MTD Series 430 Thru 439 manual

IMPOR T ANT : Read safety r ules an d in structio ns care fully b efore o pera ting eq uipmen t. 21” R ear & Side Discharge Mulching Lawn Mo wer Model Series 430 Thru 439 PRINTED IN U.S.A. Warning: This unit is equi pped with an internal combustion engine and should not be used on or near any unimproved forest- covered, brus h-covered or gras[...]

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page Important Safe O peratio n Pr actice s .............. ............. ............. ............ ............. ............. ..... 3 Slope G auge ....................... ............. ................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ......... .. 6 Assemb ling Yo ur Lawn Mower .............. [...]

3 SECTION 1: IMPORTANT SAFE OPERATION PR ACTICES General Ope ration 1. Read this op erator’ s manual c arefully in its entir ety before at temptin g to assem ble thi s machine. R ead , unders tand, and fo llow all ins tructi ons on the mach ine and in the ma nual( s) befor e opera tion. Be complet ely familiar with the con trols and the p roper u[...]

4 8. Never ope rate the mowe r in wet gras s. Always be sure of yo ur footing . A slip and fall can c ause seriou s person al injur y. If you feel y ou are losi ng your foot ing, relea se the bl ade contro l handle imme diately an d the blade will stop r otating withi n thre e seconds. 9. Mow in da ylight or good artifi cial lig ht. Walk, nev er ru[...]

5 7. Exting uish all c igarettes , cigars, pi pes and ot her sources of ign ition. 8. Never fue l machine indoors be caus e flamma ble vapor s will accum ulate in the area. 9. Never remove gas cap or add fuel w hile the e ngine is hot or runn ing. Allow engi ne to cool at lea st tw o minutes before refu eling. 10. Never over fil l fuel tank. Fil l [...]

6 SECTION 2: SLOPE GAUGE 15° SIGH T AN D HOLD THIS LEVEL WITH A VERTICAL TREE A POWER P OLE A CORNER OF A B UILD ING OR A FEN CE 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 G U IDE TO DETERMI NE SLOPES WHERE YOU MAY NOT OPERATE SAFELY . Do not mow on incl ines with a slope i n excess of 15 d[...]

7 SECTION 3: ASSEMBLING YOUR LAWN MOWER Removing Unit From Car ton • Remov e staples , bre ak glue on to p flaps or cut tap e at carton en d and peel top fla p to open c arton. • Remov e loose par ts if in cluded wit h unit. • Cut cor ners and lay ca rton dow n flat. Re move packing m aterial . • Rol l or slide u nit o ut of cart on. Ch eck[...]

8 Figure 4 • Fasten the c able to the lower handle with the two cable ties found on th e lower h andle. Pul l the cable ties tight an d trim off the ex cess. S ee Figure 5 . Figure 5 Attaching St arter Rope • The rope gu ide is attache d to the righ t side of uppe r handle. L oosen the wing nut wh ich secu res the rope guide. S ee Fi gure 6. ?[...]

9 Removing Grass Catcher • Lift the re ar dischar ge door on the mo wer, and lif t the gr ass catc her up. • Relea se the rear dischar ge door. Conve r ting to Side- Discharg e • Your mower has b een s hipped as a mulc her. T o conver t it to a side- discharge mower, li ft the mulchin g plug. Slid e the tw o hooks on the side- discharg e defl[...]

10 Cutting Height Adjustment Lever This l ever, lo cated a t each w hee l, lets yo u adju st cutt ing height of the gr ass. Re member to pu t all four le vers at the same hei ght to avoid un even cut. Throt tle Cont rol The engin e is equipp ed with a co nstant s peed thrott le for maximum engine an d cuttin g perform ance. Recoil Starter The recoi[...]

11 Operat ing Y our Lawn Mower • Once the engine has s tarted , squeeze th e blade control hand le agai nst th e upp er hand le to run t he lawn mow er. • Do not operate the mower without the mulc hing cove r, the grass c atcher bag , or the di scharg e chute proper ly insta lled. • Be sur e that the lawn is c lear of s tones, sticks , wire, [...]

12 SECTION 6: MAINTAINI N G YOUR LAWN MOWER Cleaning the Lawn Mow er • Clean unde rside of the mower de ck after ea ch use to prev ent a ny buil d-up o f gra ss. If this debris accumul ates, i t will ca use rust an d corro sion. NOTE: We d o not r ecomm end t he use of pressu re washers o r ga rd en ho se to c le an yo ur u nit . Th ese m ay caus[...]

13 SECTION 7: SERVICING YOUR MOW ER Blade Care Periodic ally ins pect the b lade adapter and pulley for cracks, espe cially if y ou st rike a foreig n ob ject. Rep lace when neces sary. • Discon nect spar k plug wir e from spark plug. • Turn mower on its side making sure that the air filter and the ca rbureto r are up. • Remove the bolt and b[...]

14 Replacing Rear Flap • To rem ove r ear fl ap, cut off t he fl at end o f the wire rod which secur es it to the dec k. See Fi gure 15 . • Attach the new flap and new r od to deck, ben ding the ends of the ne w rod over to sec ure to deck . Figu re 15 SECTION 8: MAKING ADJUSTMENTS Adjusting Handle Height Your mower is shipp ed with the handle [...]

15 SECTION 9: OFF-SEASON STORAGE Prepare your lawn m ower for st orage at t he end of the season or if the unit will not be used for 30 days or more. Store th e mower in a clea n, dry are a . Gasoline • Do not st ore gasol ine from one seaso n to another. Gasoline, stored more than one month, may affect engine p erfor mance. • Repla ce you r ga[...]

16 SECTION 11: PARTS LIST FOR MO DEL SERIES 430 THRU 439 1 6 10 3 2 11 4 5 4 19 35 33 32 29 30 31 41 40 46 24 22 21 20 25 42 56 56 12 31 30 29 28 26 27 44 44 49 43 18 36 38 45 48 34 14 13 37 39 25 47 16 23 7 8 9 12 15 53 52 51 17 25 54 55 50† 57† 50† 57† 58†[...]

17 Ref. No. Part No. Description 1. 747-1161 A Control Hand le 2. 710-1205 Rope Guid e 3. 720-0279 Handle Knob 1/4-20 Thd. 4. 710-1174 Curved Hd. Bolt 5/16-18 x 2" 5. 720-0284 Hand Kno b 6. 749-1092 A Uppe r Handle 7. 749-0928 A Lowe r Handle 8. 726-0240 Cable T ie 9. 747-0408 0 Grass Cat cher Fram e 10. 746-1130 Control Cabl e (Briggs & S[...]

18 NOTES[...]

19 NOTES[...]

MANUF ACTURER ’S LIMITED W ARRANTY FOR: The limi ted warranty se t forth bel ow is given b y MTD LLC with respe c t to new merchan dise purchased an d used in the United S tates, i ts possessio ns and territories . MTD LLC warrant s this produ ct again st defec ts fo r a perio d of two (2) y ears com m encing on the da te of original purch ase an[...]