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MTD ZT 42 - page 1
ZT 50 w/50" Mower Deck O PERA T OR’S M ANUAL IMPOR T ANT : READ SAFETY RU LES AND INSTR UCTIONS CAREFULL Y MTD LLC, P.O. BOX 361131 CLEVELAND, OHIO 44136-0019 PRINTED IN U .S.A. Warning: This unit is equipped with an inte rnal combustion engine and shou ld not be used on or near any unimproved forest- covered, brush-covered or grass-cover ed ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 2
2 TRACTOR PREPARATION Remove the upp er crating ma terial from the shipping pallet, and cut a ny bands or tie straps securing t he trac- tor to the p allet. Use the lift handle t o raise the deck to its highest po si- tion; engage t he transmission bypass rods (Ref er to SECTION 1, CONTROLS AND FEATU RES); and care- fully roll the tract or off the ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 3
3 POSITION DRIVE CONTROL LEVERS The drive contro l levers are unfastened f rom their re- spective pivot br ackets and low ered for shipping pur- poses. The control levers must be repositioned and secured to the pivot bracket to operate the tractor . Re- position the control levers as follows: • Remove the nut knob, bell washer, and carriage bolt ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 4
4 WARNING • The engine exhaust, some of its constit uents, and certain vehicle compone nts contain or emit chemicals known to the State of Ca lifornia to cause cance r, birth defects or other reproductive harm. • This unit is equipped wit h an internal co mbustion engine and sh ould not be used on or near any unimprove d forest-covered, brush-c ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 5
5 13. Mow only in daylight or g ood artificial light. 14. Do not operate the m achine while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 15. Watch for traffic when operating nea r or crossing roadways. 16. Use extra care when loading or unloading the machine into a traile r or truck. This unit should not be driven up or do wn a ramp onto a trailer or t ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 6
6 5. Never allow children under 14 years old to operate the machin e. Children 14 years and o ver should only operate the m achine under close parental supervision and prope r instruction. 6. Use extra care when approaching blind corn ers, shrubs, tr ees or ot her obje cts that m ay obscure your vision of a child or other hazard. 7. Remove the key ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 7
7 SAFETY DECALS AND LABELS Keep product safety grap hics (decals) clean. Replace any sa fe ty graphic that is damaged, destr oyed, missing, paint- ed over or can no longer be read. Replacement safety graphics are availab le through your dealer. FAST SLOW CHOKE THROTTLE CONTROL INDICATOR – LOCATED ON LEFT CON SOLE FAST SLOW ZT42 ZT50 GENERAL OPERA ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 8
8 ZT42 SAFETY DECALS AND LABELS SAFETY GRAPHIC – LOCATED ON LEFT SIDE OF MOWER DECK INFORMATION GRAPHIC – BELT ROUTING LOCATED ON LEFT SIDE OF MOWER DECK KEEP HANDS AND FEET A WA Y FR OM ROTA TI NG P ART S . REMOVE OBJECTS THAT CAN BE THRO WN BY THE BLADE IN ANY DIRECTION. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES. DO NOT MO W WHEN CHILDREN OR OTHERS ARE A O UND. NE ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 9
9 RECOR DING MODEL AND SERIAL NUMBER This Operator’s Manual is an important part of your new lawn tracto r. It will help you assemble, prepare and maintain the unit for best performance. Please re ad and understand wha t it says. Before you start assembling your n ew equipment , ple ase locate the m odel plate under the seat of the tractor and co ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 10
10 SLOPE GAUGE (Keep this sheet in a safe place for future reference.) 15° SIGHT AND HOLD THIS LEVEL WITH A VERTICAL TREE A POWER POLE A CORNER OF A BUILDING OR A FENCE POST F O L D ON D OT T E D L I N E , R E P R E S E N T I N G A 1 5 ° S L OP E USE THIS PAGE AS A GUIDE TO DETERMINE SLOPES WHERE YOU MAY NOT O PERATE SAFELY. WARNING Do not mow on ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 11
11 SECTION 1: CONTR OLS AND FEA TURES Figure 4 A B C D E F G H J K L M C F O N N. M. L. K. J. A. B. C. D. E. F. H. Deck Height Index RH and LH Drive Cont rol Levers Deck Lift Handle Ignition Switch PTO Switch Transmission Bypass Rod (Not Shown) G. Cup Holder Storage Tray Seat Adjustment Lever (Not Seen) Fuel Tank Cap Hour Meter / Indic ator Panel T ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 12
12 NOTE: References to LEFT, RIGHT, FRONT, and REAR indicate that position on the tracto r when facing forward whil e seated in the operato r’s seat. A. Deck Height Inde x The deck height index consists of six index notches located on t he front/ri ght of the seat bo x frame. Each notch correspo nds to a 1/2 inch change in the deck height posit i ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 13
13 K. Fuel T ank Cap The fuel tank cap is located at t he rear of the LH console. Turn t he cap counter clockwise to unsc rew and remove fr om the fuel ta nk. Always re-insta ll the fuel cap tigh tly onto the fuel tank a fter removi ng. W ARNING: Never fi ll the fuel tank when the engine is running. If the engine is ho t from recently run ning, all ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 14
14 M. Throt tle Contr ol The throttle contr ol is located on the LH console to the left of th e operator’s s eat. When set in a given position, a uniform engine speed will be maintained. Figure 8 • Push the throttle control ha ndle forward to in- crease the engine speed. The tr actor is designed to operate with the cont rol handle in the fast p ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 15
15 SECTION 2: OPERA TION GENERAL SAFETY • RECE IVE INSTRUCTION - Read the operator’s manual. Learn to operate this mach ine SAFELY. Don’t risk INJURY or DEATH. Allow only those who have become competent in it s usage to operate this tracto r . • Familiarize y ourself with th e operations of all the instruments an d controls. • Before star ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 16
16 • The safety interlock s ystem will shut off the engine if the opera tor leaves the se at with the PTO engaged, r egardless of wh ether the p arking brake is engaged. NOTE: The PTO switch must be m oved to the “OFF” position to restart the en gine. • The safety interlock syst em will shut off the P TO and the mower bla des will stop if b ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 17
17 COLD WEAT HER ST ARTING Be sure to use the proper oil f or the expected temperatures (che ck the table in the eng ine manual). Follow the normal en gine starting instr uctions above. However, allow the engine ample ti me to warm up before pu tting the tract or under load . USING JUMPER CA BLES TO START ENGINE W ARNING: Batte rie s co ntain sul f ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 18
18 • Move the RH and LH driv e control le vers inward in the neutral pos ition. See Figure 10. Figure 10 NOTE: If the contr ol levers are not eve n in the neutral position, re fer to Section 3 and adju st the levers so that they are even. • Move the throttle control l ever forward to t he full throttle position (3500-3600 RPM). NOTE: The tracto ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 19
19 - To turn to the right, move the right drive control lever rearwa rd of the left lever . See Figure 13. Figure 13 • T he greater t he fore-to-aft distance betw een the two levers, the sharper the tractor will turn. • To execute a "pivot turn," move the t urn side drive control lever t o the neutra l position, wh ile moving the othe ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 20
20 Executing a Zer o T urn W ARNING: When executing a ze ro turn, the tractor MUST BE STOPPED. Executing a zero turn while the tractor is moving can sign ificantly re duce your control of the tra ctor and will cause severe turf defa cement to occur. • S top the forwar d or reverse mot ion of the trac tor by moving t he two drive control levers to ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 21
21 USING THE MOW ER DECK W ARNING: Make certain the area to be mowed is free of debris, st icks, ston es, wire or other objects that ca n be thrown by the rota ting blad es. IMPORTANT: Do not engage the mower deck when lowered in gr ass. Premature wear a nd possible failure of the ‘V” b elt and PTO clutch will result. Full y raise the deck or m ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 22
22 SECTION 3: ADJUSTMENTS ADJUSTING THE OPERATORS SEAT • To adjust the position of the se at, move and hold the seat adjustme nt leve r toward the left. Slide the seat fo rward or rear ward to t he desired position; the n release the ad justment lever. Make sure seat is locked into p osition before operating the tractor. See Fig ure 19. Figure 19 ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 23
23 SECTION 4: MAINTENANCE ENGINE MAINTENANCE Engine maintenance pr ocedures and schedules ca n be found in the en gine ma nual. Follow those instruc- tions for per forming engin e maintenance. Using the Engine Oil Drain V alve • Locate the oil drain valve on the le ft side of the engine. • Pop open the protective cap on the end of th e oil drai ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 24
24 CHARGING THE BATTERY Test and, if necessary, re charge the batte ry after the tractor ha s been stored for a period of time. • A voltmeter or load tester should read 12.6 volt s (DC) or higher across the battery terminals. • Charge the battery with a 12-volt ba ttery charge r at a MAXIMUM rate of 10 amp s. BATTERY MAINTENANCE The battery is ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 25
25 USING THE TRANSMISSION BYPASS RODS If for any reason the tracto r will not drive or you wish to move the tract or, the two hyd rostatic transmis- sions are equip ped with bypass rod tha t will allow you to manually m ove the tracto r short dist ances. W ARNING: Do not tow the tractor, even with the bypass rod engaged. Ser ious transmissi on dama ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 26
26 TRACTOR HIGH SPEED TRACKING If the tractor tr acks to one side with bot h drive control levers fully forward, adju st the control levers a s follows: • Check for proper and balanced air pr essure in both front and rear tires. Refill tires if necessary. • Perform the first three steps in th e previous sub- section, Tractor Cre eping, to verif ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 27
27 TRACTOR STORAGE If your tr actor is not going to b e operated for an extended p eriod of time (thirty days to approxima tely six months), the tra ctor should be pr epared for stor - age. Store the tractor in a dr y and protect ed location. If stored outside, cover th e tractor (including t he tires) to protect it from the elements. The procedur ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 28
28 SECTION 5: MOWER DEC K This section contains remo val, installation, adjust- ment, and maintenance inf ormation for t he 42-inch (ZT42) and 50-inch (ZT5 0) mower decks. DECK REMOVAL Remove the mower deck from the tractor as follows: 1. Move the tr actor to a level su rface, diseng age the PTO, stop th e engine, and set the p arking brak e. 2. Mo ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 29
29 • Slide the deck forward so that the deck front hanger rod ca n be lifted out o f the two slots o f the front deck br acket. After lift ing the front ha nger rod out of the slot s, slide the deck rear ward so that the rod can no lon ger engage the slo ts. • Usin g care to prev ent the front h anger rod from falling back into the deck sl ots, ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 30
30 LEVELING THE MOWER DECK When leveled correctly th e mower deck should be level side to side, and should be approximately a 1/8 to 1/4 inch lower in the fr ont of the d eck. Side to Side Leveling If the cutting deck appears to be mowing unevenly, a side to side adju stment can be performed. Adjust if necessary as follows: • With the tractor par ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 31
31 • From the front of the tracto r, loosen th e outer nuts on the deck fr ont hanger ro d, and turn them away from the inner nu ts. See Figu re 32. Figure 32 • If the front of the d eck was too low, turn the inner hex nuts clockwise against the ha nger bracket to shorten the fr ont hanger rod an d raise the fr ont of the deck. See Figu re 32. ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 32
32 • Pull back the lock collar of the nozzle adapte r and push the adapter o nto the deck wash nozzle at the left end of the 42" mower deck, or onto one of the deck wash nozzles at eit her end of the 50" mower deck. Release the lock collar to lock the adapter on th e nozzle. See Figure 34. Figure 34 • T urn on the wa ter supply. • F ...
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MTD ZT 42 - page 33
33 DECK LUBRICATION • After every 10 hours of operation and/or before putting the deck into winter storage, lubricate the spindle assemblies with a No. 2 multipurpose lithium gr ease. The lube fittings are located in the spindle housing and can be accessed from underneath the deck. REPLACING THE DECK DRIVE B ELT • Remove the deck from beneath t ...
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