MTD 26M manual

Safety • Assembl y • Operation • Maintenance • T roubleshooting • Engine • P arts Lists • W arranty Warning : This uni t is equip ped with a n internal com bustio n engine an d should not b e used on or near any unim proved forest-covered, bru sh- covered or grass -c ov ered lan d unless t he engine’s e xhaust system is e quipp ed w[...]

2 Slope Gauge........................................................ 3 Safe Operation Practices ................................... 4 Setup and Adjustment ....................................... 6 Operating Y our La wn Mower .............................. 8 Maintaining Y our La wn Mower ......................... 10 T roub le Shooting .............[...]

3 1 Slope Gauge W ARNING Do not mo w on inclines with a slope in e xcess of 1 5 degree s (a rise of appro ximate ly 2- 1/ 2 fee t ev ery 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 we r on such a slope , it is extreme ly difficult to main tain y our footi ng and y ou could slip , res[...]

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 mower and mo wing activity . The y 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 w atchful care of[...]

5 1 9. Shu t the eng ine of f and wa it unti l the bl ade co mes to a com plete s top befor e removi ng the gr ass c atche r or unc log - ging t he ch ute. The c utt ing bl ade co ntinu es to rot ate for a few sec onds af ter the e ngine i s shut of f. Never plac e any par t of th e body i n the b lade are a until you ar e sure the b lade h as stop[...]

6 3 Setup and Adjustment 1 . For shippi ng purpos es, the chu te deflec tor on your mower is held in an u pright p ositio n by a retainer . Remove the retainer as fo llows: a. Push chu te deflec tor up towards engin e. Holding defle ctor in this p ositi on, remove the retainer and disc ard. See Figure 3 - 1. b. Lower the chu te deflec tor carefully[...]

7 CU T TING HE IGHT 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 height adj ust - ment le ver to a h igher position . This will st op scalping o f grass. MUL CH IN G B AFF L E Fo r proper ass embly , install bo ttom lip inside chute ope ning bef ore placing hoo ks ov er the hinge pin . 3 Setup[...]

8 4 Operating Y our Lawn Mo wer Now that you have set up your lawn mower for opera- tion, g et aquainted with i ts contro ls and features. These are desc ribed be low and illust rated on this pag e. This knowled ge will al low you to use your new equipme nt to its full est potential. Blade Control The blad e control i s attac hed to the up per hand[...]

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 eyes sev erely . Alway s 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 lawn[...]

10 5 Maintaining Y our Lawn Mo wer W ARNING Alwa ys s top engine, disconnect spark plug, and grou nd against eng ine before per form ing an y t ype of maint enance on yo ur machine. W e do not recomme nd the use o f a pressu re wash er or garde n hose to cle an yo ur unit. The se ma y cause damage t o electric components , spindles, pulle ys , bear[...]

11 5 Maintaining Y our Lawn Mo wer W ARNING When remov ing the cutting blade for sharpenin g or replacement or when slidi ng the belt around it, 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 cessiv e vibration when ro tat- ing at hi gh spee ds. It may cau se damage to mo we[...]

12 For repairs bey ond the minor adj ust- ments listed here, contact an authori zed service de aler . 6 T r ouble Shooting Cause Pr oblem Remed y En gine fail s to start 1 . Blade c ontrol di sengage d. 2. Spark pl ug boot dis conne cted. 3. Fuel tank empt y or stal e fuel. 4. CHOKE n ot activated. 5. Faulty spar k plug. 6. Bloc ked fuel line. 7 . [...]

13 7 W ARNING DO NOT remov e safety (or any) labels from mower f or any reason. NOTE : Sa fety labels va r y by m odel. Not al l labels sho wn on this page a re applicable to all La wn Mow er models. 2 / 7 D A N G E R E R E H E T A L P L E D O M E C A L P • K E E P H A N D S A N D F E E T A W A Y F R O M R O T A T I N G P A R T S . A V O I D S E [...]

14 8 Engine Safe Operat ion Practices Gasoline and its v apors are extremely flammable and ex plosiv e. Fire or ex plosion can cause se vere burns or death. If gasoline i s spilled on y ourself or yo ur clothes, wash y our skin and change clothes immediatel y . • When add ing fuel, turn e ngine OFF and l et engine cool at l east 2 minutes b efore[...]

15 Runn ing engine produces heat. Engine parts, especially muffler , become extremely hot . Sev ere thermal burns can occu r on contact. Combustible debris, such as lea ves, grass, brush, et c., can catch fi re. • Allow muf fler , engi ne cylind er , and fi ns to cool b efore touchi ng. • Keep child ren awa y from hot or ru nning engi nes. They[...]

16 9 Operating Y our Engine Pre-Operation Check Oil Recommendations IM PORT ANT : This engi ne is ship ped with out gaso line or oil in th e engine. Runnin g the engin e with insu ffi cient oil can c ause serious eng ine damag e and void the en gine warrant y . • Before star tin g engine, fill wi th oil. Do not over -fill. Oi l capac it y is abou[...]

17 Check Oil Le vel IM PORT ANT : Be sure to che ck the eng ine on a level sur face with t he engin e stopped . 1 . Remove the oil fill er cap and wi pe the di pstic k clean. See Figure 9 -2. 2. Inser t the di pstic k into the oil fi ller neck , but do not screw it in. 3. If the level is low, slowly add oil to th e upper lim it on the di pstic k. 4[...]

18 Oil Change IM PORT ANT : Be sure to che ck engin e on a level surfac e with t he engine sto pped. Dr ain the oil wh ile the eng ine is still warm to as sure rapid a nd comp lete draining. 1 . Remove oil fill ca p and drain oi l by either removing drain plu g or turning mower on it s side ( air clean er side up) a nd allowing o il to drain into a[...]

19 Spark Plug Service W ARN IN G : DO N OT che ck for spa rk with sp ark plug re moved. DO NOT cr ank engin e with sp ark plug re moved. T o ensure prop er engine o peration, t he spark plu g must be prop erly gap ped and free of d eposit s. 1 . Remove the spark p lug boot and u se a spark plu g wrench to re move the plug. See Fig ure 1 0 - 3. W AR[...]

20 3. Measure t he plug gap w ith a feeler g auge. Correct as nec essar y by bendin g side el ectro de. See Figure 1 0 - 4. The gap shoul d be set to 0.030 in. 4. Check t hat the spar k plug washer is in g ood co ndi - tion an d thread the sp ark plug in by hand to prevent cross -threading. 5. After t he spark plu g is seated, tighten w ith a spark[...]

NO TES 21[...]

22 Model 26M 54 21 52 39 39 19 63 51 38 18 20 20 60 55 57 5 4 1 13 50 58 47 46 48 34 35 33 23 32 24 31 12 8 9 3 11 15 16 14 12 10 6 7 2 62 40 37 42 41 38 59 49 17 28 26 53 36 27 25 53 43 30 22 29 44 43 56 45 20 61[...]

23 11 P ar ts List Ref. No. Par t No. De scriptio n 1 . 7 4 7 - 1 21 4 Drive Contr ol 2. 7 4 7 - 1 1 61 A Blade C ontrol 3. 7 46 - 04 30 0 Blade C ontrol Cabl e 4. 7 46 - 043 04 Drive Contr ol Cable 5. 7 49 - 1092A Upper H andle 6. 7 10- 1205 Eye Bolt 7 . 720 - 0279 Wing Nut , 1/4 -20 8. 71 0 - 06 06 Hex Sc rew , 1 /4 -20 x 1 .5 0 9. 7 46 - 04295A [...]

24 7 6 11 10 8 12 5 4 14 21 29 1 3 2 9 20 27 13 26 25 24 22 23 16 28 17 17 15 18 19 Engine 1P65[...]

25 11 Illustrated P ar ts List Ref. Par t No. De scriptio n 1 . 95 1 - 10337 Fuel T a nk 2. 95 1- 1 033 6 Flywhe el Shroud 3. 95 1- 1 033 5 Rubber Fuel T ank Mount ing Washer 4. 95 1- 1 033 4 Oil Filler T ube A ssembl y 5. 95 1- 1 033 3 Dipsti ck Assem bly 6. 95 1- 1 040 6 Cylind er Head Comp lete 7 . 95 1 - 10407 Shor t Blo ck Assem bly 8. 95 1- 1[...]

MTD LLC (MTD), The United States Envir onment Protection Agency (U . S. EP A) Emission Control System W arranty Statement (Owner’ s Defect W arranty Rights and Obligations) The U. S. EP A and MTD are plea sed to explain th e emissio ns contro l system warranty on your mo del year 200 5 and later small of f-road en gine. New small of f-road eng in[...]

(7) The engine manu facturer is lia ble for damag es to other engi ne comp onents proximately c aused by a failure und er warranty of any warranted par t. (8 ) Throug hout the en gine’ s warrant y perio d defined in Su bsec tion ( a) ( 2) , MTD will mai ntain a sup ply of warranted par ts suf fic ient to meet the expecte d demand for su ch par ts[...]

The limi ted warranty set for th b elow is given by MTD LLC with res pect to new merchan dise purc hased and u sed in the Un ited States, its p osses- sions an d territorie s. “ MTD” warrants t his prod uct agai nst defect s in material an d workmansh ip for a perio d of two ( 2 ) years commen cing on t he date of origi nal purch ase and will, [...]