Use and Care Manual
•Donotoperatethemachinewithouttheentireexhaust
systeminplaceandinproperworkingcondition.
•Keepthefuel-dispensernozzleincontactwiththerimof
thefueltankorcontaineropeningatalltimesuntilfueling
iscomplete.Donotuseanozzlelock-opendevice.
•Ifyouspillfuelonyourclothing,changeyourclothing
immediately.Wipeupanyfuelthatspills.
•Neveroverllthefueltank.Replacethefuelcapand
tightenitsecurely.
•Storefuelinanapprovedcontainerandkeepitoutofthe
reachofchildren.Neverbuymorethana30-daysupply
offuel.
•Donotllthefueltankcompletelyfull.Addfueltothe
fueltankuntilthelevelis6to13mm(1/4to1/2inch)
belowthebottomofthellerneck.Thisemptyspacein
thetankallowsfueltoexpand.
–Avoidprolongedbreathingofvapors.
–Keepyourfaceawayfromthenozzleandfueltank
opening.
–Avoidcontactwithskin;washoffspillswithsoapand
water.
RecommendedFuel
•Forbestresults,useonlyclean,fresh(lessthan30days
old),unleadedgasolinewithanoctaneratingof87or
higher((R+M)/2ratingmethod).
•Ethanol:Gasolinewithupto10%ethanol(gasohol)
or15%MTBE(methyltertiarybutylether)byvolume
isacceptable.EthanolandMTBEarenotthesame.
Gasolinewith15%ethanol(E15)byvolumeisnot
approvedforuse.Neverusegasolinethatcontains
morethan10%ethanolbyvolume,suchasE15
(contains15%ethanol),E20(contains20%ethanol),or
E85(containsupto85%ethanol).Usingunapproved
gasolinemaycauseperformanceproblemsand/orengine
damage.Usingunapprovedgasolinewillnotbecovered
bytheproductwarranty.
•Donotusegasolinecontainingmethanol.
•Donotstorefueleitherinthefueltankorfuelcontainers
overthewinterunlessyouuseafuelstabilizer.
•Donotaddoiltogasoline.
UsingStabilizer/Conditioner
Useafuelstabilizer/conditionerinthemachinetoprovide
thefollowingbenets:
•Keepsfuelfreshduringstorageof90daysorless(drain
thefueltankwhenstoringthemachineformorethan
90days)
•Cleanstheenginewhileitruns
•Eliminatesgum-likevarnishbuildupinthefuelsystem,
whichcauseshardstarting
Important:Donotusefueladditivescontaining
methanolorethanol.
Addthecorrectamountoffuelstabilizer/conditioner
tothefuel.
Note:Afuelstabilizer/conditionerismosteffective
whenmixedwithfreshfuel.Tominimizethechanceof
varnishdepositsinthefuelsystem,usefuelstabilizerat
alltimes.
FillingtheFuelTank
1.Parkthemachineonlevelground.
2.Shutofftheengineandengagetheparkingbrake.
3.Cleanaroundthefuel-tankcap.
4.Fillthefueltanktothebottomofthellerneck(Figure
8).
Note:Donotllthefueltankcompletelyfull.The
emptyspaceinthetankallowsthefueltoexpand.
g027243
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B
E
D
C
g027243
Figure8
CheckingtheEngine-OilLevel
Beforeyoustarttheengineandusethemachine,check
theoillevelintheenginecrankcase;refertoCheckingthe
Engine-OilLevel(page28).
BreakinginaNewMachine
Newenginestaketimetodevelopfullpower.Mowerdecks
anddrivesystemshavehigherfrictionwhennew,placing
additionalloadontheengine.Allow40to50hoursof
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