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Safety • Assembly • Operation • Adjustments • Maintenance • Troubleshooting • Parts Lists • Warranty
OPERATOR’S MANUAL
21-inch Rotary Lawn Mower — Model 838
IMPORTANT
READ SAFETY RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE OPERATION
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
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This Operator’s Manual is an important part of your new lawn mower. It will help you assemble, prepare, and maintain the unit for best performance. Please read and understand what it says. Table of Contents Slope Gauge ....................................................... 3 Troubleshooting ................................................ 14 Safe Operation Practices ................................... 4 Safety Labels .................................................... 15 Setup and Adjustmen
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����������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������� ��������������� ��� Use this page as a guide to determine slopes where you may not operate safely. Do not operate your lawn mower on such slopes. 1 Slope Gauge WARNING Do not mow on inclines with a slope in excess of 15 degrees (a rise of approximately 2-1/2 feet every 10 feet). A riding mower could overturn and cause serious injury. If operating a walk- behi
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WARNING: Engine Exhaust, some of its constituents, and certain vehicle compo- nents contain or emit chemicals known to State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. 2 DANGER: This machine was built to be operated according to the rules for safe operation in this manual. As with any type of power equipment, carelessness or error on the part of the operator can result in serious injury. This machine is capable of amputating hands and feet and throwing objects
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The cutting blade continues to rotate for a few seconds after 7. Extinguish all cigarettes, cigars, pipes and other sources the engine is shut off. Never place any part of the body in of ignition. the blade area until you are sure the blade has stopped 8. Never fuel machine indoors because flammable vapors will rotating. accumulate in the area. 20. Never operate mower without proper trailshield, discharge 9. Never remove gas cap or add fuel while engine is hot or 2 cover, grass catcher, bl
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1. Remove grass catcher and any packing material which may be between upper and lower handles. a. Remove hand knobs from handle mounting A brackets and pull up and back on upper handle 3 as shown in Figure 3-1. Make certain the lower handle is seated securely into the handle mounting brackets. Setup and b. Tighten hand knobs to secure upper handle to lower handle. Make sure that each carriage bolt is Adjustment seated properly in the handle. 2. Replace and tighten hand knobs removed ear
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WARNING: Never operate mower unless the hooks on the grass catcher are firmly seated on the pivot rod and the rear discharge door rests firmly against top of the grass catcher. 8. Follow steps below to install the mulching baffle: 3 a. Lift the rear discharge door and lift the grass catcher up and off of the pivot rod, if installed. b. Insert the mulching baffle as shown in Figure 3-5 and release the rear discharge door. 9. To convert to side discharge, make sure grass catcher is off of the uni
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Know Your Lawn Mower Drive Control 4 Blade Control Drive Control Operating Lever Your Lawn Height Adjustment Lever Mower Recoil Starter Grass Bag Gasoline Fill WARNING The blade control is a safety device. Never attempt to bypass its operations. Oil Fill Use extreme care when handling gasoline. Figure 4-1: The major parts on the lawn mower. Gasoline is extremely flammable and the Now that you have set up your lawn mower for Cutting Height Adjustment Lever vapors are explosive. opera
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WARNING: The operation of any lawn mower can result in foreign objects being thrown into the eyes which can damage � your eyes severely. Always wear safety glasses while operating the mower or while performing any 4 adjustments or repairs on it. Starting Engine Operating WARNING: Be sure no one other than the Your Lawn operator is standing near the lawn mower while starting engine or operating mower. Mower � Never run engine indoors or in enclosed, poorly � ventilated areas. Engine exh
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Lubrication 1. Lubricate pivot points on the blade control at least once a season with light oil. The blade control must operate freely in both directions, Figure 5-1. 5 2. Lubricate the wheels at least once a season with light oil (or motor oil). If wheels are removed for any reason, lubricate surface of the axle and inner surface of the wheel with light oil, Figure 5-1. Maintaining 3. Lubricate the torsion spring and pivot point on the rear Your Lawn discharge door periodically with lig
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Blade Care WARNING: When removing cutting blade for sharpening or replacement, protect your hands with a pair of heavy gloves or use a heavy rag to hold blade. 5 1. Disconnect spark plug wire from spark plug. Turn mower on its side making sure that the air filter and the carburetor are up. Maintaining 2. Remove bolt, blade bell support, blade, and blade Your Lawn adapter from the engine crankshaft, Figure 5-3. Mower NOTE: When removing the blade, blade adapter, etc., be careful not to r
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6. a. Working from the rear of the mower, carefully Off-Season Storage remove belt from transmission pulley. The following steps should be taken to prepare your lawn mower for storage. b. Once belt is off transmission pulley, push down on • Clean and lubricate mower thoroughly as described in deck baffle to access engine pulley and slide belt 5 the lubrication instructions. off this pulley and out from under the deck, Figure 5.5. • We do not recommend the use of a pressure washer 7. Repla
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NOTES 13
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Problem Remedy Cause Engine fails to start 1. Blade control disengaged. 1. Engage blade control. 2. Spark plug wire disconnected. 2. Connect wire to spark plug. 6 3. Fuel tank empty or stale fuel. 3. Fill tank with clean, fresh gasoline. 4. Engine not primed. 4. Prime engine as instructed in “Operat- ing Your Lawn Mower”. 5. Faulty spark plug. 5. Clean, adjust gap, or replace. Trouble 6. Blocked fuel line. 6. Clean fuel line. 7. Engine flooded. 7. Wait a few minutes to restart, but do Shooting
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Safety Labels Found On Your Lawn Mower � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 7 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Safety Labels WARNING � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � DO NOT remove safety � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
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1 Shown for reference 4 25 3 24 2 23 21 22 5 Shown for 26 reference 6 7 27 28 20 19 9 18 29 17 10 16 15 8 14 11 12 13 16
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1 754-04093 V-Belt 2 732-04338 Spring Lever 3 720-0230 Foam Grip 8 4 717-04184A Spur Gear, 14T - LH 5 710-0599 TT Screw, 1/4-20 x 0.50 6 750-04305A Spacer Parts List 7 749-04267 Cross Bracket 8 687-02204 Front Bracket Assembly 9 731-05470 Clip Spacer 10 741-04136B Split Hex Flange Bearing 11 734-04014B Front Wheel 12 712-04065 Flange Lock Nut, 3/8-16 13 634-04207C Rear Wheel 14 710-04531 Screw, 1/4-20 x .39 15 717-04192A Spur Gear, 14T - RH To order replacement 16 736-3084 Flat Washer parts, ca
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5 3 4 2 1 6 39 37 7 38 8 31 9 36 33 32 10 31 34 11 35 30 10 12 29 26 26 25 40 10 13 14 27 25 15 28 43 41 23 24 16 22 42 44 45 17 21 20 19 18 18
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1 746-04265A Drive Cable 24 731-05463 Deck Baffle 2 735-04059 Rubber Grommet 25 710-0260A Carriage Bolt, 5/16-18 x .62 3 753-05096A Drive Control Assembly 26 712-04063 Flange Lock Nut, 5/16-18 8 4 747-1161A Blade Control 27 731-05462 Trailshield 5 731-04859 Bail Cover 28 731-05157 Mulch Plug Parts List 6 746-04213 Control Cable 29 731-05017A Rear Door 7 749-04037 Lower Handle 30 710-1241 Screw, 1/4-15 x 1.00 8 725-0157 Cable Tie 31 720-04072 Star Knob 9 732-04265 Torsion Spring, LH 32 732-04264
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MANUFACTURER’S LIMITED WARRANTY FOR The limited warranty set forth below is given by Troy-Bilt LLC with respect e. Troy-Bilt does not extend any warranty for products sold or to new merchandise purchased and used in the United States, its posses- exported outside of the United States, its possessions and sions and territories. territories, except those sold through Troy-Bilt’s authorized channels of export distribution. “Troy-Bilt” warrants this product against defects in material and work
