Troy-Bilt RZT 50 manual

RZT 50 w/50" Mower Deck O PERA T OR’S M ANUAL IMPOR T ANT : READ SAFETY RU LES AND INSTR UCTIONS CAREFULL Y Troy-Bilt LLC, P.O. BOX 361131 CLEVELAND, OHIO 44136-0019 PRINTED IN U .S.A. Warning: This unit is equipped with an inte rnal combustion engine and shou ld not be used on or near any unimproved forest- covered, brush-covered or grass-c[...]

2 TRACTOR PREPARATION Remove the upp er crating ma terial from the shipping pallet, and cut a ny bands or tie straps securing t he trac- tor to the p allet. Use the lift handle t o raise the deck to its highest po si- tion; engage t he transmission bypass rods (Ref er to SECTION 1, CONTROLS AND FEATU RES); and care- fully roll the tract or off the [...]

3 • Slide the flat washer onto the he x screw. From the outside , insert the hex scr ew w/washer through th e control lever slot and the hole of the pivot br acket. Secure with the flange lock nut. See Figu re 2. Figure 2 • Note the relative posit ion of the control lever to the pivot bracket, then repeat the previous ste ps to reposition the o[...]

4 WARNING • The engine exhaust, some of its constit uents, and certain vehicle compone nts contain or emit chemicals known to the State of Ca lifornia to cause cance r, birth defects or other reproductive harm. • This unit is equipped wit h an internal co mbustion engine and sh ould not be used on or near any unimprove d forest-covered, brush-c[...]

5 13. Mow only in daylight or g ood artificial light. 14. Do not operate the m achine while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 15. Watch for traffic when operating nea r or crossing roadways. 16. Use extra care when loading or unloading the machine into a traile r or truck. This unit should not be driven up or do wn a ramp onto a trailer or t[...]

6 5. Never allow children under 14 years old to operate the machin e. Children 14 years and o ver should only operate the m achine under close parental supervision and prope r instruction. 6. Use extra care when approaching blind corn ers, shrubs, tr ees or ot her obje cts that m ay obscure your vision of a child or other hazard. 7. Remove the key [...]

7 SAFETY DECALS AND LABELS Keep product sa fety graphics clean. Rep lace any safety gr a phic that is damaged, dest royed, missing, paint ed over or can no longer be read. Replacement saf ety graphics are availabl e through your authorized Troy-Bilt de aler. THROTTLE CONTROL INDICATOR – LOCATED ON LEFT CONSOLE FAST SLOW GENERAL OPERATING INSTRUCT[...]

8 SAFETY DECALS AND LABELS SAFETY GRAPHIC – LOCATED ON LEFT SIDE OF MOWER DECK INFORMATION GRAPHIC – BELT ROUTING LOCATED ON LEFT SIDE OF MOWER DECK[...]

9 RECOR DING MODEL AND SERIAL NUMBER This Operator’s Manual is an important part of your new lawn tracto r. It will help you assemble, prepare and maintain the unit for best performance. Please re ad and understand wha t it says. Before you start assembling your n ew equipment , ple ase locate the m odel plate under the seat of the tractor and co[...]

10 SLOPE GAUGE (Keep this sheet in a safe place for future reference.) 15° SIGHT AND HOLD THIS LEVEL WITH A VERTICAL TREE A POWER POLE A CORNER OF A BUILDING OR A FENCE POST F O L D ON D O T T E D L I N E , R E P R E SE N T I N G A 1 5 ° SL OP E USE THIS PAGE AS A GUIDE TO DETERMINE SLOPES WHERE YOU MAY NOT OPERATE SAFELY. WARNING Do not mow on i[...]

11 SECTION 1: CONTR OLS AND FEA TURES Figure 4 N. M. L. K. J. A. B. C. D. E. F. H. Deck Height Index RH and LH Drive Cont rol Levers Deck Lift Handle Ignition Switch PTO Switch Transmission Bypass Rod (Not Shown) G. Cup Holder Storage Tray Seat Adjustment Lever (Not Seen) Fuel Tank Cap Hour Meter / In dicator Panel Throttle Control Choke Contro l O[...]

12 NOTE: References to LEFT, RIGHT, FRONT, and REAR indicate that position on the tracto r when facing forward whil e seated in the operato r’s seat. A. Deck Height Inde x The deck height index consists of six index notches located on t he front/ri ght of the seat bo x frame. Each notch correspo nds to a 1/2 inch change in the deck height posit i[...]

13 K. Fuel T ank Cap The fuel tank cap is located at t he rear of the LH console. Turn t he cap counter clockwise to unsc rew and remove fr om the fuel ta nk. Always re-insta ll the fuel cap tigh tly onto the fuel tank a fter removi ng. W ARNING: Never fi ll the fuel tank when the engine is running. If the engine is ho t from recently run ning, all[...]

14 M. Throttle Control The throttle contr ol is located on the LH console to the left of th e operator’s s eat. When set in a given position, a uniform engine speed will be maintained. Figure 8 • Push the throttle control ha ndle forward to in- crease the engine speed. The tr actor is designed to operate with the cont rol handle in the fast pos[...]

15 SECTION 2: OPERA TION GENERAL SAFETY • RECEIVE IN STRUCTION - Read the operator’s manual. Learn to operate this mach ine SAFELY. Don’t risk INJURY or DEATH. Allow only those who have become competent in it s usage to operate this tracto r . • Familiarize y ourself with th e operations of all the instruments an d controls. • Before star[...]

16 • The safety interlock s ystem will shut off the engine if the o perator leaves the seat before engaging the par king brake. • The safety interlock s ystem will shut off the engine if the opera tor leaves the se at with the PTO engaged, r egardless of wh ether the p arking brake is engaged. NOTE: The PTO switch must be m oved to the “OFF?[...]

17 • Connect the end of one cable to t he disabled tractor battery ’s positive termina l; then connec t the other end of th at cable to the booste r battery’s positive terminal. • Connect one end of the other cable to the boost er battery’s negative terminal; then connect the other end of that cable to th e frame of the dis- abled tractor[...]

18 Driving the T ractor Forwar d W ARNING: Keep all movement of the drive control levers s low and smooth. Abrubt movement of the control lever s can affect the st ability of the tractor a nd could cause the tract or to flip over, which may result in serious injury or death to the ope rator. • Slowly and ev enly move both drive contr ol levers fo[...]

19 Driving the T ractor In R ever se W ARNING: Always look behind and down on both sid es of the t ractor befor e backing up. Always look behind while travelin g in the re verse dire ction. • Slowly and ev enly move both drive contr ol levers rearward. The tractor will start to move in the reverse direction. See Figu re 15. Figure 15 • As t he [...]

20 Executing a Zer o T urn W ARNING: When executing a ze ro turn, the tractor MUST BE STOPPED. Executing a zero turn while the tractor is moving can sign ificantly re duce your control of the tra ctor and will cause severe turf defa cement to occur. • S top the forwar d or reverse mot ion of the trac tor by moving t he two drive control levers to[...]

21 USING THE MOW ER DECK W ARNING: Make certain the area to be mowed is free of debris, st icks, ston es, wire or other objects that ca n be thrown by the rota ting blad es. IMPORTANT: Do not engage the mower deck when lowered in gr ass. Premature wear a nd possible failure of the ‘V” b elt and PTO clutch will result. Full y raise the deck or m[...]

22 SECTION 3: ADJUSTMENTS ADJUSTING THE OPERATORS SEAT • To adjust the position of the se at, move and hold the seat adjustme nt leve r toward the left. Slide the seat fo rward or rear ward to t he desired position; the n release the ad justment lever. Make sure seat is locked into p osition before operating the tractor. See Fig ure 20. Figure 20[...]

23 SECTION 4: MAINTENANCE ENGINE MAINTENANCE Engine maintenance pr ocedures and schedules ca n be found in the e ngine manual tha t is at the end of this manua l. Follow thos e schedules for perfor ming engine maintenance. Using the Engine Oil Drain V alve • Locate the oil drain hose on the left side of the engine. R efer to Figure 22. • Route [...]

24 • Remove the hex cap screw and sems nut secur- ing the black negative bat tery lead to the negat ive battery post (marked NEG ). Move the cable away from the negative ba ttery post. • Remove the hex cap screw and sems nut secur- ing the red positive battery lead to the p ositive battery post (marked POS). • Carefully lift the battery out o[...]

25 TIRE MAINTENANCE Check the tire a ir pressure af ter every 50 hour s of operation or we ekly. Keep the ti res inflated to the recommended pressures. Improper inflation will shorten th e service life of a tire. See the tire side wall for proper infla tion pressures. Observe th e following guidelines: • Do not inflate a tire ab ove the maximum p[...]

26 TRACTOR HIGH SPEED TRACKING If the tractor tr acks to one side with bot h drive control levers fully forward, adju st the control levers a s follows: • Check for proper and balanced air pr essure in both front and rear tires. Refill tires if necessary. • Perform the first three steps in th e previous sub- section, Tractor Cre eping, to verif[...]

27 TRACTOR STORAGE If your tr actor is not going to b e operated for an extended p eriod of time (thirty days to approxima tely six months), the tra ctor should be pr epared for stor - age. Store the tractor in a dr y and protect ed location. If stored outside, cover th e tractor (including t he tires) to protect it from the elements. The procedur [...]

28 SECTION 5: MOWER DEC K This section contains remo val, installation, adjust- ment, and maintenance inf ormation for t he 50-inch mower deck. Instructions fo r installation and removal of the optional mu lching plug are loca ted at the end of this section. DECK REMOVAL Remove the mower deck from the tractor as follows: 1. Move the tr actor to a l[...]

29 8. Using car e to prevent th e front hanger rod from falling back into the deck bracket slots, carefully slide the cutting deck (f rom the right side) out from underne ath the tractor . DECK INSTAL LATION To install the mower de ck, proceed as follows: 1. While holding up the deck fron t hanger rod, carefully slide the deck u nderneath th e righ[...]

30 LEVELING THE MOWER DECK When correctly adjusted the m ower deck should be level side to side, an d the front of th e deck should be approximately 1/ 4 inch lower than th e rear of deck. Side to Side Leveling If the cutting deck appears to be mowing unevenly, a side to side adju stment can be performed. Adjust if necessary as follows: • With th[...]

31 ADJUSTING THE GAUGE WHEELS The cutting heig ht of the mower dec k can be set in any of six height se ttings using the deck l ift handle of the tractor. The deck height s range from 1-1/2 inches to 4 inches. Th e deck gauge wheel posit ion should b e approximately 1/ 4 to 1/2 inch above the ground when the deck is set in the desired height set ti[...]

32 Mower Blade Care W ARNING: Before performing any main- tenance, place the PTO switch in the “OFF” position, en gage the par king brake lever, turn the ignition key to th e “OFF” position and remove th e key from the switch. When se rvicing the mowe r deck, be careful not to cut yourself on the sharpened bla des. The cutting blades must b[...]

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35 CALIFORNIA EMISSION CONT ROL W ARRANTY ST A T EMENT Y OUR W ARRANTY RIGHTS AND OBLIGA TIONS The California Air Resources Board and MTD Consum er Group Inc. ar e pleased to explain the evapor ative emission control system warranty on your 2007 lawn mower . In California, new lawn mower must be designed, built a nd equipped to meet the State’ s [...]

MANUF A CTURER’S LIMITED W ARRANTY FOR: The limited warranty set forth below is given by Troy-Bilt LLC with respect to new merchan dise purchased and used in the United States, its possessions and territories. “Troy-Bilt” warrants this product against defects in material and workmanship for a period of two (2) years commencing on the date of [...]