Craftsman 247.289150 Operator's Manual page 110

EngineMaintenance
Checking the Engine Oil
Onlyusehighqualitydetergentoil ratedwith APIservice classification S F, S G,
SH, o r SJ. S elect t he oil'sSAE viscosity gradeaccording to the expected operating
temperature. F ollowthechartbelow.Althoughmulti-viscosity oils (5W20,10W30,
etc.)improvestartingin coldweather, t heywill resultinincreased o il consumption
whenusedabove 32°I.Check yourengineoil levelmorefrequentlyto avoidpossible
enginedamage from runninglowon oil.
_ow-so__[___
SAE 30 m
_mm 5W-30
L
[°F} -200 0° 20 °32 °400 500 60 ° 80° I00 °
{°C)-30°-20°-10 ° 0° 10o 20° 300 400
Tocheck the engineoil,proceed asfollows:
Ensure that thetractorison alevelsurface.
Clean the oil fill areaof anydebris.
1. Remove t he dipstick,seeFigure 12,andwipewith acleancloth.
2. Reinsert d ipstickandpresscompletely down.
3. Remove t he dipstickandcheck the oil level.Itshouldbeat the Fullmarkon
the dipstick.
Changing the Engine Oil and Filter
If the engine hasbeenrecently run, the engine,muffler andsurrounding
metal surfaceswill be hot andcancauseburnsto the skin. Exercise caution
to avoid burns.
NOTE: Theoil filter shouldbechanged at everyoil change interval.
Theengineoil shouldbechanged in the first 5hoursandthenevery50 hours or
onceaseason. Tochange the engineoil,proceed asfollows:
1. Run the engineforafew minutes to allowthe oil inthe crankcase t o warm
up.Warmoil will flow morefreelyandcarryawaymoreof the engine
sediment w hichmayhavesettledatthe bottomof the crankcase. Use careto
avoidburnsfrom hot oil.
2. Open thetractor's hood andlocate theoil drainportontheleftsideoftheengine.
3. Disconnect sparkplug wireandkeepit awayfromsparkplug.
4. Popopenthe protective capon theendofthe oil drainvalveto expose the
drainport. Seeinsetof Figure 13.
Dipstick
FuelFilter
// 7
//
AirCleaner Cover OilDrain Valve OilFilter
Figure 12
4. If low,addoil slowlyinto the engineoil fill. Donot overfill.Afteraddingoil,
waitoneminuteandthenrecheck the oil level.
Donot overfill. Overfilling with oil maycausethe engine to not start, hard
starting, or engine smoking. If overthe FULL mark on the dipstick, drain oil
to reduceoii levelto FULL mark on dipstick.
5. Replace d ipstick,pressing it completely down.
5.
6.
18
Figure 13
Turnthe steering wheelallthe wayto therightto betterexpose thedrainplug.
Push the oil drainhose(packed with thismanual) o ntothe oil drainport.
Route the opposite endofthe hoseinto an appropriate oil collection
container w ith at leasta 2.5quartcapacity to collectthe usedoil.
Theengineisequipped with atwist-and-pulldrainport. Turnthe oil drain
valveY4-turn, then pulloutwardto begindrainingoil.Afterthe oil has
finisheddraining,pushthe endof the oil drainvalvebackinandturn Y4-turn
to secure it backinplace.Remove t he oil drainhoseandstorefor lateruse.
Re-cap theendofthe oil drainvalveto keepdebrisfrom enteringthedrain
port.SeeFigure 13.
Replace t he oil filter,seeFigure 12,byremoving and disposing of it
properly.
Partiallyfill the oil filter approximately 3/4of the wayfull with clean,fresh
oil. Beforeyou installthe newoil filter, lightly lubricatethe oil filter gasket
with someof the oil bysimplydippingyourfinger inthe oil andrunningit
aroundthe gasket.