MTD 105 User Manual

OWNEirS GUIDE

AMERICAN AMERICAN

MADE OWNED

OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT

Important: Read Safety Rules and Instructions Carefully

Model Series

20" and 21 "

MULCHING

ROTARY MOWERS

105 thru 108

(Push)

130 thru 148

(Self-Propelled)

730 thru 738

(Push)

WARNING: This unit is equipped with an internal combustion engine and should not be used on or near any unimproved forest-covered, brush-covered or grass-covered land unless the engine’s exhaust system is equipped with a spark arrester meeting applicable local or state laws (if any). If a spark arrester is used, it should be maintained in effective working order by the operator.

In the State of California the above is required by law (Section 4442 of the California Public Resources Code). Other states may have similar laws. Federal laws apply on federal lands. A spark arrester for the muffler is avail able through your nearest engine authorized service dealer or contact the service department, P.O. Box 368022,

"•N

Cleveland, Ohio 44136-9722.

MTD PRODUCTS INC • P.O. BOX 368022 • CLEVELAND, OHIO 44136-9722

PRINTED IN U.S.A. FORM NO. 770-8558J

IMPORTANT

THIS SYMBOL POINTS OUT IMPORTANT SAFETY lIJSTRUCTIONS WHICH, IF NOT FOLLOWED, COULD ENDANGER THE PERSONAL SAFETY AND/OR PROPERTY OF YOURSELF AND )THERS. READ AND FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS MANUAL BEFORE

ATTEMPTING TO OPERATE YOUR LAWN MOWER. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY RESULT IN PERSONAL

INJURY. WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL— ^ HELD ITS WARNING.

Your lawn mower was b lilt to be operated according to the rules for sate operation in this manual. As

DANGER:

TRAINING

1. Read this owner’s guide carefully in its entirety before attempt ing to assemble or operate this machine. Be compì 3tely famil iar with the controls and the proper use of this mac line before operating it. Keep this manual in a safe place for future and regular reference and for ordering replacement parts.

2. Your rotary mower is a precision piece of power squipment, not a plaything. Therefore, exercise extreme caution at all times. Your unit has been designed to perform une job: to mow grass. Do not use it for any other purpose.

3. Never allow children under 14 years old to operate a power mower. Children 14 years old and over should only operate mower under close parental supervision. Only psrsons well acquainted with these rules of safe operation should be allowed to use your mower.

4. Keep the area of operation clear of all persons, rarticularly small children and pets. Stop engine when they are in the

vicinity of your mower to help prevent blade contac: or thrown

object injury. Although the area of operation shou d be com pletely cleared of foreign objects, an object may have been overlooked and could be accidentally thrown by th ; mower in any direction and cause serious personal injury to t ie operator or any others allowed in the area.

PREPARATION

1. Thoroughly inspect the area where the equipment is to be used. Remove all stones, sticks, wire, bones and o her foreign objects which could be picked up and thrown by tha mower in any direction and cause serious personal injury to tie operator or any others allowed in the area. Plan your mowing pattern to avoid discharge of material toward roads, sidewalks, bystanders and the like.

2. Always wear safety glasses or eye shields during operation or while performing an adjustment or repair, to protec: eyes from foreign objects that may be thrown from the mac line in any direction.

3. Wear sturdy, rough-soled work shoes and close-filing slacks and shirts. Shirts and pants that cover the arms and legs and steel-toed shoes are recommended. Do not wear bose fitting clothes or jewelry. They can be caught in moving [ arts. Never operate a unit in bare feet, sandals, or sneakers.

4. Before working with gasoline, extinguish all cigare tes, cigars, pipes and other sources of ignition. Check the fuel evel before starting the engine. Gasoline is an extremely flammable fuel. Do not fill the gasoline tank indoors, while the engine is run ning, or until engine has been allowed to cool for it least two minutes after running. Replace gasoline cap secure y and wipe off any spilled gasoline before starting the enginu as it may cause a fire or explosion.

5. Disengage the self-propelled mechanism or drivu clutch on units so equipped before starting the engine.

6. The blade control handle is a safety device. Never attempt to bypass its operation. Doing so makes the safety de rice inoper ative and may result in personal injury through contact with the rotating blade. The blade control handle must operite easily in both directions and automatically return to the disengaged position when released.

7. Never attempt to make a wheel or cutting height adjustment while the engine is running.

8. Never operate the mower in wet grass. Always be ; ure of your footing. A slip and fall can cause serious personal njury. Keep a firm hold on the handle and walk, never run. N ow only in daylight or in good artificial light.

with any type of power e iuipment, carelessness or error on the part of the operator can result in serious injury. If you violate any i if these rules, you may cause serious injury to yourself or others.

SAFE OPERATION PRACTICES

9. For your safety, use the slope gauge Included as part of this rhanual to measure slopes before operating this unit on a sloped or hilly area. If the slope is greater than 15° as shown oh the slope gauge, do not operate this unit on that area or serious injury could result.

. OPERATION

1. Do not change the engine governor settings or overspeed the engine. Excessive engine speeds are dangerous.

2. Do not put hands or feet near or under rotating parts. Keep clear of the discharge opening at all times as the rotating blade can cause injury.

3. Stop the blade when crossing gravel drives, walks or roads.

4. After striking a foreign object, stop the engine, remove the wire

from the spark plug, and thoroughly inspect the mower for any damage. Repair the damage before restarting and operating the mower.

5. If the equipment should start to vibrate abnormally, stop the

engine and check immediately for the cause. Vibration is gen erally a warning of trouble.

6. Shut the engine off and wait until the blade comes to a com plete stop before removing the grass catcher or unclogging the

chute. The cutting blade continues to rotate for a few seconds after the engine is shut off. Never place any part of the body in the blade area until you are sure the blade has stopped rotat ing.

7. Before cleaning, repairing or inspecting, make certain the blade

and all moving parts have stopped. Disconnect the spark plug wire, and keep the wire away from the spark plug to prevent

'accidental starting.

8. Do not run the engine indoors.

9. Never cut grass by pulling mower toward you. Mow across the

face of slopes, never up-and-down. Exercise extreme caution when changing direction on slopes. Do not mow excessively steep slopes. Always be sure of your footing. A slip and fall can cause serious personal injury.

10. Never operate mower without proper guards, plates or other safety protective devices in place.

11. Muffler and engine become hot and can cause a burn. Do not touch.

MAINTENANCE AND STDRAGE

1. Check the blade and engine mounting bolts at frequent inter vals for proper tightness. Also visually inspect blade for dam age (e.g. bent, cracked). Replace with blade which meets origi

nal equipment specifications.

2. Keep all nuts, bolts, and screws tight to be sure the equipment

is in safe working condition.

3. Never store the mower with gasoline in the tank or gas con tainers inside of a building where fumes may reach an open flame or spark (e.g. gas hot water heater). Allow the engine to cool before storing in any enclosure.

4. To reduce fire hazard, keep the engine free of grass, leaves and excessive oil.

5. Check the grass catcher bag frequently for wear or deteriora tion. Replace a worn or damaged bag immediately. For safety

protection, replace only with new bag meeting original equip ment specifications.

SET-UP INSTRUCTIONS

IMPORTANT: This unit is shipped WITHOUT GASO LINE or OIL. Be certain to service engine with gaso line and oil as instructed in the separate engine manual before operating your mower.

NOTE: Reference to right or left hand side of the mower is observed from the operating position.

HOW TO SET-UP YOUR LAWN MOWER

Refer to Illustration Below

1. Remove carton inserts (if any) and the side dis charge chute which is loose in the carton. Lift the mower from the carton, or cut the corners of the carton and roll the mower out.

2. Remove any cardboard pieces which may be between the upper and lower handles for ship ping purposes. If there is any packaging (plastic or cardboard) around the upper handle, remove it.

3. Disconnect the spark plug wire and move it away

from the spark plug.

4. Pull up and back on the upper handle to raise the handle into the operating position. Make certain

the lower handle is seated securely into the han

dle mounting brackets. Tighten the hand knobs on each side of the handle.

NOTE: Your mower is shipped with the handie in the

higher height position. If you wish to lower the height of

the handle, refer to the Adjustment Section at this time.

Wing Nut Handle

Upper

Rope

Guide

Starter

Rope

Muiching

Piug

Handle

Rope

Guide

Lower

Handle

Blade Control

Remove the hairpin clips from the outer hole in the weld pins on the handle mounting brackets. Place the hairpin clips in the inner hole.

The rope guide and wing nut are attached to the starter rope, on top of the engine. Remove the wing nut from rope guide. Remove the rope guide from the starter rope.

With the spark plug’wire disconnected and grounded, hold the blade control handle against the upper handle, and pull the starter rope out of

the engine. Hold the rope guide as shown so the opening in the rope guide is toward the front of

mower. Slip the rope guide around the starter rope

and into the right side of upper handle using the

hole shown. Secure using the wing nut.

Make certain all nuts and bolts are tightened

securely.

Your mower has been shipped as a mulcher. To dis charge grass to the side, proceed with step 9.

9. To convert your mower from a mulcher to a side discharge mower, lift the mulching plug.

Slide the two hooks on the side discharge deflec

tor under the hinge pin on the mulching plug

assembly. Lower the mulching plug.

SELF-PROPELLED MODELS:

Handle

Mounting

Bracket

Lower

Handle

Hairpin Clip

in Inner

Weld

Hole

Handie

Mounting

Bracket

FIGURE 1.—Self-Propelled Model Shown

Spark

Plug

PUSH MODELS:

Hairpin

Clip in

inner Hoie

Weld

Lower

Handie

Mounting

Bracket

CONTROLS

I I

Blade

Control

Handle

Drive

Clutch

Control

Recoil

Starter

FIGURE 2.—Self-Propelled 6-Speed Model Shown

1 hrottle

Control

BLADE CONTROL HANDLE

WARNING: This controi mechanism is a

safety device. Never attempt to bypass

The blade control handle is located on the upper han dle of the mower. See figure 2. The blade control han dle must be depressed in order to operate the unit. Release the blade control handle to stop the engine and blade.

its operations.

WARNING: The blade will be -otating whenever the engine is running.

WARNING: The throttle control cannot be used to stop the engine.

▲

RECOIL STARTER

The recoil starter handle is attached to the handle. See figure 2. Stand behind the unit in the operating

position to start the unit.

DRIVE CLUTCH CONTROL

(Self-Propelled Models Only) Squeezing the drive clutch control engages the drive

mechanism to the rear wheels. Releasing the clutch control stops the rear wheels from driving. Release the drive clutch control to slow down when negotiating

an obstacle, making a turn or stopping. See figure 2.

SHIFT LEVER

The six speed shift lever is located on the drive clutch control housing on the upper handle. See figure 2. This lever is used to select the operating speed of the

mower. Release the drive clutch control when chang

ing speeds.

(Six Speed Models Only)

THROTTLE CONTROL

The throttle control is located on the left si(ie of the upper handle. It is used to regulate the engimj speed.

OPERATION

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF INJURY, DO N OPERATE MOWER UNLESS REAR TRAILII SHIELD AND THIS GUARD OR ENTII GRASS CATCHER IS IN ITS PROPER PLAC

KEEP HANDS and FEET AWAY

FIGURE 3.

Keep hands and feet away from the chute area on cutting deck. See figure 3.

IMPORTANT: Move the shift iever ONLY when the

engine is running. Shifting the speeds with the engine off can cause damage to the unit.

The operation of any lawn mower can result in for

eign objects being thrown into the eyes, which

can result in severe eye damage.

^sAFEnTGuisrej^ Always wear safety glasses or eye

shields. We recommend wide vision safety mask for over spectacles or standard safety glasses.

NOTE: For best results raise the cutting position until

it is determined which height is best for your lawn.

See cutting height adjustment section.

GAS AND OIL FILL-UP

Service the engine with gasoline and oil as

instructed in the separate engine manual. Read

instructions carefully.

WARNING: Never fill fuel tank Indoors, with engine running or until the engine

has been allowed to cool for at least two minutes after running.

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