MTD 608 manual

IMPORT ANT : READ SAFETY RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULL Y PRINTED IN U .S.A. FORM NO . 770-1 0130B Warning: This unit is equipped with an internal combustion engine and should not be used on or near any unimproved f orest- covered, brush-covered or grass -covered land unless the engine’s exhaust system is equipped with a spark arrest er meeting [...]

2 SECT ION 1: TA BLE OF CONT ENTS PAGE FINDING Y OUR MODEL NUMBER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 CALLING CUSTOMER S U PPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 IMPORTANT SAFE O PERATION PRACT[...]

3 SECTION 4: IMPORTANT SAFE OPERATION PRACTICES WARN ING: THIS SYMBOL POINTS OUT IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS WHICH, IF NOT FOLLOWED, COULD ENDANGER THE PERSONAL SAFETY AND/OR PROPERTY OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS. READ AND FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS MANUAL BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO OP E RATE YOUR LAWN MOWER. FAILURE TO COMP LY WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS M[...]

4 • Disen gage all attac hment clutche s, thoroughl y depress the brake pedal , and shift into neutral before attemptin g to start engi ne. • Your mow er is desig ned to cut no rmal reside ntial grass o f a height no more than 10". Do not attempt to mow t h rough unusually tall , dry grass (e.g., pasture) or p iles of dry leave s. Debris m[...]

5 • Keep a ll nuts, bolts an d screws tight to b e sure the equipme nt is in safe w orking conditi on. • Never tamper with sa fety devices. Check their proper opera tion regularly. U se all guards as instructe d in this ma nual. • After st riking a foreign obj ect, stop the en gine, remove the wire from the spark plug and tho roughly inspect [...]

6 Slope Gauge 15° SIGHT AND HOLD THI S LEV EL W IT H A VERTIC AL TREE A POWER PO LE A CORNER OF A BUILDING OR A FE NCE 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 OPERATE SAFELY. Do not m ow on inclines with a s lope in ex cess o f 15 degree s (a r[...]

7 SECTION 5: ATT ACHMENTS & ACCESSORIES NOTE: Your tr actor is NOT de signed for us e with any type of gr ound-eng aging attachm ents (e.g. till er, plow). Use of this ty pe of equi pment WILL vo id the tra ctor’s warr anty. SECTION 6: TRA CTOR SET-UP A TT A CHING THE B A TTER Y CABLES NOTE: The posi tive batter y termina l is marked Pos. ( +[...]

8 SECTI ON 7: CONTROLS Figure 3 A Ignitio n Switch F PTO (Power Tak e-Off) Leve r B Throttl e Control Lever G Drive Peda l C Choke Co ntrol (if so equipped) H Brake Ped al D Indica tor Moni tor I Parking B rake Button E Lift Lever J Shift Lev er A C F I J E G H NOTE: Steering Wheel not shown for clarit y P B D A M P S NOTE: A ny refere nce in thi s[...]

9 IGNITION SWITCH To start the engine, ins ert key in to the ignition switch and turn clockwis e to the ST ART position. Re lease key to t h e ON position onc e engine has fired. See Figure 4. Refe r to STA R TING THE EN GINE in the OPERA TION secti on of th is manu al for de tailed startin g instruc tions. The ig nition switch is al so used to ope[...]

10 LIFT LEVER The lift lever is used to change the operati ng positio n (height ) of the cutting deck. To oper ate, move the lever to the left, then place in the notc h best suited for you r applicat ion. PT O (PO WER T AKE-OFF) LEVER The PTO lever is located on the left s ide of the d ash next to the s teering wheel. Move the PTO lever forward to [...]

11 SECT ION 8: OPER ATION SAFETY INTERLOCK SWIT CHES This tra ctor is equ ipped with a safety interlock system for the prote ction of the operator . If the interlo ck system should ever malfunction , do not operate the tractor. Contact an auth orized deale r in your area . The safet y interlock s ystem prevent s the engine from crankin g or startin[...]

12 NOTE: Do N OT leave the choke control ou t while operati ng the tracto r. Doing so will resul t in a "ric h" fuel mix ture and ca use the en gine to r un poorly . ST OPPING THE ENGINE • Place the PTO lever in the dise ngaged (OFF) pos ition • Move the th rottle co ntrol into the SLOW (turtle) position and al low the eng ine to &quo[...]

13 USING THE LIFT LEVER To ra ise the cutting deck, mo ve the l ift leve r to the left, then p lace it in the notch best suited for yo ur applic ation. Refer to SETTING TH E CUTTING HEIGHT earl ier in this s ection. ENGAGING THE PT O (PO WER T AKE-OFF) LEVER • Move th e throttle control lever to the FAS T (rabb it) positi on. • Move the PTO lev[...]

14 • Determin e the appro ximate dista nce nece ssary for prope r adjustment and proc eed, if nece ssary, to the next s tep. • Loosen th e two jam nuts on th e rear si de of the de ck stabil izer brack et. See Figu re 7A. • Locat e the two lock nuts on the opposi te side of the st abilizer bracket. Se e Figure 7A . Tighten th e lock nuts to r[...]

15 BRAKE ADJUSTMENT If the t ractor doe s not co me to a comp lete stop when the brak e pedal is c ompletel y depresse d, or if the tractor ’ s r ear wheels c an roll with the parki ng brake applied , the br ake is i n need o f adjustm ent. Th e brake d isc can be found on the right s ide of the transm ission in the rear of th e tracto r. Adjus t[...]

16 CARBURET OR ADJUSTMENT WARN ING: If any adjustm ents a re made to the eng ine while th e engine is running (e.g. carburetor ), disengag e all clutche s and blades . Keep clear of all moving par ts. Be careful of heate d surface s and muffler. NOTE: A dirt y air clea ner will cause an e ngine to run roug h. Be certain it i s clean and prop erly a[...]

17 CUTTING DECK REMO V AL WARN ING: Before p erforming any maintenan ce, move t he PTO lever into the disenga ged (OFF) position , engage th e parking br ake, turn the igni tion key to th e OFF pos ition and rem ove the key f rom the switch t o avoid a ccidental st arting . Seve ral attachm ents are availa ble for you r tract or. To mount som e of [...]

18 CHANGING THE DECK B EL T( S) All bel ts on you r tractor ar e subject t o wear and should be replaced if any sig ns of crac king, shr edding or rotting are presen t. IMPORTANT: The V-belts found on you r tractor are specially des igned to en gage and dis engage sa fely. A substit ute (non- OEM) V-belt can be dange rous by not d isengagi ng compl[...]

19 Figure 15 CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION D RIVE BEL T(S) All bel ts on you r tractor ar e subject t o wear and should be replaced if any sig ns of crac king, shr edding or rotting are presen t. IMPORTANT: The V-belts found on you r tractor are specially des igned to en gage and dis engage sa fely. A substit ute (non- OEM) V-belt can be dange rous by [...]

20 Lower Drive Belt NOTE: Prop er remova l of the lower driv e belt re quires the r emoval of s everal tr actor comp onents. Rea d through t he followi ng procedur e prior to attempting it to deter mine if you feel you could s uccessful ly complet e it. If you don ’ t, see an authoriz ed MTD serv ice deal er to have th e belt ch anged. IMPORTANT:[...]

21 Figure 17 Adjust the dr ive pedal afte r replacing the dri ve belts on yo ur tractor, i f necess ary, as fo llows: • Locate the speed control as sembly on th e unders ide of the steering s upport b racket. Se e Figure 1 8. Figure 18 • Remove b oth hairpi n clips from th e pin whi ch is fa stened to the sp eed con trol as sembly ( be carefu l[...]

22 It is e xtremely importa nt that ea ch cutti ng blad e edge be ground equall y to maintai n proper blad e balance . An unb alanced blade will cause e xcessive vibrat ion when rota ting at high speeds , may ca use damage to the tractor and r esult in personal in jury. The bla de can be te sted by ba lancing it on a blade balan cer or round shaft [...]

23 SECTI ON 12: TROUBLESHOOT ING GUIDE T roub le Possible Cau se(s) Corrective Act ion Engine will not cran k Saf ety sw itch butto n not depresse d. Battery installed incorrec tly . Battery is dead or weak. Blow n fuse There a re two saf ety s witches in the starting circui t of your unit: the brake pedal s witch and the sea t switch . Make ce r t[...]

24 Models 607, 608 & 609 9 3 8 10 1 5 11 5 13 13 6 4 5 2 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 625-0051 Bulb /Sock et Headli ght Assemb ly 2 629-0944 Wiring Ha r ness w/o R ef. 1 4 3 629-0126 Harness Ada pter , #18 x 5 4 710-0599 Self-tapp ing Screw , 1/4-20 x .5 5 712-3006 He x Nut, 1/4-20 6 725-1426 Solenoi d, 12-volt, 100 Amp 7 725-1657A Sn a[...]

25 Electrical System A2 WHITE RED A/C G REEN - PTO - L + S RUN 1 KEY SW 725-1741 OFF RUN 2 G+M+ A1 B+A1 B+A1 B AL TE RN A TOR AFTE RFIRE SOL ENOID MAGNETO ALTERN ATO R ST AR TE R A1 HEADLIG H TS GR OUN D PTO SW ITCH KEY SWITC H BRAKE SW ITCH SOLENO I D FUSE L+A2 REVERSE SW. SEAT SWITCH BATTER Y 725- 142 6 725- 165 7A 725-1 381 72 5-164 3 STAR T 725[...]

26 Models 607 & 608 41 30 3 24 25 32 27 31 28 7 26 19 5 39 38 47 43 24 33 5 36 34 35 1 4 45 42 44 15 16 22 22 10 17 3 5 7 9 18 12 20 13 9 4 6 11 1 8 23 2 37 29 21 46 46[...]

27 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 683-0195 Brac ket Assemb ly 2 710-0528 He x Cap Scre w , 5/16-18 x 1.25 3 710-0599 Self-tapping Screw , 1/4-20 x .5 4 710-0751 He x Cap Scre w , 1/4-20 x .62 5 710-0895 Self-tapp ing Scre w , 1/4-15 x .75 6 710-0896 Scre w , 1/4-15 x .7 5 7 710-0924 Phillip s Pa n Screw , 1/4-20 x .7 5 8 7 12-027 1 H e x Sems[...]

28 Model 609 26 3 24 25 28 23 22 32 4 9 7 6 4 10 33 31 12 16 14 3 11 20 20 1 15 1 30 20 21 15 29 1 5 21 18 18 27 19 17 20 8 8 2 15[...]

29 Tractor Body REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 710-0604A Se lf-tapping Scre w , 5/16-18 x .625 2 710-0788 Self-tapp ing Screw , 1/4-20 x 1.0 3 710-0895 Self-tapp ing Screw , 1/4-15 x .75 4 710-1017 T orx Self-tappin g Screw , 5/16-18 x . 625 5 710-1238 Scre w , 5/16-18 x . 875 (Grade 5) 6 710-3217 T orx Screw , #8-32 x .375 7 712-0142 He x Nu[...]

30 Models 607, 608 & 609 36 6 32 11 43 40 42 28 35 37 33 36 41 39 38 31 14 8 13 9 17 21 22 10 20 12 23 21 22 24 6 2 8 14 18 25 19 6 5 3 4 16 9 7 17 15 5 19 8 14 6 6 1 34 26 30 31 44[...]

31 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 7 47-113 0 De ck Stabil izer Rod 2 6 83-019 7 L ift Sh aft A ssembly 3 7 11-033 2 Cl evis Pin , .5 x .7 8 4 7 12-020 6 H ex Nut, 1/ 2-13 5 7 12-043 1 F lang e Lock Nut , 3/8- 16 6 7 12-300 4A Fl ange L ock Nut, 5/16-1 8 7 7 12-308 3 H ex Nut, 1/ 2-13 8 7 14-010 4 I nter nal Cott er Pin 9 7 14-011 1 C otter Pi[...]

32 Models 607, 608 & 609 24 1 2 2 2 5 3 9 6 38 8 10 12 13 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 20 22 20 24 23 25 26 27 28 31 3 0 29 32 35 34 30 32 35 36 33 39 40 11 41 42 13 7 43 42 22 4 32 35 44 37[...]

33 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 683-0304 Low er F rame Asse mbly 2 710-0604A Self-tapp ing Screw , 16-18 x .625 3 783-0726A RH Piv ot Suppor t Br acket 4 783-0727 LH Piv ot Support Brack et 5 783-0728 Piv ot Bar Brac ket 6 710-0514 He x Cap Scre w , 3/8-16 x 1 (Grade 5) 7 711-1409A LH Dr ag Link 8 711-1408 RH Dr ag Link 9 712-0240 Ja m N ut[...]

34 Models 607, 608 & 609 2 21 2 21 13 19 13 18 36 11 28 31 7 38 46 47 40 8 44 12 37 47 15 17 1 19 50 26 27 24 10 49 1 9 23 30 32 20 42 14 39 16 61 3 9 13 76 62 13 69 53 54 25 41 57 58 19 23 64 68 73 71 58 65 56 58 33 77 58 63 55 69 66 59 21 75 33 52 31 68 64 23 23 35 78 79 34 81 82 6 45 12 43 60 83 72 63 35 21 70 80 4 22 13 5 29 35 58 60 83[...]

35 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 783-1015 Shift Le ver Supp or t 2 17840 T ransaxle Mou nting Brac ket 3 618-0551 Singl e-speed T ransmissio n Assemb ly 4 631-0009 Shifter Kno b 5 647-0045 Shift Le ver 6 656-0048 V ariable-s peed Pulley Assembl y 7 656-0051A T ransmission Pul ley , 8.5 x .5-36 8 683-0251 Doub le-idler Bra cket 9 710-0176 He [...]

36 Models 607, 608 & 609 Units with 618-0307C T ransmission ONL Y 31 12* 20 40 29 26 31 30 28 27 18 39 38 38 39 3 13 12c 15 8 17 24 23 2 1 16 7 12c 14 12c 9 10 12* 4 11 37 3 13 36 32 37 12* 34 12* 14 14 6 21 5 21 22 25 19 41[...]

37 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 618-0318 Clutc h Collar † 2 710-0788 Self-t apping Scr ew , 1/4-20 x 1.0 3 711-1274 Driv e Shaft 4 711-1280 Count er Shaft 5 713-0474 22-link Chain, #420 6 713-0478 14-tooth Sprock et 7 717-1422 Sproc ket Be vel Gear , 42/10 8 717-1565 29-tooth Spur Gear 9 717-1569 20-tooth Spur Gear 10 718-0652 Count er Sh[...]

38 Models 607, 608 & 609 42 1 50 13 4 14 15 16 18 19 11 5 12 5 38 6 7 8 9 6 1 7 10 57 2 53 54 55 56 28 51 48 26 16 45 44 58 40 41 52 39 36 29 33 25 34 31 32 23 33 46 47 27 49 30 (PT O belt f or 37 22 A A 42" de ck sho wn) 21 43 28 45 3 21 1 35 25 24 33 20 Hook sp r ing , Ref . 58, here 59[...]

39 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 7 12-04 31 F lange Lock Nut , 3/8 -16 2 732-0996 Compres sion Spring, 1.31 x 3.0 3 783-0733 Spacer Cup, 1 .5 OD 4 732-0997 Com pression Spring, .66 OD x 1.5 5 710-0604 A Self-tapping Scre w , 5/16-18 x .625 6 710-0751 He x Cap Screw , 1/4-20 x .62 7 712-0271 He x Sems Nut, 1/4 -20 8 712-3044 Wing Nu t, 1/4-20[...]

40 Models 607, 608 & 609 42-inch Deck 46-inch Deck 52 49 49 14 14 58 67 75 67 68 56 53 9 30 29 35 25 23 77 74 19 30 29 35 38 21 27 38 22 31 7 15 54 73 65 15 64 32 55 50 72 15 51 71 76 57 50 57 57 57 17 12 17 15 59 62 62 24 2 4 32 3 2 19 19 61 46-inc h Deck Brake Asse mbly 44 45 46 43 47 35 29 30 15 12 14 36 9 14 36 1 19 25 9 24 24 32 32 17 35 2[...]

41 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 16606 Retainer Hook 2 618-0324 Spindle Assembly , 5.75 D ia. 3 683-0198C 42-inch Dec k Shell 4 683-0254 Dec k Adjustmen t Brac ket w / W eld Nut 5 683-0303 Deck Brake As sembly , 42-inch Decks 6 710-0520 He x Cap Scre w , 3/8-16 x 1.5 7 710-0528 He x Cap Scre w , 5/16-18 x 1.25 8 710-0604A Self-tappin g Screw[...]

42 Models 607, 608 & 609 Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stra tton OHV V-Twin OHV Single 7 11 (for cho ke) 13 4 12 (for throt tle) 6 9 22 18 19 20 8 10 14 10 5 10 5 16 15 1 (deflecto r must face fo rward) 17 5 34 3 2 21 3 2 18 19 20 9 13 9 31 30 4 33 14 1 (deflec tor must face forwa rd) 6 18 20 2 7 29 32 21 28 3 25 9 3 3 5 35[...]

43 REF . NO . PA R T NO . DESCRIPTION 1 710-0148 Self-tappi ng Screw , #8-32 x .375 2 710-0599 Self-tappi ng Screw , 1/4-20 x .5 3 710-0604A Self-tappi ng Screw , 5/16-18 x .62 5 4 710-1237 Scre w , #10-32 x .625 5 710-1314 Sock et Cap Sc rew , 5/16-18 x .625 6 710-1315 Self-tappi ng Screw , 3/8-16 x 1.25 7 712-3017 He x Nut, 3/8-16 8 721-0460 Exha[...]

MANUF A CTURER ’ S LIMITED W ARRANTY The limited w arranty se t forth belo w is giv en by MTD PR ODUCTS INC ( “ MTD ” ) with respect to ne w merchandise purchas ed and used i n the United S tates, its possessions and territories . MTD w arrants this pr oduct against def ects in materi al and workma nship for a period of tw o (2) years com men[...]