Craftsman 944.362200 Owner's Manual page 15

Immediately prepare your lawn mower for
storage at the end of the season or if the
unit will not be used for 30 days or more.
LAWN MOWER
When lawn mower is to be stored for a
period of time, clean it thor oughly, remove
all dirt, grease, leaves, etc. Store in a
clean, dry area.
1. Clean entire lawn mower (See
"CLEANING" in the Maintenance sec-
tion of this manual).
2. Lubricate as shown in the Main te nance
section of this manual.
3. Be sure that all nuts, bolts, screws, and
pins are securely fas tened. Inspect
moving parts for damage, breakage
and wear. Replace if necessary.
4. Touch up all rusted or chipped paint
surfaces; sand lightly before painting.
HANDLE
You can fold your han dle for storage.
1. Loosen the two (2) handle knobs on
sides of the upper handle and allow
handle to fold down to the rear.
2. Remove the two (2) handle knobs and
carriage bolts on sides of the lower handle
and pivot entire handle as sem bly forward
and allow it to rest on mower.
3. Reinstall knobs and carriage bolts to
lower handle / handle brackets for safe
keeping.
• When setting up your handle from
the storage position, lower han dle will
require manually locking into mowing
position.
IMPORTANT: When folding the handle
for storage or transportation, be sure to
fold the handle as shown or you may dam-
age the control cables.
Operator MOWING
presence POSITION
control bar
FOLD
FORWARD
FOR
STORAGE
Lower handle
STORAGE
Bolt
Knob
ENGINE
FUEL SYS TEM
IMPORTANT: It is important to prevent
gum deposits from forming in essential
fuel system parts such as carburetor, fuel
fi lter, fuel hose, or tank during storage.
Alcohol blended fuels (called gasohol or
using ethanol or methanol) can attract
moisture which leads to separation and
formation of acids during storage. Acidic
gas can damage the fuel system of an
engine while in storage.
• Empty the fuel tank by starting the en-
gine and letting it run until the fuel lines
and car bu re tor are empty.
• Never use engine or carburetor cleaner
prod ucts in the fuel tank or permanent
damage may occur.
• Use fresh fuel next season.
NOTE: Fuel stabilizer is an acceptable
alternative in min i miz ing the formation of
fuel gum deposits during stor age. Add
stabilizer to gasoline in fuel tank or stor-
age container. Always follow the mix ratio
found on stabilizer container. Run engine
at least 10 min utes after adding stabilizer
to allow the stabilizer to reach the car-
buretor. Do not empty the gas tank and
carburetor if using fuel stabilizer.
ENGINE OIL
Drain oil (with engine warm) and replace
with clean engine oil. (See "ENGINE" in
the Maintenance section of this man ual).
Upper
CYLINDER
handle
1. Remove spark plug.
2. Pour one ounce (29 ml) of oil through
spark plug hole into cylinder.
3. Pull starter handle slowly a few times
Handle
to dis trib ute oil.
knob
4. Replace with new spark plug.
18
• The gear case is fi lled with lubricant to
the proper level at the factory. The only
time the lubricant needs attention is if
service has been performed on the gear
case.
ENGINE
Maintenance, repair, or replacement of
Handle
the emission control devices and systems,
bracket
which are being done at the customers ex-
pense, may be performed by any non-road
engine repair establishment or individual.
Warranty repairs must be performed by an
authorized engine manufacturer's service
outlet.
LUBRICATION
Use only high quality detergent oil rated
with API service classifi cation SG–SL.
Select the oil's SAE viscosity grade
according to your expected operating
temperature.
NOTE: Multi-viscosity oils (5W30, 10W30
etc.) improve starting in cold weather, and
you should check your engine oil level fre-
quently to avoid possible engine damage
from running low on oil.
Change the oil after every 25 hours of
operation or at least once a year if the
lawn mower is not used for 25 hours in
one year.
Check the crankcase oil level before
starting the engine and after each fi ve (5)
hours of continuous use. Tighten oil plug
securely each time you check the oil level.
TO CHANGE ENGINE OIL
NOTE: Before tipping lawn mower to
drain oil, empty fuel tank by running en-
gine until fuel tank is empty.
1. Disconnect spark plug wire from spark
plug and place wire where it cannot
come in contact with plug.
2. Remove oil fi ll cap/dipstick; lay aside
on a clean surface.
3. Tip lawn mower on its side as shown
and drain oil into a suitable container.
Rock lawn mower back and forth to re-
move any oil trapped inside of engine.
Container
4. Wipe off any spilled oil from lawn
mower or side of engine.
5. Fill engine with oil. Slowly pour oil
down the oil fi ll spout into the engine.
6. Wait one minute to allow oil to settle.
Use guage on oil fi ll cap/dipstick for
checking level. Insert dipstick into
the tube and rest the oil fi ll cap on the
tube. DO NOT thread the cap into the
tube when taking reading.
Oil fi ll cap /
dipstick
Upper
mark
Lower
mark
7. Continue adding small amounts of
oil and rechecking the dipstick until it
reads full. DO NOT overfi ll, or engine
will smoke on startup.
8. Always be sure to retighten oil fi ll cap/
dipstick before starting engine.
9. Reconnect spark plug wire to spark
plug.
AIR FILTER
Your engine will not run properly and may
be damaged by using a dirty air fi lter.
Replace the air fi lter every 100 hours of
operation or every season, whichever oc-
curs fi rst. Service air cleaner more often
under dusty conditions.
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