Craftsman 247.203691 Operator's Manual page 22

Engine Maintenance
Shutoffthe engine beforeperforming any maintenance.Toprevent
accidental s tart-up,disconnect the sparkplug boot.
IMPORTANT:
If engine must b etipped totransport equipment ortoinspect or
remove g rass, keep spark plug side ofengine up.Transporting ortipping engine
spark p lugdown may cause s moking, hard starting, s park p lug fouling, o roil
saturation ofaircleaner.
Periodic inspection andadjustmentofthe engineisessential i fhigh level
performance isto bemaintained. R egular m aintenance w ill alsoensurealong
service life.Therequiredservice intervals andthe kindof maintenance t o be
performedaredescribed inthe tableon the previous page.Followthe hourlyor
calendar i ntervals, w hichever o ccurfirst. Morefrequentserviceisrequiredwhen
operatinginadverse conditions.
If the engine hasbeenrunning, the muffler will beveryhot.Becareful not
to touch the muffler.
Servicing the Engine Oil
Check t he oil levelregularly.
Besurecorrect o il levelismaintained. C heck the oii everyfiveto ten hours of
operation, b efore startingthe engine.SeeChecking OilLevel i nthe Assembly
section.
Onlyusehighqualitydetergentoil ratedwith APIservice classification S F, S G,
SH,or SJ. S elect t he oil'sSAE viscosity gradeaccording to the expected operating
temperature. R efer t o Gas &Oilin theAssembly sectionof thismanual.
Oil Drain
IMPORTANT: Besureto check engineon alevelsurface with theenginestopped.
Drainthe oil whilethe engineisstill warmtoassure rapidandcomplete draining.
Fordrainingoii from the engine's crankcase o f select m odeltractors,aplasticoil
drainsleeve ispacked with thisOperator's Manual. T odraintheoil, proceed as
follows:
1. Unscrew the oil fill capandremove the dipstickfrom theoil fill tube.
2. Snap thesmall e ndofoil drain sleeve ontothe oilsump. S ee Figure 2 2.
3. Remove d rainpluganddrainoil into asuitablecontainer w ith acapacity of
nolessthan64oz.
4.
Tipthe tractorslightlyinthe directionof the suitablecontainer t o aidin fully
drainingall ofthe oil from the engine.
Beforetipping engineor equipmentto drain oil, drain fuel from tank by
running engine until fuel tank isempty.
10. Start t he engine. A llowit to runforafewseconds a ndthenshutdownthe
engine.
11. Check t he oil level.
5. Service t he OilFilterif desired, a sperthe instructions laterinthissection.
6. Reinstall the drainplugandtighten it securely, 1 2-14 Nm(106.2-123.9 in-lb).
7. Remove t heoil drainsleeve fromthe oilsump.Return the dipstick to the oilfill
tubeandscrew theoil fill capback into place.
8. Pour o il intothe dipsticktube. D onotoverfill. Withanoilfilter change the high
level a mountofoil forthisengineis1700 ml(57.48 fl-oz.).
9. Installdipstick andturn to locked position before startingengine.
22
IMPORTANT: Used motoroil maycause skincancer i f repeatedly left incontactwith
the skinfor prolonged periods. A lthoughthisis unlikelyunless youhandleusedoil
on adailybasis, i t isstill advisable tothoroughlywashyourhands with soapand
waterassoonaspossible after handlingusedoil.
NOTE: P lease d ispose of usedmotoroil in amannerthatiscompatible with the
environment. W esuggest y outakeit in asealed container t o yourlocalservice
stationfor reclamation. D onotthrow it inthe trash,pour it down adrainoron the
ground.
f
Figure 22
ReplacingThe Oil Filter
Thisengineisequipped with aspin-onoil filter thatshouldbereplaced eachtime
an oil change isperformed, e veryseason o r 50 hours.Refer t o Figure 23.
Toreplace the Oil Filter:
I. Draintheoil asinstructionpreviously inthissection.
2. Remove t he oil filter. Dispose o f the oldoil filter properly.
3. Lube gasket o f newoil filter with cleanoil.
4. Installandturn oil filter byhanduntilthe gasket c omesincontactwiththe
sealingsurface of thecrankcase c over, t hentightenthe oil filter, 10-12 Nm
(88.5-106.2 i n-lb),I/2-3/4 turn.
5. Addoil aspreviously instructed.
6. Makesuredipstickisinstalled.
7. Startandrunengine.Check f or leaks.
8. Stopengine.Waitafew minutes andcheck the oil level. See Checking The
OilLevel i nthe Assembly sectionofthismanual.