Craftsman 65 Manual

							  
OwnersManual 
® 
6.5HORSEPOWER 
22REARDISCHARGE 
POWERPROPELLED 
ROTARYLAWNMOWER 
ModelNo. 
917.377291 
-Safety 
•Assembly 
oOperation 
,,Maintenance 
,Espa5oi 
RepairParts 
CAUTION: 
Readandfollowall 
SafetyRulesandInstructions 
beforeoperatingthisequipment Foranswerstoyour 
questionsaboutthisproduct: 
Call7am-,-7pm,Mon--Sat; 
Sun,10am--7pm 
1-800-235-5878 
Sears,RoebuckandCo.,HoffmanEstates,IL60179  
						

							  
Warranty2ProductSpecifications11 
SafetyRules2ServiceandAdjustments14 
Assembly4Storage15 
Operation6Troubleshootingt6 
MaintenanceSchedule10RepairParts33 
Maintenance10PartsOrderingBackCover 
LIMITEDTWOYEARWARRANTYONCRAFTSMANPOWERMOWER 
Fortwoyearsfromdateofpurchase,whenthisCraftsmanLawnMowerismaintained, 
lubricated,andtunedupaccordingtotheoperatingandmaintenanceinstructionsinthe 
ownersmanual,Searswillrepairfreeofchargeanydefectinmaterialorworkmanship. 
IfthisCraftsmanLawnMowerisusedforcommercialorrentalpurposes,thiswarranty 
appliesforonly90daysfromthedateofpurchase. 
ThisWarrantydoesnotcover: 
oExpendableitemswhichbecomewornduringnormaluse,suchasrotarymower 
blades,b}adeadapters,belts,aircleanersandsparkplug. 
•Repairsnecessarybecauseofoperatorabuseornegligence,includingbentcrank- 
shaftsandthefailuretomaintaintheequipmentaccordingtotheinstructionscon.. 
tainedintheownersmanual. 
Warrantyserviceisavailablebyreturningthecraftsmanpowermowertothenearest 
searsservicecenter/departmentintheunitedstates.Thiswarrantyappliesonlywhile 
thisproductisinuseintheunitedstates. 
ThisWarrantygivesyouspecificlegalrights,andyoumayalsohaveotherrightswhich 
varyfromstatetostate. 
SEARS,ROEBUCKANDCO.,D/8!7WA,HOFFMANESTATES,ILLINOIS60179 
TRAINING: 
•Readthisoperatorsmanualcarefully. 
Becomefamiliarwiththecontrolsand 
knowhowtooperateyourmower 
propedyoLearnhowtoquicklystop 
mower. 
•Donotallowchildrentouseyourmower. 
Neverallowadultstousemowerwithout 
properinstructions. 
•KeeptheareaofoperationclearofaH 
persons,especiallysmallchildrenand 
pets. 
•Usemoweronlyasthemanufacturer 
intendedandasdescribedinthismanual. 
•Donotoperatemowerifithasbeen 
droppedordamagedinanymanner: 
Alwayshavedamagerepairedbefore 
usingyourmower, 
°Donotuseaccessoryattachmentsthat 
arenotrecommendedbythemanufac- turer`Useofsuchattachmentsmaybe 
hazardous. 
,Thebladeturnswhentheengineis 
running, 
PREPARATION: 
°Alwaysthoroughlychecktheareatobe 
mowedandclearitofallstones,sticks, 
wires,bones,andotherforeignobjects. 
Theseobjectswillbethrownbytheblade 
andcancausesevereinjury. 
•Alwayswearsafetyg_assesoreye 
shieldswhenstartingandwhileusing 
yourmower.. 
•Dressproperly.Donotoperatemower 
whenbarefootorwearingopensandals_ 
Wearonlysolidshoeswithgoodtraction 
whenmowing_ 
°Checkfueitankbeforestartingengine_ 
Donotfillgastankindoors,whenthe  
						

							  
engineisrunningorwhentileengineis 
hot.Allowtheenginetocoolforseveral 
minutesbeforefillingthegastank.Clean 
offanyspilledgasolinebeforestartingthe 
engine. 
,Alwaysmakewheelheightadjustments 
beforestartingyourmower.Never 
attempttodothiswhiletheengineis 
running. 
•Mowonlyindaylightorgoodartificial 
light. 
OPERATION: 
oKeepyoureyesandmindonyourmower 
andtheareabeingcutDonotletother 
interestsdistractyou. 
.Donotmowwetorslipperygrass_Never 
runwhileoperatingyourmower.Always 
besureofyourfooting--keepafirm 
holdonthehandlesandwalk. 
•Donotputhandsorfeetnearorunder 
rotatingparts.Keepclearofthedischarge 
openingatalltimes. 
•Alwaysstoptheenginewheneveryou 
leaveorarenotusingyourmower,or 
beforecrossingdriveways,walks,roads, 
andanygravel--coveredareas. 
•Neverdirectdischargeofmaterialtoward 
bystandersnorallowanyoneneartile 
mowerwhileyouareoperatingit, 
°Beforecleaning,inspecting,orrepairing 
yourmower,stoptheengineandmake 
absolutelysurethebladeandallmoving 
partshavestopped.Thendisconnectthe 
sparkplugwireandkeepitawayfromthe 
sparkplugtopreventaccidentalstarting. 
•Denotcontinuetorunyourmowerifyou 
hitaforeignobject.Followtheprocedure 
outlinedabove,thenrepairanydamage 
beforerestartingandpperatingyou 
mower. 
•Do.notchangethegovernorsettingsor 
overspeedtheengine_Enginedamageor 
personalinjurymayresult. 
oDonotoperateyourmowerifitvibrates 
abnormally..Excessivevibrationisan 
indicationofdamage;stoptheengine, 
safelycheckforthecauseofvibration 
andrepairasrequired, 
•Donotmntheengineindoors,Exhaust 
fumesaredangerous. 
-Nevercutgrassbypullingthemower 
towardsyou.Mowacrossthefaceof 
slopes,neverupanddownoryoumight loseyourfooling.Donotmowexces- 
sivelysteepslopes_Usecautionwhen 
operatingthemoweronuneventerrain 
orwhenchangingdirections.--maintain 
goodfooting. 
•Neveroperateyourmowerwithout 
properguards,plates,grasscatcheror 
othersafetydevicesinplace. 
MAINTENANCEANDSTORAGE: 
•Checkthebladeandtheenginemount- 
ingboltsoftentobesuretheyare 
tightenedproperly. 
•Checkallbolts,nutsandscrewsat 
frequentintervalsforpropertightnessto 
besuremowerisinsafeworking 
condition. 
°Keepallsafetydevicesinplaceand 
working. 
•Toreducefirehazard,keeptheengine 
freeofgrass,leavesorexcessivegrease 
andoil. 
•Checkgrasscatcheroftenfordeteriora... 
tionandwearandreplacewornbags. 
Useonlyreplacementbagsthatare 
recommendedbyandcomplywith 
specificationsofthemanufacturerofyour 
mower. 
•Alwayskeepasharpbladeonyour 
mowen 
•Allowenginetocoolbeforestoringinany 
enclosure. 
•Neverstoremowerwithfuelinthetank 
insideabuildingwherefumesmayreach 
anopenflameoranignitionsourcesuch 
asahotwaterheater,spaceheater, 
clothesdryer,etc, 
CAUTION:Alwaysdisconnecl_sparkplug 
wireandplacewirewhereitcannotcontaci 
sparkpluginordertopreventaccidental 
startingwhensettingup,transporting, 
adjustingormaltingrepairs. 
WARNING:Theengineexhaustfromthis 
productcontainschemicalsknowntothe 
StateofCaliforniatocausecancer,birth 
defects,orotherreproductiveharm.  
						

							  
Theseaccessorieswereavailablewhenthislawnmowerwasproduced.Theyarealsoavailable 
atmostSearsretailoutletsandservicecenters.MostSearsstorescanalsoorderrepairpartsfor 
you,whenyouprovidethemodelnumberofyourfawnmower:Someoftheseaccessoriesmay 
notapplytoyourlawnmower: 
,LAWNMOWERPE,RFORMANCE 
CLIPPINGDEFLECTOR 
FORREARDISCHARGELAWNMOWERS 
GRASSCATCHERS 
FOR 
REARDISCHARGE 
LAWNMOWERS MULCHERKITS 
GRASSCATCHERS  FOR 
SIDEDISCHARGE 
LAWNMOWERS mSTASIJZER 
GASCANS 
LAWNMOWERMAINTENANCE 
MUFFLERS 
BELTS,[BLADES ............A!R,,FILTERS 
BLADEAOAP,T,ERs, SPARKPLUGS 
ENGINEOIL 
IMPORTANT:Thiscuttingmachineis 
capableofamputatinghandsandfeetand 
throwingobjects.Failuretoobservethe 
followingsafetyinstructionscouldresultin 
seriousinjuryordeath. 
Safetystandardsrequireoperatorpres- 
encecontrolstominimizetheriskofinjury. 
Yourunitisequippedwithsuchcontrols. 
Donotattempttodefeatthefunctionofthe 
operatorpresencecontrolsunderany 
circumstances. 
Readtheseinstructionsandthismanualin 
itsentiretybeforeyouattempttoassemble 
oroperateyournewlawnmower.Yournew 
lawnmowerhasbeenassembledatthe 
factorywiththeexceptionofthosepartsleft 
unassembledforshippingpurposes,All 
partssuchasnuts,washers,bolts,etc, 
necessarytocompletetheassemblyhave 
beenplacedinthepartsbag.Tbensure safeandproperoperationofyourlawn 
mower,allpartsandhardwareyouas- 
semblemustbetightenedsecurely.Usethe 
correcttoolsasnecessarytoensureproper 
tightness. 
TOREMOVELAWNMOWERFROM 
CARTON 
O 
Removeloosepartsincludedwithmower, 
Cutdowntwoendcorneisofcartonand 
layendpaneldownflat. 
Removeallpackingmaterialsexcept 
paddingbetweenupperandlowerhandle 
andpaddingholdingoperatorpresence 
controlbartoupperhandle. 
Rolllawnmoweroutofcartonandcheck 
cartonthoroughlyforadditionalloose 
parts.  
						

							  
HOWTOSETUPYOURLAWN 
MOWER 
TOUNFOLDHANDLE 
IMPORTANT:Unfoldhandlescarefully 
soasnottopinchordamagecontrol 
cables. 
°Raisehandlesuntillowerhandlesection 
locksintoplaceinmowingposition. 
•Removeprotectivepadding,raiseupper 
handlesectionintoplaceonlower 
handlesandtightenbothhandleknobs. 
°Removehandlepaddingholding 
operatorpresencecontrolbartoupper 
handle. 
•Yourlawnmowerhandlecanbe 
adjustedforyourmowingcomfort°Refer 
toAdjustHandleintheServiceand 
Adjustmentsectiono[thismanual, 
Operatorpresence 
controlbar 
Upperhandle TOINSTALLATTACHMENTS 
Yourlawnmowerwasshippedreadytobe 
usedasamulcher,Toconverttobagging 
ordischarging: 
,Openreardoorandremovemulcher 
plug,Storemuicherpluginasafeplace. 
•Youcannowinstallcatcheroroptional 
clippingdeflector, 
•Toreturntomulchingoperation,install 
mulcherplugintodischargeopeningof 
mower. 
MulcharplugL__ 
CAUTION:Donotrunyourlawnmower 
withoutmulcherpluginplaceorapproved 
clippingdeflectororgrasscatcherinplace. 
Neverattempttooperatethelawnmowerwith 
thereardoorremovedorproppedopen. 
Lower 
handle Mowing 
position  
						

							  
KNOWYOURLAWNMOWER 
READTHISOWNERSMANUALANDSAFETYRULESBEFOREOPERATINGYOURLAWN 
MOWER.Comparetheillustrationswithyourlawnmowertofamiliarizeyourselfwilhthelocation 
ofvariousco_t_olsanda.djustments,savethismanualforfuturereference, 
Thesesymbolsmayappearonyourlawnmowerorinliteraturesuppliedwiththe 
producLLearnandunderstandtheirmeaning., 
CAUTtONENGINE8NG_NEt:ASTSLOWCHOKE 
ORWARNINGONOFF FUELOIL0ANGER,KEEPHANDS 
ANDFEETAWAY 
Enginezonecontrolcabl_Operatorpresencecontrolbar 
Drivecontrollever 
Starterhandle._ 
Grass 
Engineoilcap 
witl_dipstick 
Ddvecover 
Mulcherplug 
Gasolinefillercap 
Enginespeedcontrol 
Primer 
,,11¸ii 
MEETSCPSCSAFETYREQUIREMENTS Wheeladjuster 
(oneachwheel) Lawnmowerhousing 
tumswhentheengineisrunning, 
OperatorPresenceControlBar-mustbe 
helddowntothehandletostarttheengine. 
Releasetostoptheengine. 
Primer-pumpsadditionalfuelfromthe 
calburetortothecylinderforusewhenstarting 
acoldengine. 
SarterHandle-usedforstartingtheengine. DriveControlLever--usedtoengage 
power-propelledforwardmotionoflawn 
mower 
EngineSpeedControl-locatedonthe 
sideoftheenginewhichallowsyouto 
selecteitherfastorslowenginespeed. 
MutcherPlug-locatedatthedischarge 
opentngmustberemovedwhenconvert- 
ingtobaggingordischargingoperation.  Searsrotarywalk-behindpowerlawnmowersconformtothesafetystandardsoftheAmerican 
NationalStandardsinstituteandtheU,S.ConsumerProductSafetyCommission.Theblade  
						

							  
Theoperationofanylawnmowercanresultin 
foreignobjectsthrownintotheeyes,whichcan 
resultinsevereeyedamage.Alwayswear 
safetyglassesoreyeshieldswhileoperating 
yourlawnmowerorperforminganyadjust- 
mentsorrepairsWerecommendawide 
visionsafetymaskeverthespectacleser 
standardsafetyglasses_ 
HOWTOUSEYOURLAWNMOWER 
ENGINESPEEDCONTROL 
Theenginespeediscontrolledbyalever 
locatedonthesideoftheengine.Fastposition 
isforstartingtheengine,normalcutting,and 
bettergrassbagging°Slowpositionistorlight 
cutting,trimmingandfueleconomy. 
ENGINEZONECONTROL 
CAUTION:Federalregulationsrequirean 
enginecontroltobeinstalledenthislawn 
mowerinordertominimizetheriskofblade 
contactinjury.Donotunderanycircumstances 
attempttodefeatthefunctionoftheoperator 
control,Thebladetumswhentheengineis 
running.. 
=Yourlawnmowerisequippedwithan 
Ol_eratorpresencecontrolbarwhich 
requirestheoperatortobepositioned 
behindthelawnmowerhandletostartand 
operatethelawnmower.. 
Enginespeedcontrollever 
Primer 
TOADJUSTCUTTINGHEIGHT 
•Raisewheelsforlowcutandlowerwheels 
forhighcut. 
•Adjustcuttingheighttosuityourrequire- 
ments.Mediumpositionisbestformost 
lawns. 
•Tochangecuttingheight,squeezeadjuster 
levertowardwheelMovewheelupordown 
tosuityourrequirements.Besureallwheels 
areinthesamesetting 
NOTE:Adjusterisproperlypositionedwhen 
platetabinsertsintoholeinlever.Also,9- 
positionadjusters(ifsoequipped)allowlever 
tobepositionedbetweentheplatetabs. 
LowerWheelsforHighCutP_ 
RaiseWheels._-_..__Lever 
forLowCu, TOATTACHGRASSCATCHER 
oClosethefliplid,Fliplidmustbeclosed 
whileoperatinglawnmower. 
•Liftthereardoorenthemowerhousingand 
placethegrasscatcherframeontothe 
formedtabsenthereardoorhingebracket. 
•Thegrasscatcherissecuredtothelav_n 
mowerhousingwhenthereardooris 
loweredontothegrasscatcherframe.: 
CAUTION:Donotrunyourlawnmower 
withoutclippingdeflectororapprovedgrass 
catcherinplace.Neverattempttooperatethe 
lawnmowerwiththereardoorremovedor 
propped 
Hinge 
bracket 
Grasscatcher 
Formed 
tabs 
TOEMPTYGRASSCATCHER 
•Toremovegrasscatcher,releaseoperator 
presencecontrolbartostopengine. 
Liftupreardoorandremovethegrass 
catcherbythehandle. 
NOTE:Donotdragthebagwhenemptying; 
itwillcauseunnecessarywear. 
DRIVECONTROL 
•Self-propellingiscontrolledbyholdingthe 
operatorpresencecontrolbardowntothe 
handleandpushingthedrivecontrollever 
forwarduntilitclicks;thenreleasethedrive 
controllever, 
•Forwardmotionwillstopwhentheoperator 
presencecontrolbarisreleased.Testop 
forwardmotionwithoutsteppingengine, 
releasetheoperatorpresencecontrolbar 
slightlyuntilthedrivecontroldisengages. 
Holdoperatorpresencecontrolbardownto 
handletocontinuemowingwithoutself- 
propelling. 
.Tokeepdrivecontrolengagedwhenturning 
corners,pushdownonhandleandliftfront 
wheelsoffgroundwhileturninglawn 
mower.  
						

							  
OperatorpresenceDrive 
controlbar___._.4_:_,\_,...-.#ontrol 
\%\%Drivecontrol 
..=oolsengagea 
anvecentre 
BEFORESTARTINGENGINE 
OIL 
Yourlawnmowerisshippedwithoutoilintile 
engine° 
•Besuremowerislevelandareaaroundoil 
fillisclean, 
,Removeengineoilcapw/dipstickandfillto 
thefulilineonthedipstick,. 
Use27ozs,ofoil.Fortypeandgradeofoil 
touse,seeENGINEinCustomer 
Responsibilitiessectionofthismanual. 
°Pouroilslowly.Donotoverfill. 
.Checkoillevelbeforeeachuse.Addoilif 
needed.Filltofulllineondipstick. 
,Toreadproperlevel,tightenengineoilcap 
eachtimer 
•Reinstallengineoilcapandtighten. 
Changetheoilafterevery25lloursof 
operationoreachseason.Youmayneed 
tochangetheoilmoreo_tenunderdusty, 
dirtyconditions. 
GAS 
•Fillfueltank.Usefresh,clean,regular 
unleadedgasolinew_haminimumof87 
octane,Donotmixoilwithgasoline. 
Purchasefuelinquantitiesthatcanbeused 
within30daystoassurefuelfreshness. 
WARNING:Experienceindicatesthat 
alcoholblendedfuels(calledgasoholorusing 
ethanolormethanol)canattractmoisture 
whichleadstoseparationandformationof 
acidsduringstorage.Acidicgascandamage 
thefue!systemofanenginewhileinstorage. 
Toavoidengineproblems,thefuelsystem 
shouldbeemptiedbeforestorageof30days 
orlonger.Diainthefueltank,start{heengine 
andletitrununtilfuellinesandcarburetorare 
empty°Usefleshfuelnextseason.See 
StorageInstruclionsforadditionalinformation. 
Neveruseengineorcarburetorcleaner 
productsinfueltankorpermanentdamage 
mayoccur. TOSTARTENGINE 
,,Tostartacoldengine,pushprimerfive(5) 
timesbeforetryingtostart.Useafin-npush. 
Thisstepisnotusuallynecessarywhen 
starlinganenginewhichhasalreadyrunfor 
afewminutes. 
°Pushenginespeedcontrollevertofast 
position. 
•Holdoperatorpresencecontro_bardownto 
thehandleandpu{lstarterhandlequickly. 
Donotallowstarterropetosnapback. 
•Tostopengine,releaseoperatorpresence 
controlbar° 
NOTE:Incoolerweatheritmaybeneces- 
sarytorepeatprimingsteps,Inwarmer 
weatheroverprimingmaycausefloodingand 
enginewiltnotstart.Ifyoudofloodengine, 
waitafewminutesbeforeattemptingtostart 
anddonotrepeatprimingsteps. 
GasolineEngineoilcap 
_lercapw/dipstick 
MOWINGTIPS 
•Undercertainconditions,suchasverytall 
grass,itmaybenecessarytoraisethe 
heightofcuttoreducepushingeffortandto 
keepfromoverloadingtheengineand 
leavingdumpsofgrassclippings. 
,Forextremelyheavycutting,reducethe 
widthofcutandraisetherearofthelawn 
mowerhousingone(1)wheeladjuster 
settinghigherthanthefrontforbetter 
dischargeofgrass, 
,Forbettergrassbaggingandmostcutting 
conditions,theenginespeedshouldbeset 
inthefastposition. 
•Whenusingareardischargelawnmowerin 
moist,heavygrass,clumpsofcutgrass 
maynotenterthegrasscatcher.Reduce 
groundspeed(,pushingspeed)and/orrun 
thelawnmowerovertheareaasecond 
time, 
•Ifatrailofgrassclippingsisleftontheright 
sideofareardischargelawnmower,mow 
inaclockwisedirectionwithasmalloverlap 
tocollecttheclippingsonthenextpass. 
•Keeptopofenginearoundstarterclearand 
cleanofgrassclippingsandchaff.Thiswill 
helpengineairflowandextendenginetife:  
						

							  
oPoresinclothgrasscatcherscanbecome 
filledwithdirtanddustwihuseand 
catcherswillcollectlessgrass_Toprevent 
this,regularlyhosecatchersoffwithwater 
andletdrybeforeusing. 
MULCHINGMOWINGTIPS 
IMPORTANT:Forbestperformance,keep 
mowerhousingfreeofbuilt-upgrassand 
trash.CleanUNDERSIDEOFMOWER 
HOUSINGaftereachuse.SeeCleaningin 
CUSfOMERRESPONSIBILITIESsectionof 
thismanual 
•Thespecialmulchingbladewillrecurthe 
grassclippingsmanytimesandreduce 
theminsizesothatastheyfallontothe 
lawntheywilldisperseintothegrassand 
notbenoticed.Also,themulchedgrasswii! 
biodegradequicklytoprovidenutrientsfor 
thelawnAlwaysmulchwithyourhighest 
engine(blade)speedasthiswillprovidethe 
bestrecuttingactionoftheblades. 
•AvoidCuttingyourlawnwhenitiswet.Wet 
grasstendstoformclumpsandinterferes 
withthemulchingaction.Thebesttimeto 
mowyourlawnistheearlyafternoon,,Atthis 
timethegrasshasdriedandthenewlycut areawillnotbeexposedtothed_rectsun. 
•Forbestresults,adjustthelawnmower 
cuttingheightsothatthelawnmowercuts 
offonlythetopone-thirdofthegrassblades. 
Ifthelawnisovergrownitwillbenecessary 
toraisetheheightofcuttoreducepushing 
effortandtokeepfromoverloadingthe 
engineandleavingclumpsofmulched 
grass.Forextremelyheavymulching, 
reduceyourwidthofcut,mowslowlyand 
raisetherearofthelawnmoweronewheel 
adjustersettinghigherthanthefront. 
•Certaintypesofgrassandgrassconditions 
mayrequirethatanareabemulcheda 
secondtimetocompletelyhidethe 
clippings.Whendoingasecondcut,mow 
acrossorperpendiculartothefirstcutpath. 
-Changeyourcuttingpatternfromweekto 
week.Mownorthtosouthoneweekthen 
changetoeasttowestthenextweek.This 
willhelppreventmattingandgrainingofthe 
lawn. 
MAX1/3  
						

							  
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