Troy-Bilt 12A-463E500, Owner'S Manual

Starter Rope

The starter rope is at 

tached to the han 

dle.

Stand be 

hind the unit and pull the starter

rope to start the unit.

Throt tle  Con trol 

The en 

gine is equipped with a con 

stant

speed throt tle which is set at full throt tle for
max i mum  en gine  and  cut ting  per for mance.

Cut ting  Height  Ad just ment  Le ver

These le vers are lo cated on each wheel and
they are used to ad just the cut ting height. All 
four le 

vers have to be at the same rel 

a 

tive

po si tion  to  en sure  uni form  cut. 

OPERATION

Ser vice the en gine with gas o line and oil as
in 

structed in the sep 

a 

rate en 

gine man 

ual

packed with your mower. Read in 

struc 

tions

care fully. 

WARNING: Never fill fuel tank in 

-

doors, with en 

gine run 

ning or un 

til

the en 

gine has been al 

lowed to

cool for at least two min 

utes af 

ter

run ning. 

BEFORE STARTING

•

At tach spark plug wire to spark plug. If unit
is equipped with a rub ber boot over the end
of the spark plug wire, make cer 

tain the

metal loop on the end of the spark plug wire 
(in side the rub ber boot) is fas tened se curely
over the metal tip on the spark plug. See
Fig ure  10.

TO START ENGINE AND ENGAGE BLADE

WARNING:  Be sure no one other
than the op 

er 

a 

tor is stand 

ing near

the lawn mower while start 

ing en 

-

gine  or  op er at ing  mower. 

WARNING:  Never run en 

gine in 

-

doors or in en 

closed, poorly ven 

ti 

-

lated ar 

eas. En 

gine ex 

haust con 

-

tains car bon mon ox ide, an odor less 
and deadly gas. 

WARNING: Keep hands, feet, hair
and loose cloth 

ing away from any

mov 

ing parts on en 

gine and lawn

mower. 

•

If your unit is equipped with a primer, prime
en gine as in structed in the sep a rate en gine
man ual packed with your unit.

•

If your unit is equipped with a two speed
con 

trol on en 

gine re 

fer to sep 

a 

rate en 

gine

man ual packed with your unit.

•

Stand 

ing be 

hind the mower, de 

press the

blade con trol han dle and hold it against the
drive con 

trol han 

dle. Make sure the drive

con trol han dle is pulled all the way back.

WARNING: If the drive con trol han -
dle is not pulled all the way back,
the mower will pro pel for ward when 
started.

•

Grasp the re coil starter han dle and pull
slowly un til re sis tance is felt, then pull rap idly 
to start en gine and avoid kick back. Re turn it
slowly to the rope guide bolt. 

•

Af ter the en gine starts, push the han dle for -
ward to en 

gage drive, pull it back 

wards to

stop. Re lease the drive clutch con trol to slow 
down  when  ne go ti at ing  an  ob sta cle,  mak ing
a turn, or stop ping. The far ther the han dle is
pushed for 

ward, the faster the mower will

pro pel. 

10

Fig ure  10

Metal

Loop

on Spark

Plug
Wire

Rubber Boot

Fig ure 9 - 

The left rear wheel

has been left out of the pic ture for clar ity

Recoil
Starter

Blade Control 
Handle

Grass

Catcher

Mulching

Plug

Height
Adjustment
Lever

Drive Clutch
Control