42" Briggs & Stratton 19.5 hp Gas Powered Riding Lawn Tractor Operator's Manual

ENGINE MAINTENANCE
Checking the Engine Oil
Onlyuse highqualitydetergentoil ratedwithAPIserviceclassification
SF,SG,SH,or SJ, Selectthe oil's SAEviscositygradeaccordingto
the expectedoperatingtemperature.Followthe chartbelow.
Althoughmulti-viscosityoils (5W20,10W30,etc.)improvestarting
in coldweather,theywill resultinincreasedoil consumptionwhen
usedabove32°ECheckyour engineoillevelmorefrequentlyto avoid
possibleenginedamagefromrunninglowonoil.
f'_older _ 32°F _War me'_r
Oil Viscosity Chart
Tocheckthe engineoil, proceedas follows:
• Ensurethatthe tractoris ona levelsurface.
• Cleantheoil fill areaof anydebris.
1. Removethedipstickandwipe withaclean cloth.
2. Insertandtightendipstick.
3. Removethedipstickandcheckthe oil level.It shouldbeat the
Fullmarkonthe dipstick.SeeFigure9.
f
Dipstick-_
OilDrain
Valve
Oil Drain
Sleeve
J
Figure9
If low,addoil slowlyintothe engineoilfill. Do notoverfill.After
addingoil, waitoneminuteand then recheckthe oil level.
Donotoverfill.Overfillingwithoil maycausethe engineto not start,
hardstarting,orenginesmoking.If overthe FULLmarkonthe
dipstick,drainoil to reduceoil levelto FULLmarkondipstick.
5. Replaceandtightendipstick.
Changing Engine Oil
The engineoil shouldbechangedinthe first 5 hoursand thenevery
50 hoursoronce a season.Tochangethe engineoil, proceedas
follows:
1. WithengineOFFbut stillwarm,disconnectsparkplugwireand
keepit awayfromsparkplug.
2. Removethe oilfill cap/dipstickfromtheoil fill tube.SeeFigure9.
3. Clipthe oildrainsleeve(packedwiththis manual)ontothe oil
drainport. Routethe oppositeendof the sleeveintoanappropri-
ate oilcollectioncontainerwitha capacitygreatenoughto collect
the usedoil.
4. Removethe oildrainplug,The oilwill begintodrainout of the
engine.
5. Afterthe oil hasfinisheddraining,replacethe oil drainplugand
tighten.Becarefulnot to overtighten.
6. Removethe oildrainsleeveandstorefor later use.
7. Refillthe enginewithnewmotoroil untilthe oil levelonthe
dipstickreadsFULL.Replacetheoil fill cap/dipstick.
Usedoil is a hazardouswasteproduct.Disposeof usedoil properly.
Do notdiscardwithhouseholdwaste.Checkwithyour localauthori-
ties oror contact1-800-4-MY-HOMEfor alist of safedisposal/
recyclingfacilities.
Changing the Oil Filter
1. Drainthe oil fromthe engineas describedabove.
2. Removethe oilfilteranddisposeof properly.See Figure10.
0il Filter
Figure10
3. Beforeyouinstallthe newoilfilter,lightlylubricatethe oilfilter
gasketwithfresh,cleanoil.
4. Installthe oil filterbyhanduntilthe gasketcontactstheoil filter
adapter,then tightenthe oilfilter 1/2to 3/4 turns.
5. Addoil as describedabove.
6. Startand runtheengine.Asthe enginewarmsup,checkfor oil
leaks.
7. Stoptheengineandcheckthe oil level.It shouldbeat the FULL
markonthe dipstick.
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