Craftsman Lawn Mower 45 Manual

							  
PutairfiltercoverandfilterintocoUar 
aligningthetabwiththeslot. 
Pushinoncoverandturnclockwiseto 
tighten. 
;ol_arClip 
Turn 
counter- 
toremove 
Airfilter 
TabTurnclockwise 
totighten 
Airfiltercover 
4UFFLER 
nspectandreplacecorrodedmufflerasit 
:ouldcreateafirehazardand/ordamage, 
_,PARKPLUG 
;hangeyoursparkplugeachyeartomake 
tourenginestarteasierandrunbetter.Set 
_parkpluggapat.030inch° CLEANBNG 
iMPORTANT:Forbestperformance,keep 
mowerhousingfreeofbuilt-upgrassand 
trash.Cleantheundersideofyourmowerafter 
eachuse. 
CAUTION:Disconnectsparkplugwirefrom 
sparkplugandplacewirewhereitcannot 
comeincontactwiththesparkplug 
,,Cleantheundersideofyourlawnmowerby 
scrapingtoremovebuild-upofgrassand 
trash_ 
=Cleanengineoftentokeeptrashfrom 
accumulating.Acloggedenginerunshotter 
andshortensenginelifeo 
•Keepfinishedsurfacesandwheelsfreeof 
allgasoline,oil,etc. 
oWedonotrecommendusingagarden 
hosetocleanlawnmowerunlessthe 
electricalsystem,muffler,airfilterand 
carburetorarecoveredtokeepwaterout. 
Waterinenginecanresultinshortened 
enginelife. 
3AUTION:BEFOREPERFORMINGANY 
._ERVICEORADJUSTMENTS: 
Releasecontrolbar. 
Makesurethebladeandallmoving 
partshavecompletelystopped. 
Disconnectsparkplugwirefromspark 
plugandplacewhereitcannotcome 
incontactwithplug. 
.AWNMOWER 
rOADJUSTCUTTINGHEIGHT 
_eeTOADJUSTCUTTINGHEIGHTinthe 
_)perationsectionofthismanual. 
:{EARDEFLECTOR 
Fhereardeflectorattachedbetweentherear 
wheelsofyourmower,isprovidedtominimize 
hepossibilitythatobjectswillbethrownoutof 
herearofthemowerintotheoperator 
nowingposition,tfthedeflectorbecomes 
Jamaged,itshouldbereplaced. 
)ISCHARGEGUARD 
]hedischargeguardattachedtothedis- 
:hargeopeningofyourlawnmower,is 
3rovidedtopreventthepossibilityofinjury 
esultingfromobjectsbeingthrownoutofthe 
:tischargeopeningintotheoperatormowing 
)osition.Ifthedischargeguardbecomes 
:lamaged,itshouldbereplaced_ TOADJUSTHANDLE 
Yourlawnmowerhandlecanberaisedor 
loweredforyourmowingcomfort°Four(4) 
positionsareavailable:high,mediumhigh, 
mediumlowandlowoHandlesareshipped 
mountedinthemediumlowposition. 
•Tochangefrommediumlowtomedium 
highposition,theupperandlowerhandle 
sectionswillhavetobeturnedover. 
,,Removethecontrolsandoperatorpresence 
controlbarfromtheupperhandle. 
,,Removethestarterropeguidefromthe 
lowerhandle. 
oRemovehairpincotters. 
•Disconnectthelowerhandlefromthe 
handlebrackets. 
•Turnthehandleoverandreassemblethe 
hairpincottersthathavebeenremoved. 
•Reassemblethestarterropeguide. 
•Reassemblethecontrolsandtheoperator 
presencecontrolbartotheupperhandle. 
CAUTION:Theoperatorpresencecontrolbar 
mustpivotfreelytopermitbladebrake 
engagementwhencontrolbarisreleased_Do 
notovertightenthefastenersholdingthe 
controlstotheupperhandle. 
oTochangefrommediumlowtohigh 
positiononlytheupperhandlesectionwill 
havetobeturnedover. 
oTochangefrommediumtowtolowposition, 
onlythelowerhandlesectionwillhavetobe 
turnedover. 
11  
						

							  
Shippingposition 
Mediumlow 
Mediumhigh 
Low 
High x_X_._Lowerhandle 
SqueezetoXx_x,X 
HairpinclipMounting 
bracket 
ENGINE 
CARBURETOR 
Yourcarburetorhasanon-adjustablefixed 
mainjetformixturecontrol,ifyourengine 
doesnotoperateproperlyduetosuspected 
carburetorproblems,takeyourlawnmowerto 
anauthorizedservicecenterforrepairand 
adjustment. 
ENGINESPEED 
TheenginespeedhasbeenfactoryseLDo 
notattempttoincreaseenginespeedasit 
mayresultinpersonalinjury°Ifyoubelievethe 
engineisrunningtoofastortooslow,take 
yourlawnmowertoanauthorizedservice 
centerforrepairandadjustment. 
Immediatelyprepareyourlawnmowerfor 
storageattheendoftheseasonoriftheunit 
wiltnotbeusedfor30daysormore. 
LAWNMOWER 
Whenlawnmoweristobestoredforaperiod 
oftime,cleanitthoroughly,removealldirt, 
grease,leaves,etc.Storeinaclean,dryarea. 
=Cleanentirelawnmower(SeeCLEANING 
intheCustomerResponsibilitiessectionof 
thismanual). 
•LubricateasshownintheCustomer 
Responsibilitiessectionofthismanual 
oBesurethatallnuts,bolts,screws,andpins 
aresecurelyfastened.Inspectmoving 
partsfordamage,breakageandwear, 
Replaceifnecessary° 
oTouchupallrustedorchippedpaint 
surfaces;sandlightlybeforepainting. 
HANDLE 
Youcanfoldyourlawnmowerhandlefor 
storage. 
°Squeezethebottomendsofthelower 
handletowardeachotheruntilthelower 
handledearsthehandlebracket,then 
movehandleforward. 
oLoosenupperhandlemountingbolts 
enoughtoallowupperhandletobefolded 
back. IMPORTANT;Whenfoldingthehandlefor 
storageortransportation,besuretofoldthe 
handleasshownoryouamydamagethe 
controlcables. 
oWhensettingupyourhandlefromthe 
storageposition,thelowerhandlewill 
automaticallylockintothemowingposition, 
Lowerhandle 
Squeezetc 
remove 
Mounting 
Hairpinclipbracket 
Operatorpresencecontrolbar 
Upperhandle--___.---J_,;//,_:} 
..:_xf//Mowing 
position 
Lowerhandle 
12  
						

							  
ENGINE 
FUELSYSTEM 
IMPORTANT:Itisimportanttoprevent 
gumdepositsfromforminginessentialfue! 
systempartssuchascarburetor,fuelfilter,fuel 
hose,ortankduringstorage..Also,experience 
indicatesthatalcoholblendedfuels(called 
gasoholorusingethanolormethanot)can 
attractmoisturewhichleadstoseparationand 
formationofacidsduringstorage.Acidicgas 
candamagethefuelsystemofanengine 
whileinstorage, 
oDrainthefueltank° 
°Starttheengineandletitrununtilthefuel 
linesandcarburetorareempty. 
•Neveruseengineorcarburetorcleaner 
productsinthefueltankorpermanent 
damagemayoccurs, 
°Usefreshfuelnextseason 
NOTE:Fuelstabilizerisanacceptable 
alternativeinminimizingtheformationoffue! 
gumdepositsduringstorage.Addstabilizerto 
gasolineinfueltankorstoragecontainer.. 
Alwaysfollowthemixratiofoundonstabilizer 
container,Runengineatleast10minutes 
afteraddingstabilizertoallowthestabilizerto 
reachthecarburetor.Donotdrainthegas 
tankandcarburetorifusingfuelstabilizer. ENGINEOIL 
Drainoil(withenginewarm)andreplacewith 
cleanengineoil.(SeeENGINEinthe 
CustomerResponsibilitiessectionofthis 
manual), 
CYLINDER 
-Removesparkplug.. 
,,Pouroneounce(29ml)ofoilthroughspark 
plugholeintocylinder. 
•Pullstarterhandleslowlyafewtimesto 
distributeoil, 
oReplacewithnewsparkplug. 
OTHER 
,Donotstoregasolinefromoneseasonto 
another. 
oReplaceyourgasolinecanifyourcanstarts 
torust.Rustand!ordirtinyourgasolinewill 
causeproblems. 
•Ifpossible,storeyourunitindoorsandcover 
ittogiveprotectionfromdustanddirt. 
•Coveryourunitwithasuitableprotective 
coverthatdoesnotretainmoisture.Donot 
useplastic.Plasticcannotbreathewhich 
allowscondensationtoformandwillcause 
yourunittorust. 
IMPORTANT:Nevercovermowerwhile 
engineandexhaustareasarestillwarm° 
CAUTION:Neverstorethelawnmowerwith 
gasolineinthetankinsideabuildingwhere 
fumesmayreachanopenflameorspark.. 
Allowtheenginetocoo!beforestoringinany 
enclosure. 
TROUBLESHOOTINGCHART 
PROBLEM 
Doesnotstart CAUSE 
oDirtyairfilter° 
°Outoffuel. 
,,Stalefuel. 
oWaterinfuel 
oSparkplugwireis 
disconnected_ 
•Badsparkplug. 
oLoosebladeorbrokenblade 
adapter. 
oControlbarinreleased 
position. 
•Controlbardefective. CORRECTION 
,,Clean/replaceairfilter° 
,,Fillfueltank_ 
oDraintankandrefillwith 
freshcleanfuel. 
°Drainfueltankand 
carburetorandrefilltank 
withfreshgasoline, 
•Connectwiretoplug. 
oReplacesparkplug. 
oTightenbladeboltor 
replacebladeadapter, 
oDepresscontrolbarto 
handle. 
oReplacecontrolbar, 
!3  
						

							  
TROUBLESHOOTINGCHART 
PROBLEM 
.o otpower 
_oorcut-uneven 
i 
_cessive 
Ab_ion 
_tarterropehard 
topull 
L,,,,,,,,, 
Grasscatcher 
notfilling(ifso 
_luipped) 
_ardtopush CAUSE 
1,...._=-- 
oRearoflawnmowerhousing 
orcuttingbladedragging 
inheavygrass, 
oCutt_gtoomuchgrass. 
,Dirtyairfilter: 
=Buildupofgrass,leaves, 
andtrashundermower: 
oToomuchoilinengine, 
•Walkingspeedtoofast. 
Q 
0 Worn,bentorlooseblade. 
Wheetheightsuneven= 
Buildupofgrass,leaves 
andtrashundermower. 
,,,..................,,,,,,,j, 
°Womlbentortoosebladei 
oBentenginecrankshaft_ 
=Engineflywheetbrakeison 
whencontrolbarisreleased. 
°Bentenginecrankshaft, 
.E_ladeadapterbroken, 
=Bladedraggingingrass, 
°Cuttingheighttoolow, 
Liftonbladewornoff. 
Catchernotventingair. 
=Grassistoohighorwheel 
heightistoolow. 
°Rearoffawnmower 
housingorbladedragging 
ingrass. 
°Grasscatchertoofull. 
=Handleheightpos_onnot 
rightforyou, CORRECTION 
=SettoHigherCut 
pos_on. 
°SettoHigherCut 
position. 
•Clean/replaceairfilter: 
oCleanundersideofmower 
housing. 
°Checkoillevel 
•Cutatslowerwalking 
speed. 
•Replaceblade.Tighten 
bladebolt. 
°Setallwheelsatsame 
height 
=Cleanundersideof 
mowerhousing. 
•Replaceblade,13ghten 
bladebolt. 
QContactanauthorized 
servicecenter, 
°Depresscontrolbarto 
upperhandlebefore 
pullingstarterrope. 
°Contactanauthorized 
servicecenter. 
°Replacebladeadapter, 
oMovelawnmowertocut 
grassortohardsurface 
tostartengine. 
°Raisecuttingheight. 
°Replaceblade, 
•Cleangrasscatcher. 
.Raisecuttingheight. 
°Raiserearoflawnmower 
housingone(1)setting 
higher= 
oEmptygrasscatcher. 
°Adjusthandleheightto 
suit. 
14