MTD 74 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 internal c ombu stion en gine and s hould not be u sed on or near any unim proved 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 from whic h it was purc hased, without fir st contacting Customer Suppor t. T ab le of Contents BE FORE Y OU S T ART A SSE MBLING Y OUR NEW E QUIP MENT , please loca te the model pla te on the equipmen t and copy the inf ormation t o the[...]

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 extreme ly 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 bla de has s[...]

6 3 Setup and Adjustment 1 . For shippi ng purpo ses, the c hute defle ctor on your mower is held in an u pright p ositi on by a retainer . Remove the retainer as fo llows: a. Push chu te deflec tor up towards eng ine. Hold ing deflec tor in thi s posit ion, remove the retain er and disc ard. See Step 1. b. Lower the chu te deflec tor carefully kee[...]

7 WHEEL I NS T AL L Step 6 The holes in th e deck pro vide three cu tting height s. Use the sa me hole fo r all fou r wheels when asse mbling. CU TT I NG HEI GHT Step 7 All whee ls must be placed in the s ame rela tive pos ition. F or rough or u nev en lawns , mov e the wheels to a higher po sition. Thi s will st op scalping of grass. 3 Setup and A[...]

8 4 Operating Y our Lawn Mo wer Now that y ou hav e set up your lawn mo wer f or operation, get acquainted with its controls and f eatures. These are descr ibed below and illustrated this page. This knowledge will allow y ou to use your new equipment to its fullest potential. Blade Control The blade control is attached to the upper handle of the mo[...]

9 4 Operating Y our Lawn Mo wer W ARNING The operation of any lawn mo wer can result in foreign ob jects being throw n into the ey es, which can damage you r ey es sev erely . Alwa ys wear safety glasses while operating the mower , or while performing any ad justments or repairs on it. Be sure no one other than the operator is standing near the law[...]

10 5 Maintaining Y our Lawn Mo wer W ARNING Alwa ys stop engi ne, disconnect spark plug, and grou nd against eng ine before cleaning, lubr icating or doing an y kind of maintenance on y our machine. Lubrication 1 . Lubri cate pivot point s on the blad e contro l at least once a s eason wit h light oi l. The blade c ontrol mus t operate freely i n b[...]

11 5 Maintaining Y our Lawn Mo wer W ARNING When remov ing the cutting blade for sharpenin g or replacement , protect yo ur hands with a pair of heavy glo ves 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 causing per- s[...]

12 F or r ep ai r s be yo nd th e mi nor a dj us tm en ts li st ed h er e , con ta ct an a ut hor i zed s er v ice de al er . 6 T r ouble Shooting Cause Pr oblem Remedy En gine fails t o star t 1 . Blade c ontrol d isengag ed. 2. Spark pl ug wire disc onne cted. 3. Fuel tank empt y or stal e fuel. 4. Engine not pri med. 5. Faulty spar k plug. 6. Bl[...]

13 7 Safety Labels                                                                                   [...]

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

15 REF . P AR T NO. DESC RI PT ION 1 1 7032 A Chute Hing e 2 1 7098 Hin ge Clip 3 687 - 0 21 45 Handl e Bracket Assem bly - RH 4 687 - 0 21 44 Handl e Bracket Assem bly - LH 5 787 - 01 08 4A Deck As sembl y , 22 ” 6 7 1 2-301 7 Hex Nut, 3 / 8 - 16 7 7 10- 021 6 Hex Cap Screw 3 / 8 - 16 x . 75 8 7 10- 059 9 T T Screw 1/ 4-20 x 0.5” 9 7 10- 0 654[...]

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[...]