Bolens 979 manual

IMPORT ANT : READ SAFETY RU LES AND INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULL Y MTD PRODUCTS INC. P .O . BO X 3680 22 CLEV EL AND , OHIO 44136-9722 Warning: This unit is eq uipped with an internal combustion engine and should not be used on or near any unimproved forest- covered, brush-cove red or grass-c overed land unless the engine’s exhaust sy stem is equipped w[...]

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Cont ent Page Important Safe O peratio n Prac tices ................. ............. ............. ............. ........... 3 Slope G auge ............. ............. .................... ............. ............ ............. ............. ..... 6 Assemblin g Your Lawn Mo wer...... ............. ............. ................[...]

3 SECTION 1: IMPORTANT SAFE OPERATION PRACTICES WARNING: T his symb ol points ou t impor tant saf ety instruc tions which, if no t followed, c ould endanger the perso nal saf ety and/o r prop erty o f yoursel f and others . Read and fol low all ins tructi ons in this man ual before at temptin g to oper ate this mac hine. Fai lure to com ply with th[...]

4 unclogg ing th e chute. The cuttin g blade continues to rotate for a few seconds after the en gine is shut off. Never place a ny part of the body in the b lade area until you are sure the blade ha s stoppe d rotating . 20. Never ope rate mow er without p roper trail shield , discha rge cover , grass c atcher, bl ade cont rol handle or other safet[...]

5 3. Check the blad e and eng ine moun ting bolt s at frequ ent interval s for proper tigh tness. Also, visu ally inspect bla de for dama ge (e.g., b ent, crack ed, wor n) Replace blade with the orig inal equipmen t manufa cture’ s (O.E.M.) blade only, l isted in this man ual. “Use of parts whi ch do not meet the original equipme nt speci ficat[...]

6 SECTION 2: SLOPE GAUGE Use this pag e as a guide to de termine s lopes w here you ma y not operat e safel y. Do not operat e your lawn mower on such sl opes. 15° SIGHT AND HO L D THIS LEVEL W IT H A VERTICA L TREE A POWER POLE A CORNER OF A BUI LDING 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 WAR[...]

7 SECTION 3: ASSEMBLING YOUR LAWN MOWER IMPORT ANT : This unit is shipp ed witho ut gasolin e or oil in th e engine. Be c ertain to se rvice en gine w ith ga soli ne and o il as inst ructed in th e se parate engine manua l before ope rating you r mower. NOTE: Reference to rig ht or left ha nd side of the mo wer is observ ed from the oper ating posi[...]

8 NOTE: Make certain t he dri ve cable is rout ed aro und the outsi de and a bove the l ower hand le so it d oes not interfer e with attach ing the gr ass bag. • The rop e guide, whic h is co nnected to the suppor t rod, is lo cated on the right side of l ower handle . See Figu re 5. • With t he spar k plug wire disconn ected and grounded , hol[...]

9 SECTION 5: OPERATING YOUR LAWN MOWER WARNING: Keep hands and f eet away from chute area on the cutting deck. The operation o f any lawn mo wer can re sult in foreign obje cts being t hrown into th e eyes, which can r esult in severe eye damage. Alwa ys wear safet y glasses or eye shields. NOTE: For shipping pur poses you r mower is se t with the [...]

10 you to sli p and fall. Ne w grass, th ick gra ss, or wet g rass may requir e a narrower cut. For a healthi er lawn, never cut off more th an one-thir d of the total len gth of the gras s. Your la wn shoul d be cut in the fall as long as ther e is growth. This mower is designed to be operated at full thr ottle to give you the best cut and do the [...]

11 SECTION 6: MAKING ADJUSTMENTS WARNING: Do not at any time ma ke any adjustments without fir st s t op pi n g e n gi n e and disconnect ing spark plug wire. Cutting Heig ht Adjustment Your mow er is sh ipped wi th the cutt ing heig ht in the lowest p osition . Th e cut ting height ad justm ent l ever i s located ab ove the le ft rear whee l. To a[...]

12 required du e to norma l wear on the c able. Adjus tment is needed i f all six s peeds do not work. The adjus table cable brack et is locat ed on the lef t side of the mower be side the engi ne. See Fi gure 14. • Start eng ine and plac e speed control l ever in the sixth sp eed pos ition. See Fig ure 13. Fig ure 13 • Stop engi ne and dis con[...]

13 • Period ically check all fasten ers and mak e sur e these are tight. • Follow the mai ntenan ce sc hedule unde r Custom er Responsi bilities to get quality performanc e from your lawn m ower. Lubrication WARNING: Always stop e ngine and disconnect spar k plug wire before cleaning, lubricating or doing any kind of service w ork on the l awn [...]

14 speed s. It may caus e damag e to the mower, an d could break ca using pe rsonal inj ury. The blade can be tested by balanci ng it on a ro und shaft screwdr iver. Remove metal from the heavy side until it bal ances eve nly. It is rec ommended tha t the blade always be removed from the adapte r when testing for bal ance. Before reins talling the [...]

15 Fig ure 20 • Place the new belt over the transm ission pulley. Start the bel t in the pul ley groo ve and rotat e the pulley un til the be lt is se ated in the transmis sion pulley. Re fer to Figu re 20. • Place the belt betw een the idler pulley and the belt keepe r bracket. • Using pl iers, rota te the bel t keeper bra cket so th at it s[...]

16 • Refer to eng ine manu al for correct engine s torage instruc tions . • Coat mower ’ s cuttin g blade wi th chassi s grea se to prevent rusting. • Store mo wer in a dry, clean are a. Do not store next to corrosi ve materi als, such as fertiliz er. NOTE: When storing a ny type o f power equipment in a poorly ventila ted or m etal s tora [...]

17 Notes[...]

18 Model 979 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 26 27 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 45 51 50 52 53 54 56 55 57 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 33 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 25 68 24 28 88 89 90 91 92 93[...]

19 Model 979 Ref. No. P ar t No. Part Description 1. 747-0824 Control Ha ndle 2. 731-0904 A Upper Con trol Hand le 3. 16864 6 Spd. Ra ck Cable Bracket 4. 731-0620 Control L ever 5. 713-0 397 Gear I nsert 6. 732-0627 Shift Leve r Spring 7. 731-0924 6 Speed Shi ft Lever 8. 731-0905 A Lower C ontrol Hous ing 9. 710-1667 A C Sunk Tap Screw #1 0 x .75 L[...]

20 Model 979 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 7 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58[...]

21 Model 979 Ref. No. P a r t No. P ar t Descr iption 1. 720-0223 Grip 2. 732-0803A Spring Le ver 3. 738-0529 Shoul der Nut .82 5 x .165 Lg. 4. 710-0751 Cap Screw 1/4-20 x .6 20 5. 7 36-0 270 B ell Washer .285 ID x .75 OD 6. 7 48- 031 8 Wheel Rac het 7. 7 36-0 369 F lat Washer .508 ID x 1.0 OD 8. 682-0531 Pivot Arm Assembl y 9. 750-0515 Spacer .5 1[...]

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MANUF ACTURER ’ S LIMITED W ARRANTY FOR: The limit ed warran ty set forth below is giv en by MTD PR OD- UCTS INC ( “ MTD ” ) with respect to ne w merchandise pur- chased and used in the U nited States, i ts possession s and territories. MTD w arrants this product against de f e cts in material and workma nship f or a pe ri od of two (2 ) year[...]