MTD 38 manual

Safety • Assembl y • Operation • Tips & T echniques • Maintenance • T roubleshooting • P ar ts Lists • Warranty Warning : This un it is equi pped wi th an interna l combu stion e ngine and s hould not b e used on or near any uni mproved forest-c overed, brush- covered or grass -c overed land unles s the eng ine’ s exhaust system[...]

2 Finding and Recor ding Model Number Model Number Serial Number Please do NO T return the unit to the retailer fr om which it was pur chased, without first contacting Customer Support. T ab le of Contents BE FO RE AS SE MBLING Y OUR NEW E QUIP MENT , pleas e locate th e model pla te on the e quipmen t and copy th e inf ormati on to the sa mple mo[...]

3 1 Slope Gauge W ARNING Do not mo w on inclines with a slope in e xcess of 1 5 degre es (a rise of appro ximat ely 2- 1/ 2 feet e very 1 0 fee t) . A riding mow er could o ve r turn and cause s erious inj ury . If opera ting a w alk - behind mo wer on such a slope , it is extrem ely difficult to main tain y our footi ng and y ou could slip , resul[...]

4 2 Safe Operat ion Practices Children T ragic accidents can occur if operator is not aler t to presence of children. Children are often attracted to mow er and mowing activity . They do not understand the dangers . Nev er assume that children will remain where you last sa w them. 1. K eep children out of the mowing area and under watchful care of [...]

5 1 9. Shu t the en gine o ff a nd wait un til th e blad e com es to a com plete s top be fore rem oving t he gra ss cat cher or u nc log - ging t he c hute. The c ut ting b lade c ont inues t o rotate for a few s eco nds af ter the e ngin e is shu t off. Never pl ace any par t o f the b ody in the b lade are a unti l you are sure t he blad e has s[...]

6 3 Setup and Adjustment Ref erence t o right, left, fron t, or back o f the law n mow er is fro m the opera ting position only , unless otherwise stat ed. IMPORT ANT : This un it is shipped without gaso line or oil in the engi ne. Fill u p gasoline and oil as in structed in the accompany ing engine manual BEFORE operating yo ur mower . Loose P ar [...]

7 Spark Plug Wire Disc onnec t spark p lug wire from th e spark plu g and ground it ag ainst th e engine. If eng ine is equ ipped w ith a rubb er boot, at tac h rubb er boot to a bol t on the en gine. This wil l prevent the engine fro m firing dur ing assem bly . Lo wer the Dischar g e Chute 1 . For shippi ng purpo ses, the c hute defle ctor on you[...]

8 The blade con trol cable is attached to th e engine f rom the fa ctory . Y ou will need t o attach the fr ee end of the cable to the uppe r handle . 3 Setup and Adjustment IMPORT ANT : This unit i s shipped without gas oline or oil in the en gine. F ill up gasoline a nd oil as instruct ed in the accompan ying engi ne manua l BEFORE opera ting yo [...]

9 Attach the Recoil Starter NOTE: Use th e hardware in Gro up 5 to secure t he reco il star ter . 1 . Loosely at tac h the ro pe guid e to the outs ide of th e upper ha ndle an d thread the wi ng nut only a few turns, Fig ure 3- 10. Do not tighten. 2. Depres s the blad e control h andle. 3. Pull the rec oil star ter out of t he engin e. 4. Slip t h[...]

10 3 Setup and Adjustment Alwa ys stop engi ne, disconnect spark plug, and grou nd against eng ine before per formi ng adjust - ments. Alwa ys stop engi ne, disconnect spark plug, and gro und against engine before performing adjustments. Cutting Height Each whee l has a heig ht adjustm ent lever to change th e cut ting he ight of the m ower . 1 . D[...]

11 NO TES[...]

12 4 Operating Y our Lawn Mo wer Blade Contr ol Handle The blad e contro l handle i s attac hed to th e upper handl e. Depress and s queeze it against t he upper handl e to operate the u nit. Rele ase it to stop t he engin e and blad e. W ARN I NG : This bl ade co ntrol h andl e is a safe ty d evice. N ever at tempt to byp ass its op er ations . Cu[...]

13 4 Operating Y our Lawn Mo wer The o per ation o f any lawn mower c an re sult in fore ign obj ect s bei ng thrown into t he eyes, which ca n dam age your eyes severely. Always wear s afet y gla sses wh ile ope rati ng the mowe r , or while p er form ing any adjust men ts or re pair s on it . Be sur e no one othe r than t he op era tor is sta ndi[...]

14 Cleaning the Mo wer Clean und ersid e of the mower de ck af ter each use to prevent build- up of gras s clip pings o r other debr is. W ARN I NG : Never tip th e mower mor e than 9 0 º in any dire ctio n and do not l eave the m ower tipp ed fo r any leng th of tim e. Oil ca n drain in to the upp er pa rt of t he eng ine cau sing a sta rt ing pr[...]

15 5 M ai n ta i ni n g Y o u r L a w n M o w e r W ARNING When remov ing the cutting blade for sharpening or replace- ment, protect your hands with a pair of heavy glov e s or use a heavy rag to hold the blade. An unbalanced blade will ca use ex ce ssiv e vibration when ro tat - ing at hi gh spee ds. It may cau se damage to mo wer and could break [...]

16 For repairs bey ond the minor adj ustments listed here, contact an authorized service dealer . 6 T r ouble Shooting Cause Pr oblem Remedy Engine fails to st ar t 1 . Blad e con trol d isen gage d. 2. Spar k plug w ire dis co nnec ted. 3. Fuel tank e mpt y or st ale fu el. 4. Engin e not ch oked. 5. Fault y spar k plug. 6. Blo cked fu el lin e. 7[...]

17 7 Safety Labels W ARNING DO NOT remov e safet y (or any) labels from mower f or any reason.                                                                [...]

18 31 34 35 32 33 1 30 27 2 3 4 5 6 8 28 29 26 15 17 25 14 20 19 18 17 22 21 23 16 16 14 15 24 18 27 9 7 10 12 13 11 14[...]

19 1 71 0 - 1 205 Ey e Bol t 2 720 - 0279 Wing Nut 3 7 4 7 - 1 1 61 A Blade Control H andle 4 7 49 - 1 09 2A Upper Hand le 5 7 46 - 09 57 Blade C ontrol Cab le - 37 . 25 inch 7 46 - 09 46 Blade C ontrol Cab le - 48. 25 inc h 7 46 - 1 1 3 0 Blade C ontrol Cab le - 40.00 i nch 6 7 49 - 040 37 Lower Handle 7 725- 01 57 Cable Ti e 8 787 - 01 097 Deck A[...]

The limi ted warranty s et fort h below is gi ven by MTD LLC with respec t to new merchan dise purc hased a nd used in t he United St ates, its posse ssion s and territor ies. “ MTD” warrant s this pro duc t against d efects in m aterial and work man- ship for a per iod of t wo ( 2) years c ommen cing o n the date of orig inal purcha se and wil[...]