MTD 690 through 699 manual

IMPOR T ANT : Read saf ety rules and instructions ca refull y befo re operati ng equipment. MTD PR ODUCTS INC. P .O . BO X 368022 CLEVELAND, OHIO 44 136-9722 Hydr ostatic La wn Tr a c t o r Model Series 690 through 699 PRINTED IN U .S.A. Warning: T h is unit is equipped with an internal com bustion engine and should not be used on or near any unimp[...]

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Cont ent Page Important Safe O peratio n Practi ces .... ............. ............. ................... ............. ..... 3 Slope G auge ............. .................... ............. ............. ................... ............. ........... 6 Assemblin g Your Lawn Trac tor .................. ............. ............ ..[...]

3 SECTION 1: IMPORTANT SAFE OPERATION PRACTICES This symbol points o ut important safety instructions which, if not followed, c ould endang er the pers onal safet y and/or pr operty of your self and oth ers. Read and follow all i nstructi ons in this manual before attem pting to op erate your r ider mower. F ailur e to co mply with the se ins truct[...]

4 All slopes require extra c aution. If you cannot back up the slope or if y ou feel uneasy on it, do not mow it. • For your safety, use the slope gauge included as part of this manual to measure s lopes before operating this unit on a sloped or hilly area. If the slope is greater than 15° as shown on the s l ope gauge, do not operate this unit [...]

5 moving parts or allow objects to be thrown. For your safety protection, frequently check components and replace with manufacturer’s recommended parts when necessary. • Mower blades are sharp and can cut. Wrap the blade(s) or wear gloves and use extra caution when servicing blade(s). • Check br ake operation frequently. Adjust and service as[...]

6 SECTION 2: SLOPE GUAGE 15° SIGHT AND HOLD T HIS LEVEL WITH A VERTIC AL TREE A POW ER POLE A CORNER OF A BUILDING OR A FENC E 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 SLOPE S WHERE YOU MAY NOT OPER ATE SAFELY. Do not mow on incli nes with a slope i n excess of 15 d egr[...]

7 SECTION 3: ASSEMBLING YOUR LAWN TRACTOR NOTE: This manual cov ers variou s models of hydrostati c trac tors with in the 690 serie s. Pleas e use instruc tions per taining on ly to your tractor. Unpacking • Remove al l screws from top of the crate us ing 1/4" hex head so cket or a fla t blade s crewdriv er. • To remove ends, gras p top bo[...]

8 • Compare the battery in yo ur lawn tracto r (located under th e se at) with the ill ustrati on above . Type “ A ” batterie s are activat ed and are re ady to use. Typ e “ B ” batteries mus t be filled with bat tery flui d (acid) and charg ed before the y are put into serv ice. Follow ins truct ions which appl y to the ba ttery in your [...]

9 NOTE: The seat ma y hav e been shi pped in a b ox. Remove th e four s crews from th e botto m of seat and place sea t in p osition against the seat pivot b racket . Follow th e directions above to attach the sea t. Quick Adjustment Seat • Pull ou t tab on seat stop and hold o pen whi le slidi ng seat out of seat pivot bra cket. See F igure 4 . [...]

10 • Line up the bo lt on the mul ching pl ug with the hole on top of the deck . Push up on the end of the mulchin g plug and secur e with the wing nut. See Figure 7 . Figure 7 Tire Pre ss ure • The t ires o n your unit m ay b e over -inflated for shippin g pur poses. Re duce the ti re press ure befor e operatin g the unit. Recomme nded opera t[...]

11 • Secure bat tery by hoo king batter y strap into slot in rear fra me, u nder the fender . See F igure 10 . Fig ure 10 • Insert th e drain tube down throu gh the hole in th e battery comp artme nt and the hole in the transaxle reinfor cement brac ket locate d on the right side of the unit. See Figure 10 . B e certain drain tube is routed awa[...]

12 Ignit ion Sw itch The igni tion switc h is locate d on the dashbo ard. Sta rt the engine by turning the key to the START positio n. When the engine is runn ing, lea ve the ke y in the ON position . To stop the en gine, tur n the ke y to the OFF position . WARNING: Remo ve the key from the tractor , when the tractor is not in use , to prevent acc[...]

13 SECTION 5: OPERATING YOUR LAWN TRACTOR WARNING: Go up a nd down slope s, not across. Avoid sudden tur ns. Do not operate the unit where it could slip or tip over. If the trac tor stops while going uphill, stop the blade(s) and reverse down th e hill slowly. Do not mow whe n children or othe rs are around. Never carry childre n. Look down and beh[...]

14 Setting C utting Height • Selec t the positio n for the li ft lever whi ch gives the desired cutting hei ght. Mov e the deck li ft indicato r (if so equipped ) so that the l ift lev er can be retu rned to the same pos ition after it is rais ed. • Move the de ck whee ls (if so equi pped) to the hol e loca tion so the wheels a re 1 /4 in ch a [...]

15 • Depres s the clutch- brake ped al until the s cissor bracke ts com e together . • Shut off the en gine. • Tighte n hex nut on the sc issor mou nting brack et. • Threa d the speed se lecto r rod in or out of the ferrule until the hyd rostatic control lever li nes up in neutral po sitio n on the spe ed contro l index br acket. • Tighte[...]

16 Fig ure 16 • Adjust the tie rod assem bly for correct toe -in. Dimensi on B should be approxi mately 1/16 ” -5/16" less than Dimens ion A. See Fig ure 16 inse t. • To inc rease Dim ension ‘‘ B, ’’ screw tie rod in to tie rod end. To d ecrease Dim ensio n ‘‘ B, ’’ unscr ew tie rod from tie ro d end. See Figur e 16 . Rea[...]

17 Battery Failures Some common cau ses for battery f ail ure are: inco rrect initial activatio n, lack of water, adding chem icals oth er than water afte r initial activation, undercha rging , overch arging, cor roded con nections, fr eezing. T hese failures do not constitu te warranty. Lubrication WARNING: Always stop engine and disconnect spark [...]

18 part numbe r) facing the grou nd when the tractor is in the ope rating pos ition . Carefully align “ star ” on blade wi th “ sta r ” on spindl e. Secu re with flan ge nut. Blade Moun ting Torqu e Hex Flange Nut: 840 in. lb. m in., 1080 in. lb . max. • All nuts and bo lts must be checked pe riodic ally for correct tightn ess. Belt Repla[...]

19 Fig ure 21 • Remove the belt cover at the two outside deck pulleys , by remov ing the sel f-tapping screws. See Figure 21 . • Release the tension on the spr ing loaded i dler by pushing th e idler towa rd the rear of the de ck. • Remove the belt from ar ound the idle r pulley s, and remove from th e thr ee deck pulley s. S ee Fig ure 21 . [...]

20 Engine • Refer to the s eparate en gine manual for engine maintenan ce i nstru ctions. • Service air clean er ever y 10 hours un der norm al conditio ns. Cle an every fe w hours unde r extremely dusty condi tions. T o servic e the air cleaner , refer to the separ ate engine man ual pac ked with you r unit. • The spark plug(s) sh ould be cl[...]

21 SECTION 9: OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT NOTE: These la wn tractor s are not desig ned for grou nd-engag ing equi pment (til lers, pl ows, etc). *Avail able throu gh your loc al dealer or from Agri -Fab Inc., 303 W. Raymo nd Street, S ullivan , Illinois 61951. Description Model No. 40" T wo St age S now Thr ower OEM -19 0-62 1 42" Dozer Bl ade OE[...]

22 SECTION 10: TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE NOTE: If the abov e steps fail to correc t the proble m, conta ct your loca l author ized ser vice dea ler for repa ir. T rouble Possible Cause(s) Corrective Action Engine will not cran k 1. Safety swit ch button not de pressed. 2. Battery in stalled incor rectly . 3. Battery is dead or weak. 4. Blown fu se or [...]

23 Yo u r N o t e s Date Co mments[...]

MANUF A CTURER ’ S LIMITED W ARRANTY The lim i ted w arranty set forth below i s giv en by MTD PRODUCTS INC ( “ MTD ” ) with respect to new merchandi s e purchase d and used in the United States, i ts poss essions and territories . MTD wa rrants this produc t against def ects in material and workman s hip f or a period o f two (2) yea rs comm[...]