shar pening the
Blades .
2. Inspect the blades , especially the cur v ed area
( Figure 37 ). If y ou notice any damag e , w ear , or
a slot for ming in this area (item 3 in Figure 37 ),
immediately install a new blade .
Figure 37
1. Cutting edge 3. Wear/slot forming
2. Curved area
Checking for Bent Blades
1. Diseng ag e the PTO and mo v e the control
lev ers to the neutral loc k ed position and apply
the parking brak e .
2. Stop the engine , remo v e the k ey , and w ait for
all mo ving par ts to stop before lea ving the
operating position.
3. R otate the blades until the ends face forw ard
and bac kw ard ( Figure 38 ). Measure from a
lev el surface to the cutting edg e of the blades
( Figure 39 ). Note this dimension.
Figure 38
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