Manual

ENGINE MAINTENANCE
Checking the Engine Oil
Onlyuse highqualitydetergentoil ratedwithAPIserviceclassification
SF,SG,SH,or SJ, Selectthe oil's SAEviscositygradeaccordingto
the expectedoperatingtemperature.Followthechartbelow.
Althoughmulti-viscosityoils (5W20,10W30,etc.)improvestarting
in coldweather,theywillresultinincreasedoil 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 shouldbeatthe
Fullmarkonthe dipstick.SeeFigure9.
f
Dipstick-_
OilDrain
Valve
Oil Drain
Sleeve
J
Figure9
If low,addoil slowlyintothe engineoilfill. Do notoverfill.After
addingoil, waitoneminuteand then rechecktheoil 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 hoursoroncea season.Tochangethe engineoil, proceedas
follows:
1. WithengineOFFbut stillwarm,disconnectsparkplugwireand
keepit awayfromsparkplug.
2. Removethe oilfill cap/dipstickfromtheoil fill tube.SeeFigure9.
3. Cliptheoildrainsleeve(packedwiththis manual)ontothe oil
drainport. Routethe oppositeendof the sleeveintoanappropri-
ate oilcollectioncontainerwitha capacitygreatenoughto collect
the usedoil.
4. Removethe oildrainplug,The oilwillbegintodrainout of the
engine.
5. Afterthe oil hasfinisheddraining,replacethe oil drainplugand
tighten.Becarefulnot to overtighten.
6. Removethe oildrainsleeveandstorefor later use.
7. Refillthe enginewithnewmotoroil untiltheoil levelonthe
dipstickreadsFULL.Replacetheoil fill cap/dipstick.
Usedoil is a hazardouswasteproduct.Disposeof usedoil properly.
Do notdiscardwithhouseholdwaste.Checkwithyour localauthori-
ties oror contact1-800-4-MY-HOMEforalist of safedisposal/
recyclingfacilities.
Changing the Oil Filter
1. Drainthe oil fromthe engineas describedabove.
2. Removethe oilfilteranddisposeof properly.See Figure10.
0il Filter
Figure10
3. Beforeyou installthenewoil filter, lightlylubricatetheoil filter
gasketwithfresh,cleanoil.
4. Installthe oil filterbyhanduntilthegasketcontactstheoil filter
adapter,then tightenthe oilfilter 1/2to 3/4 turns.
5. Addoil as describedabove.
6. Startand runthe engine.Asthe enginewarmsup,checkfor oil
leaks.
7. Stoptheengineandcheckthe oil level.It shouldbeatthe FULL
markonthe dipstick.
19