Making Adjustments - Cub Cadet 997 Operator's Manual

thrown by the mower in any direction and cause serious
personal injury to the operator and others.
WARNING:
If the mower strikes a foreign
object, stop the engine. Remove spark plug
wire from the spark plug and thoroughly inspect
for any damage. Repair the damage promptly
before restarting and operating the mower.
For effective mulching, do not cut wet grass. New or
thick grass may require a narrower cut. If the grass has
grown in excess of 4", mulching is not recommended.
Mow using the side discharge to reduce the grass
height to 3.25" maximum before mulching.
Bagging Grass Clippings
You can use the grass catcher bag to collect clippings
while you are operating the mower.
SECTION 6: MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
WARNING:
Do not at any time make any
adjustments without first stopping engine and
disconnecting spark plug wire.
Handle Height
Your mower is shipped with the handle in the higher
height position. To lower the height, proceed as follows:
• Remove the starter rope from the rope guide.
• Remove the wing nuts and carriage bolts securing
the upper handle. Remove and lay the upper
handle out of the way, being careful not to bend or
kink the cables.
• Remove the hairpin clips from the weld pins on the
handle brackets and remove the wing nuts and
carriage bolts from the upper hole on the handle
mounting bracket.
• Press out on the legs of the lower handle and
remove lower handle from the mower.
• Turn lower handle around so the notch on the
bottom of the lower handle is facing forward.
See Figure 11.
Lower Handle
Figure 11
• Attach grass catcher following instructions on page
8 of this manual. Grass clippings will automatically
collect in the bag as you run the mower.
• Operate the mower till the grass bag is full.
• Stop engine completely by releasing the blade
control handle. Make sure that the unit has come to
a complete stop.
• While holding the grass bag by both the rear handle
and the lower handle, lift the grass bag straight up
off the adapter. The chute door will move the rope
out of the way of the bag.
• Continue to hold the lower handle and raise the
rear of the grass bag up toward your chest. The
grass bag will open and the grass clippings will
disperse. When replacing the grass bag, be sure
the top of the bag rests on the wire support
between the handles.
• Reassemble the handles, placing the bottom holes
in the handle over the weld pins in the handle
mounting bracket.
• Place the hairpin clips in the inner holes in the weld
pins and insert the carriage bolts through the upper
hole on the handle mounting bracket and secure
with plastic wing nuts.
• Reassemble the upper handle to the lower handle.
• Attach the starter rope as instructed on page 8.
Cutting Height
Your mower is shipped with the cutting height in the
lowest position. To adjust the rear cutting height,
proceed as follows:
• Pull the rear height adjustment lever out and away
from the mower and then move it forward or
backward to another slot. For rough or uneven
lawns, move the height adjustment lever to a higher
position. This will help stop scalping. See Figure 12.
Notch
Left Rear Wheel
11
Rear Height Adj. Lever
Figure 12