MTD 54M 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 interna l combu stion e ngine and s hould not b e used on or near any uni mproved 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 T ab le of Contents This Operator’ s Manual is an important part of your new mo wer . It will help you assemble, prepare, and maintain the unit for best performance. Please read and understand what it sa ys. DEALER LOCA TOR PHONE NUMBER: 800-949-4483 MTD LLC P . O. BOX 361131 CLEVEL[...]

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 extrem ely 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 blad e has s[...]

6 3 Setup and Adjustment Stand behi nd the mow er as if y ou were going to ope rate i t. Y our right ha nd cor - responds t o the right side of the mo wer; you r left hand corr esponds to the le f t side of the mow er . Figure 3-2: Unfold handle and tighten hardw are. IMPORT ANT This unit i s shipped without gas oline or oil in the en gine. F ill u[...]

7 8. Y our mower is shipp ed as a mulc her . T o c onvert to side d isch arge, make sure grass c atcher is of f of the unit and rear d isch arge do or is clo sed. a. On t he side of t he mower , li ft t he mulc hing plug, Figure 3 - 7 . b. Sli de t wo hooks of sid e disc harge c hute under hinge p in on mulc hing plu g assemb ly . Lower the mulc hi[...]

8 4 Operating Y our Lawn Mo wer Now that y ou have setup y our lawn mow er for oper ation, it’ s impor tant to become familiar with its controls . Blade Control The blade control is attached to the upper handle . De- press and squeeze it against the upper handle to operate the unit. Release it to stop engine and blade . W ARN I NG : This bla de c[...]

9 4 Operating Y our Lawn Mo wer W ARNING The o per ation o f any lawn mower c an re sult in fore ign obj ect s bei ng thrown into t he eyes, which ca n dam age your eyes severely. Always wear s afet y gla sses wh ile ope rati ng the mowe r , or while p er form ing any adjust men ts or re pair s on it . Be sur e no one ot her t han the o per ator is[...]

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 per formi ng any type of maint enance on yo ur machine. Do not us e 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, beari ngs, or the engine . Th[...]

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- son[...]

12 For r epa irs bey ond the minor adjust - ments liste d here, contact an autho rized service deale r . 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 boot di sconn ected. 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 Safety Labels W ARNING DO NOT remov e safet y (or any) labels from mower f or any reason.                                                                [...]

14 8 Engine Safe Operat ion Practices Gasoline and its v apors ar e 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, tur n engine O FF and let engin e cool at l east 2 minutes b efo[...]

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, engine cylind er , an d fins to coo l before touchi ng. • Keep childr en awa y from hot or r unning eng ines. They c[...]

16 9 Operating Y our Engine Pre-Operation Chec k Oil Recommendations IM POR T ANT : This engi ne is ship ped wit hout ga soline or oil in th e engine. Runni ng the eng ine with i nsuf fici ent oil can c ause serious e ngine da mage and void t he engin e warrant y . • Before star ti ng engin e, fill with oil. Do n ot over -fill. O il capac it y is[...]

17 Chec k Oil Level IM POR T ANT: Be sur e to che ck the e ngine on a l evel sur face wi th th e engin e stopp ed . 1 . Remove the oil fill er cap and w ipe the d ipsti ck cl ean, Figure 9 -2. 2. Inser t the di psti ck into the o il filler ne ck, but d o not screw it in. 3. If the level is low, slowly add oil to th e upper li mit on the di pstic k.[...]

18 Oil Change IM POR T ANT : Be sure to che ck engi ne on a level sur face with t he engine s toppe d. Drain the o il while t he engin e is still warm to as sure rapi d and com plete drain ing. 1 . Remove oil fill ca p and drain o il by either removin g drain plu g or turning m ower on its side ( air cl eaner sid e up ) and allowin g oil to drain i[...]

19 Spark Plug Service W ARN I NG : DO NOT ch eck for sp ark with sp ark plug re moved. DO N OT crank engin e with sp ark plug r emoved. T o ensure proper e ngine o peration, t he spark p lug must be prop erly gap ped and fre e of depos its. 1 . Remove the spark p lug boot an d use a spark p lug wrench to re move the plug, Figure 10- 3. W ARN I NG :[...]

20 3. Measure t he plug ga p with a feeler g auge. Correc t as neces sar y by bendi ng side e lect rode, Figure 10- 4. The gap s hould be s et to 0.030 in. 4. Check t hat the spar k plug washer is i n goo d cond i- tion an d thread the s park plug in by han d to prevent cross -threadin g. 5. After th e spark pl ug is seated, tig hten with a s park [...]

NO TES 21[...]

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23 1 1 P ar ts List † Not Picture d 1 7 4 7 - 1 1 61 A Blade C ontrol 2 73 1 - 04 859 Bail Cover 3 71 2-0 40 64 Flange Loc k Nut 1/ 2-20 4 726- 02 40 Cable Ti e 5 66 4- 0 403 4 Grass B ag Assemb ly 6 7 4 7 - 0 408 0 Grass B ag F rame 7 732-0700 T railshi eld Wire 8 73 1 - 04 998 T railshi eld 9 7 4 7 - 0 99 6 Pivot Rod 1 0 73 1-04 134A Rear Dis c[...]

24                               Engine 1P65[...]

25 11 Illustrated P ar ts List 1 . 95 1 - 10337 Fuel T a nk 2. 95 1- 10336 Fly wheel S hroud 3. 95 1- 10335 Rub ber Fuel T ank Mounting Washer 4. 95 1- 10334 Oil Fi ller T ube Ass embly 5. 95 1- 10333 Dip stic k Assem bly 6. 95 1- 1040 6 Cylinder H ead Compl ete 7 . 951 - 10407 Shor t Bl ock As sembly 8. 95 1- 10320 Stop S witch an d Brake Assemb l[...]

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 pleas ed to explain th e emissi ons cont rol system warrant y on your mode l year 2005 an d later small of f-road eng ine. New small of f-road en gi[...]

(7) The en gine manu facturer is li able for dam ages to other en gine co mpone nts proximately caus ed by a failure under warrant y of any warranted par t. ( 8 ) Throu ghout th e engine’s wa rrant y per iod defi ned in Sub sect ion (a ) ( 2) , MTD wi ll maintain a s upply of warra nted par ts suf fic ient to meet the expecte d demand for s uch p[...]

The limi ted warranty s et fort h below is gi ven by MTD LLC ( “ MTD” ) with respe ct to new merc handise p urchas ed and used i n the Unite d States, its posse ssion s and territor ies. “ MTD” warrant s the eng ine on thi s produ ct for a peri od of three ( 3 ) years and all oth er aspec ts of the p roduc t for a perio d of two ( 2 ) years[...]