Bolens 544 manual

21” M ulchi ng M ow er Mode l 544 Oper ator ’ s Ma n ual PRI NTED IN U . S.A. 769-00447. fm (9/2002) IMPORT ANT : Re ad saf ety rules and instructi ons care fully bef ore ope ra ting eq uipment. Warning : Th is uni t i s equip ped wit h an intern al c omb ustio n en gine and sho uld n ot be use d on or ne ar an y un impr oved for est- cove r ed[...]

2 TAB LE OF CONTE NTS Conten t Page Import ant Safe O pera tion Pract ices .. ... ..... .. ..... .. .. ..... ... .... ... .. ..... .. ..... .. ... .... ... .... ... . 3 Slo pe Gau ge.... ... .... ... ..... .. .. ..... .. ..... .. ... ..... .. ..... .. .. ..... ... .... ... .. ..... .. .. ..... ... .... ... .. ..... . 6 Assem bling Your La wn Mower [...]

3 SECT IO N 1: IM PORTA NT SAF E OPE RATI ON PR ACTI CES General Operatio n 1. Read t hi s operator ’ s manual carefully in i ts ent i rety before a t tem pt ing to assemble this machine. Read , understand, and f oll ow all instructions on the machine and in t he ma nual (s) before operat i on. B e completely familiar with the controls and the pr[...]

4 imme diately and t he blade will s top rotating wit h in three seco nds. 9. Mow in daylight or good artificial light; walk, not run. 10. Stop th e bl ade wh en cr ossing grav el drives, walkways or roads. 11. If the equ i pment should start to vibrate abn orm ally, stop the eng i ne and check im mediately for the cause. Vibra t ion is generally a[...]

5 10. Ne v e r over f ill fuel tank. Fill tank t o no more than ½ inch below bottom of f iller neck to provide space for fuel expansio n. 11. Replace gas oline cap and tighten securely. 12. If gas ol ine is spilled, wipe it off the engine and equipme nt . Move unit to another area. Wait 5 minutes befo r e starting the engine . 13. Neve r store the[...]

6 SECTION 2: SLOPE GAUGE Use t his page as a gui de to determine slopes where you may not operate safely. Do no t ope rat e your lawn mower on such slopes. 15 ° SIGH T AND HOLD THIS LEV EL W ITH A VER TICAL TREE A POW ER P OLE A CORNER OF A BUILDI NG OR A FENCE PO ST 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 WAR [...]

7 SECTION 3: ASSEMBLING YOUR LAWN MOWER Re movin g Unit From Car ton • Remove s t aples, brea k glue on top flaps, or cut tape at carton en d and open carton. • Remove loose pa r ts if included with unit (i.e., operator ’ s manua l, etc.) • Cut along corners, lay the carton down flat, and remove all pac k ing material. • Roll or slide uni[...]

8 • Remove hairpi n cli p from the outer hole of the weld pin on each hand le brackets. Using a pair of pliers, sque eze one leg of t h e l ower handle again s t the handle brack et. Insert the hairpin clip into the inner hole on the wel d pin. Re peat on the other sid e. S ee Figure 5. • After moving the hairpin clip, insert the carriage bolt,[...]

9 Fi gur e 9 Attach ing Grass Catcher T o Mower NOTE: Your law n mower is equi pped with both a mulching b af fle an d a mulching plug. While th e mulching baffle is located a t the rear of the mower, t he mulching pl ug i s located on the right of t he cutti n g deck. The mulching baffle is already in place on t he mower for shipping purposes . ?[...]

10 SECTION 4: KNOW YOUR L A WN MOWER Read this operator ’ s ma nual and safety rules before operating y our lawn mowe r. Compare t he illustration in Fig ure 13 w ith yo ur lawn m ower to fam iliariz e you rself with the location of various controls and adjustment s. Save this manual f or future reference. Blade Control Ha ndle The blade cont r o[...]

11 SECTION 5: OPERATING Y OUR LAWN M OWER NOTE: For shipping purpos es y our mowe r is set with the wheels i n a l ow cutt i ng he i ght position . For best results, raise the cutting position until it is determined which height is best for your lawn. See the Adjus t ment Se ction f or details . Gas & O il Fill-Up • Check oil level and add oi[...]

12 Baggin g Grass Clippings You can use the grass catch er bag to collect clippings while you are o perating the mower. • Attach grass catcher following inst r uctions on page 9 of this manu al . Grass clippings will autom at ically collect in the bag as you run the mower. • Operate the m ower t ill the grass bag is full. • Stop engine com pl[...]

13 SECTION 7: MAINTAINING YOUR LAWN MOWER Cle aning Mower The underside of the mower deck should be cleaned after each use to prevent an y build-up of grass clippings, leaves , dirt, or other debris. If t his de bri s is allo wed to a c cu mula te, it wi ll resu lt in rus t and corrosion. NOTE: We do not recommend t he use of pressure washers or g [...]

14 SECTION 8: SERVICING THE MOWER Replacin g Rear Flap • To remove rear flap, cu t off the flat end of the wire rod which se c ures it to the deck. See Figure 17 . • Attach the new flap and new rod to deck, be nding the ends of the new rod over to secure to dec k . Figu re 17 Bla de Care Periodically inspect the blade adapter for cracks, especi[...]

15 SECTION 9: OFF-SEASON STORAGE St oring Y our Lawn Mower The following steps sh oul d be taken t o prepare your lawn mower for storage. • Clean and lubri cate m ower thoroughly as des cribed in the lubrication instruction s . IMPORT ANT : We do not recom mend the use of a pressure washer or garden hose t o clean your unit. • Refer to engine m[...]

16 SECTION 11: PARTS LIST FOR MODEL 544 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 6 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 47 49 50 51 52 53 54 65 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 40 41 63 2 64 31 32 A A[...]

17 Model 544 Ref. No. Pa r t No . P ar t Description 1. 749-10 92A Upper Handl e 2. 747-11 61A Control Handle 3. 710-12 70 C-Sunk Scr ew 1/4- 20 x 1.3 ” 4. 746-08 83 Thrott le Hous ing 5. 712-03 24 Hex Lo ck Nut 1/ 4-20 6. 720-02 79 Handle Kno b 7. 710-12 05 Rope Guide 8. 710-11 74 Carri age Bolt 5/16- 18 x 2 ” 9. 736-04 51 Shoulder Washer .320[...]

MANUF ACTURER ’ S LI MITED W ARRANTY FOR: The l imited warrant y set forth below is gi ve n by Troy -Bil t LLC with respect to new merch andise p urchased and u sed in t he Unit ed Stat es, it s posse ssi ons and t erri tori es. Troy- Bilt LLC warr ants t his pr oduct ag ainst defect s for a peri od of t wo (2) year s commen cing on t he dat e of[...]