MTD 430-439 Series manual

IMPORT ANT : Read saf ety rules and instructions ca refully b efo re op erating equipm ent. 21” Rea r & Side D isc ha rge Mu lc hi ng La wn Mo wer Model S er ies 4 30-43 9 PRINT ED IN U .S .A. Warning: This uni t is eq ui pped wit h an in t erna l comb us tion en gine and shoul d not be u sed on or nea r an y un impr ov ed fo rest - c over ed[...]

2 TAB LE O F CON TE NTS Conten t Page Imp ortan t Safe Operat ion Pr a cti ces .... ... .... ... .... ... ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... ... .... ... .... . 3 Slo pe G auge . ... ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... ... .... ... .... ... ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... .. ..... [...]

3 SECT I ON 1: I M POR TAN T SA FE OPE RATI O N PRA C TICE S General Operatio n 1. Read t his operat or ’ s manual carefull y in its entirety before a ttempting to assembl e this machine. Read , understand, and f ollow all instructions on the machine and in the manual(s) before operat ion. Be completely familiar with the controls and the proper u[...]

4 8. Neve r op erate the mower in wet grass. Always be sure of your footing. A slip and fall can ca use serious personal i njury. If y ou f eel you are los ing your footing, release the bl ade control handle imme diat ely and the blad e will s top rota ting with in three seco nds. 9. Mow in d aylight or good artificial light. Walk, never run. St op[...]

5 7. Ext inguish all cigarettes, cigars, pipes and other sources of ignition. 8. Neve r fuel machine indoors becaus e flamm able vapors w ill accum ula te in the area. 9. Neve r remove gas cap or add fuel whi le t h e engine is hot or running. Allow engine to cool a t l ea st two minutes befo re refueling. 10. Ne ver over f ill fuel tank . Fill tan[...]

6 SECTION 2: SLOPE GAUGE 15° SIGHT AND HOLD THIS LEVE L WITH A VER TICAL TREE A POWER POLE A CORNER OF A B UILDING OR A FENCE POST F O L D O N D O T T E D L I N E , R E P R E S E N T I N G A 1 5 ° S L O P E USE THIS PAGE AS A GUIDE TO DETERMINE SLOPES WHERE YOU MAY NOT OP E RATE SAFELY . Do not mow on inclines with a slope in excess of 15 de gree[...]

7 SECTION 3: ASSEMBLING YOUR LAWN MOWER Re movi ng Uni t From Car ton • Remove s taples, break glue on top flaps or cut tape at carton end and peel top flap to open carton. • Remove loose pa rts if included with unit. • Cut corners and lay carton do wn fl a t. Remove packin g material. • Roll or slide unit out of carton. Check carton thorou[...]

8 • Insert post of cable ties that are on lower hand le into the hol es provided on the lower handle. The holes may be on the inside or outside. Pul l cable ties tight and c ut off the ex tra. See Figure 5 below. Figu re 5 At tach in g Start er Ro pe The rope guide is alre ady attached to the right side of the lower handle of your mower. See Figu[...]

9 from the bl ack plastic bottom of the bag. Push the two fra mes together until the cross piece on the front fram e contacts the rear frame. • Slip the open ings in the side of the plastic chann el on the bag over hooks on the grass c atcher frame. See F igure 9 B. • Secure fron t of bag t o front frame by working the five plastic c hannels on[...]

10 Conv erting to Side-D ischarge Figu re 14 • Your mower has been shipped as a mul cher. To convert it to a side-discharge mowe r, lift the mulchi ng plug. Slide the two hook s on the side- discha rge deflector under the hinge pin on the mulchi ng plug assembly. Lower the mulching plug. See F igure 14 . • Do not remove the s ide mulching plug [...]

11 Prim er The primer is used to pump ga s into the carburet or. Use it to assist in starting a cold engine, but do n ot use it when restarting a warm eng ine after a short s h utdown. Mulching Plug Both the mulching baffle and the mulchi ng plug are used only for mulch ing purposes. Instead of c ollecting the grass clippings in a grass catche r, s[...]

12 Baggin g Grass Clippings You can use the grass catcher bag to collect clippings while you are operat ing the mower. • Attach the grass catc her following instructions on pa ge 9 of this manual. Grass clippings will automat ically collect in the bag as you run mower. • Op erate mower till the gras s bag is fu ll. Re fer to page 11 fo r descri[...]

13 Engine • Follow the engi ne manual instructions and recomm ended schedu le for lubricating engine. Pivo t Points • Lubricate the pivot points on the discharge chut e door, bla de control handle and the cutt ing height adjustment lever at l east on ce a sea son w ith l ight oil. The blad e control handle must o perate freely in both di r e ct[...]

14 • Before reas sembling the blade a nd the blade adapte r to the unit, lubricate the engine crank shaft and the inner surface of t h e bl ade adapter with l ight oil (or engine oil ). Also lubricate the b olt holes, bolts and inner surfa ce of the nuts. • Install the blade adap ter on the crankshaf t wi th the “ star ” awa y from the engi[...]

15 SECTION 9: OFF-SEASON STORAGE Prepare your lawn mower fo r storage at the end of the season or if the unit will not be used for 30 days or m or e. St or e t he mo we r i n a clean, dry area . Gasoline • Do not store gasoline f rom one season to an other. Gas oline, stored more than one month, may affect engine perform ance. • Replace yo ur g[...]

16 SECTION 11: PARTS LIST FOR MODEL SERIES 430- 439 1 11 16 61 15 70 18 69 3 2 68 19 19 4 6 4 31 50 48 47 44 45 79 56 20 55 63 36 34 33 32 40 57 59 59 20 46 46 45 44 43 41 42 59 59 23 66 67 58 30 51 53 62 65 81 49 22 72 21 14 13 12 71 52 54 39 40 76 79 45 80 46 76 Har dw are for wheel 734-1978 80 64 29 28 35 77[...]

17 Ref. No P art No . De scription 1 747-1161A Con trol Handl e 2 710-1205 Rop e Guide 3 720-0279 Han dle Knob 1 /4-20 T hd. 4 710-1174 Curved Hd. Bolt 5/16- 18 x 2" 5 731 - 2 62 6 Ba il Co v er † 6 720-0284 Hand Knob 11 749-10 92A Upper Ha ndle 12 720-02 95 Fo am Grip † 13 749-09 28 Lo wer Handl e 14 726-02 40 Cab le Tie 15 764-03 10 Rea [...]

18 Pa r t N o. 751B0951 30 751B2251 037 751B2811 36 751B2811 45 Descri ption TT Scr e w Contr ol Cov er Rewi nd Cov er Brak e Co v er Shr oud Chart Hardw are: 710-125 6 (Scre w) Pa r t N o. 751B28143 9 751B28144 0 751B28144 3 Color Dark Red Blac k Bright Re d Hardwa re: 710- 1256 Pa r t No. 731-1395 A 731-1396 A 731-1397 A Color Red Blac k Gra y Ha[...]

19 Yo u r N o t e s Comment s Dat e[...]

MANUF A CTURER ’ S LIMITED W ARRANTY FOR: The li mited warr anty s et f orth below is gi ven b y MTD LLC wi th respect to ne w mercha ndise pur chased and used i n the United St ates, it s possessi ons and ter ritories . MTD LLC w arran ts thi s prod uct agai nst de fec ts f or a period of two ( 2) y ea rs comm encing on t he dat e o f origin al [...]