Poulan 172787 manual

172787 Re v . 7 05.15.03 BY Printed in U .S.A. SELF-PR OPELLED R O T AR Y LA WN MO WER[...]

2 Saf ety Rules .......................................... 2-3 Assembly ...............................................4-8 Operation ............................................. 9-17 Maintenance ...................................... 18-21 Ser vice and Adjustments................... 21-25 Storage .............................................. 25-2[...]

3 II. SLOPE OPERA TION Slopes are a major f actor related to slip and f all accidents which can result in se vere injury . All slopes require e xtra cau- tion. If you f eel uneasy on a slope , do not mow it. DO: • Mow across the f ace of slopes: ne v er up and down. Exercise e xtreme caution when changing direction on slopes. • Remov e obstacle[...]

4 CA UTION: Do not operate this la wn mow er without the discharge guard or an entire approv ed gr ass catcher in place. These guards are f or your protection and are required by the American National Standards Institute and Consumer Prod- ucts Saf ety Com mis sion. CA UTION: Disconnect spar k plug wire from spark plug and place wire where it canno[...]

5 3 POSITION “QUICK” HANDLES • Raise low er handle section to operating position and squeeze the bottom ends of low er handle towards each other until the pin in handle can be inser ted into one of the three height adjustment holes. 3 POSITION “EURO” / “EZ” HANDLES • Raise low er handle section to operating position and align hole i[...]

6 Hinge brac ket F or med tabs Rear door Grass catcher frame HINGE BRA CKET MOUNTED DOOR PIV O T PIN MOUNTED AS SEM BLE GRASS CA TCHER (REAR DISCHARGE MO WERS ONL Y) IMPORT ANT: If y our model la wn mower is mulcher ready , the mulcher plate or plug must be remo ved bef ore using mower as a bagger . T o conv er t mower to bagging or discharging, se[...]

7 Star t here Hem Upper tubular fr ame Upper tubular frame Vinyl bindings Low er frame CA UTION: Under nor mal usage , the catcher material is subject to de te ri o ra tion and wear and should, theref ore, be check ed frequently f or replacement. Any replacement catcher should be check ed to ensure compliance with original man u f ac - tur er'[...]

8 SP ARK PLUG BOO T On some models a spark plug boot is pack ed loose in the par ts bag. If your model has the boot, install on spark plug wire and reconnect spark plug wire to spark plug. T O PRE P ARE BA TTER Y (ELECTRIC ST AR T MODELS ONL Y) NO TE: Y our battery must be charged bef ore you can star t y our la wn mower . UNITS WITH HANDLE-MOUNTED[...]

9 MODELS WITH ENGINE MOUNTED SPEED CONTROL The engine speed is controlled by a le ver located at the carburetor on the engine . HIGH or F AST position is for starting en gine, normal cutting and better grass bag ging. LO W or SLOW position is f or light cutting, trimming and fuel economy . BRIGGS & STRA TT ON CLASSIC or SPRINT ENGINE MOUNTED SP[...]

10 FOR MULCHING MO WERS ONL Y Most mulching mo wers are shipped ready to be used as a mulcher . “REAR DISCHARGE ONL Y” MO WERS Some models hav e a seperate mulcher plug, other models hav e the mulcher plug built into the rear door . T o conv er t to bag- ging or discharging, the plate or plug (if so equipped) must be remo ved from the dis charg[...]

11 MULCHER PLUG BUIL T INT O REAR DOOR “SIDE DISCHARGE ONL Y” MO WERS MULCHER PLA TE TYPE T o conv er t to bagging or discharging, mulcher plate must be remo v ed from un- derside of lawn mo wer . • Remov e the f our (4) scre ws and lock nuts securing the mulcher plate to the mow er . • Store mulcher plate and hardw are in a saf e place. ?[...]

12 “COMBI-CUT” MO WERS Y our la wn mower w as shipped ready to be used as a mulcher . T o conv er t to bagging or discharging: REAR BA GGING • Open rear door and remov e mulcher plate. Store mulcher plate in a saf e place. • Y ou can no w install grass catcher . • T o conv er t to mulching or discharging operation, install mulcher plug in[...]

13 Open mulcher door Discharge defl ector “MUL TI-CUT” MO WERS Y our la wn mower w as shipped ready to be used as a mulcher . Some models hav e a seperate mulcher plug, other models ha v e the mulcher plug b uilt into the rear door . T o conv er t to bagging or discharging: REAR BA GGING • If equipped with a seperate mulcher plug, lift rear [...]

14 DRIVE CONTR OL FRONT WHEEL DRIVE • Self-propelling is controlled by holding the operator presence control bar do wn to the handle and pushing the drive control le ver f orward until it clicks; then releasing the le ver . • F orward motion will stop when the op- erator presence control bar is released. T o stop forw ard motion without stoppin[...]

15 T O OPERA TE DRIVE SYSTEM • With engine running, select ground speed by mo ving speed control le v er to desired position. • T o star t forw ard motion, pull drive control bar back against handle . • T o stop forw ard motion, release drive control bar . IMPORT ANT: Alw a ys keep driv e control bar fully engaged against handle when in use. [...]

16 Recoil star ter handle (side mount type) Recoil star ter handle (center mount type) Operator presence control bar “V ARI-SPEED” ADJUSTMENT Ov er time, the drive control system ma y become “loose”, resulting in decreased speed. There is a thumbscre w on the un der side of the drive control housing to increase tension on the drive cab le. [...]

17 MULCHING MO WING TIPS (MULCHING MO WERS ONL Y) IMPORT ANT : F or best perf or mance, keep mo wer housing free of b uilt-up grass and tr ash. See “CLEANING” in the Maintenance sec tion of this manual. • The special m ulching blade will recut the grass clip pings many times and reduce them in size so that as the y f all onto the lawn the y w[...]

18 MAINTENANCE GENERAL RECOMMEND A TIONS The warr anty on this lawn mo wer does not cov er items that ha ve been subjected to op- erator ab use or negligence. T o receive full v alue from the war ranty , operator m ust main- tain mow er as instr ucted in this man ual. Some adjustments will need to be made periodically to proper ly maintain y our un[...]

19 LA WN MO WER Alwa ys obser ve saf ety rules when perf or m- ing any main te nance. TIRES • K eep tires free of gasoline, oil, or insect control chemi cals which can har m rub- ber . • A v oid stumps, stones , deep ruts, shar p objects and other hazards that ma y cause tire damage. BLADE CARE F or best results, mo wer b lade must be kept shar[...]

20 REAR WHEEL GEAR DRIVE ONL Y : • If you remo ve the driv e pinions, wipe clean with dr y cloth. Re as sem ble dr y . Do not lubricate. Do not use oil or grease. NO TE: The pinion gears, on both sides of the mow er , are the same , how ev er , the y must be installed cor rect ly . If in stalled in cor rect ly , the drive system will not w ork. ?[...]

21 SER VICE AND ADJUSTMENTS CA UTION: Before perf or ming any service or adjustments: • Release operator presence control bar . • Make sure the b lade and all moving parts hav e com plete ly stopped. • Disconnect spark plug wire from spar k plug and place wire where it can not come in contact with spark plug. LA WN MO WER T O ADJUST CUTTING H[...]

22 3 POSITION “EURO” OR “EZ” The handle on your la wn mow er has three (3) height positions - adjust to height that suits you. • Remov e knob and carriage bolt on one side of the low er handle. • While holding handle assembly , remov e knob and car riage bolt from opposite side, align hole in handle with desired hole in handle brac ket [...]

23 T O REMO VE / REPLA CE DRIVE BEL T FRONT WHEEL GEAR DRIVE • Remov e drive co v er . Remov e belt from gearcase pulley b y pushing down on pul- ley and rolling belt off it. • T ur n la wn mower on its side with air fi lter and carburetor up . • Remov e blade . • Remov e debris shield. • Remov e belt from engine pulle y on crankshaft. ?[...]

24 ENGINE CARBURET OR The carburetor has been preset at the f ac- tor y and ad just ment should not be neces- sar y . How e ver , minor ad just ment may be required to compensate f or diff erences in fuel, temperature , altitude or load. • The air fi lter must be assemb led to the car bu re tor when running engine. • Best carburetor adjustment[...]

25 ST ORA GE Immediately prepare your la wn mo wer f or storage at the end of the season or if the unit will not be used f or 30 da ys or more. CA UTION: Nev er store the la wn mower with gaso line in the tank inside a build ing where fumes ma y reach an open fl ame or spark. Allow the engine to cool bef ore storing in any enclosure. LA WN MO WER [...]

26 3 POSITION “EZ” 3 POSITION “QUICK” Handle ad just ment brac k et Knob Bolt • Use fresh fuel ne xt season. NO TE: Fuel stabilizer is an acceptable alter nativ e in min i miz ing the f ormation of fuel gum deposits during stor age. Add stabilizer to gasoline in fuel tank or stor age container . Alw ays f ollow the mix ratio f ound on sta[...]

27 Does not start 1. Dir ty air fi lter . 1. Clean/replace air fi lter . 2. Out of fuel. 2. Fill fuel tank. 3. Stale fuel. 3. Drain fuel tank and refi ll tank with fresh, clean gasoline. 4. W ater in fuel. 4. Drain fuel tank and refi ll tank with fresh, clean gasoline. 5. Spar k plug wire is 5. Connect wire to plug. disconnected. 6. Bad spar k [...]

Hard to push 1. Grass is too high or wheel 1. Raise cutting height. height is too low . 2. Rear of lawn mo wer 2. Raise rear of lawn mo wer housing or cutting blade housing one (1) setting dragging in grass . higher . 3. Grass catcher too full. 3. Empty gr ass catcher . 4. Handle height position not 4. Adjust handle height to suit. r ight f or y ou[...]