Broken, dull, and damaged mower blades can cause a number of issues, including excessive vibration in the mower, and ugly, irregular patterns in the lawn. Mower blades can be sharpened several times to extend their life and ensure that your grass gets a healthy cut.
Before performing any maintenance on your Toro zero turn rider, refer to your owner’s manual for recommended maintenance and safety information. Maintenance instructions vary by model, so depending on the model of your zero turn, our instructions may vary slightly. Check your owner’s manual to get instructions specific to your model.
You will need a 16-millimeter socket, breaker bar, an impact if you have one, a torque wrench, a scraper knife, and a block of wood.
If you do not have an impact that you can take the blades off with, you can use a breaker bar with a 16-millimeter socket to break it loose and use the block of wood. Wedge the block of wood between the blade and deck housing for support as you pull the bolt off to remove the blade. If you have an impact, use it to pull the bolt off, and pull the blade off.
Check the bolt head just to make sure it is not stripped out, rounded over, and inspect the washer. Inspect the mower blade, if it is bent, chipped, dinged up, or the edges are starting to wear off replace the blade. You can also bring it in to one of our stores and we can sharpen it for you.
A couple things to notice when you go to reinstall the blade – on the blade bolt itself you will see a little washer, and that washer has a cup to it. You want the cup to go towards the mower blade itself.
When reinstalling the blade, you want the wings of the blade to go up towards the mowing deck and then reinstall the washer and the nut. Tighten the bolt by hand until finger tight.
Another tip – once you have the blades off, use your scraper tool and scrape out any excess dirt or grass that might be built up under that deck. Scraping all that debris helps with the vacuuming, or if you are mulching, it helps with mulching as well.
Now that the bolt is tight, use the torque wrench and 16-millimeter socket. Toro recommends 35-to-65-foot pounds to torque the blade down. Take your piece of wood and jam it in the deck shell to stop the blade so you can torque down that bolt.
Set the torque wrench to about 50 foot-pounds and tighten it down and once you feel that torque wrench click you know you have enough torque on the blade bolt. Remove the block of wood and you’re done.
Use our illustrated parts diagrams to locate any replacement parts you may need for maintenance for your Toro zero turn rider.
You May Also Enjoy These Articles:
Buyer’s Guide to Toro TimeCutter HD Series Zero Turn Riders
Buyer’s Guide to Toro TimeCutter SS Series Zero Turn Riders
Choosing the Best Riding Mower for Your Lawn
How to Grease The Wheel Bearings on a Zero Turn Rider
How to Level a Riding Lawn Mower Deck
Engine Maintenance Tips for Zero Turn Riders
How to Change the Deck Belt on a Riding Lawn Mower
Why Weingartz?
Weingartz, family owned and operated, began in 1945 as a farm supply store for local Michigan families. In the 1970s, we began to focus exclusively on outdoor power equipment. Over time, we morphed into the “power equipment superstore” that now defines all of our locations. The staff and experts at Weingartz work diligently to provide the best service possible and give honest and helpful advice to each and every customer.
Weingartz also sells parts for all outdoor power equipment at https://weingartz.com/parts-lookup.
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