Engine Maintenance; Checking The Engine Oil; Changing Engine Oil; Changing The Oil Filter - Craftsman 247.288842 Operator's Manual

ENGINE MAINTENANCE
Checking the Engine Oil
Onlyuse high qualitydetergentoil ratedwith APIserviceclassification
SF,SG,SH, or SJ. Selectthe oil's SAEviscositygradeaccordingto
theexpectedoperatingtemperature. F ollowthe chart below.
Althoughmulti-viscosity oils (5W20,10W30,etc.)improvestarting
in cold weather,they will result in increasedoil consumption when
usedabove32°E Checkyourengine oil level morefrequentlyto avoid
possibleenginedamagefrom runninglowon oil.
Colder_ 32°F _Warmer
5W20
Oil Viscosity Chart
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Tocheckthe engineoil, proceedas follows:
• Ensurethat the tractoris on a levelsurface.
• Cleantheoil fill area of anydebris.
1. Removethe dipstickand wipe with a cleancloth.
2. Insertand tightendipstick.
3. Removethe dipstickand checkthe oil level.It shouldbe at the
Fullmark on the dipstick.See Figure9.
f
Dipstick
.
Oil Drain
Valve
Oil Drain
Sleeve
._.,,, J
Figure 9
If low,add oil slowlyintothe engineoil fill. Do notoverfill.After
addingoil, wait one minuteand thenrecheckthe oil level.
Do not overfill.Overfillingwith oil maycause theengineto notstart,
hard starting,or engine smoking.If overthe FULLmarkon the
dipstick,drainoil to reduceoil levelto FULLmarkon dipstick.
5. Replaceand tighten dipstick.
Changing Engine Oil
The engineoil shouldbe changedin the first 5 hoursand thenevery
50 hoursor once a season.To changethe engineoil, proceedas
follows:
1. WithengineOFFbutstillwarm,disconnect s parkplugwireand keep
it awayfromsparkplug.
2. Remove theoilfillcap/dipstick fromtheoil filltube.See Figure9.
3. Turnthesteering wheel a ll thewaytothe righttobetterexposethe
drainplug.
4. Cliptheoil drainsleeve(packed withthismanual) o ntotheoildrain
port. Route theopposite endof thesleeveintoan appropriate o il
collection container w itha capacity greatenough to collecttheused
oil.
5. Remove theoildrainplug,Theoil willbeginto drainoutof theengine.
6. Aftertheoil hasfinished draining,replace theoil drainplugand
tighten.Be careful n ottoovertighten.
7. Remove theoildrainsleeve and storeforlateruse.
8. Refill t heenginewithnewmotoroil untiltheoil level o n thedipstick
readsFULL.Replace theoil fillcap/dipstick.
Usedoil is a hazardouswasteproduct.Disposeof usedoil properly.
Do notdiscardwith householdwaste.Checkwith your localauthori-
ties or or contact 1-800-4-MY-HOME fora list of safedisposal/
recyclingfacilities.
Changing the Oil Filter
1. Drainthe oil fromthe engineas describedabove.
2. Removethe oil filter and disposeof properly.See Figure10.
3. Beforeyou install the newoil filter, lightly lubricate the oil filter
J
Figure10
gasketwith fresh,cleanoil.
4. Installthe oil filter by hand untilthe gasketcontactsthe oil filter
adapter,then tightenthe oil filter 1/2to 3/4 turns.
5. Add oil as describedabove.
6. Start and run theengine.As theenginewarmsup,checkfor oil
leaks.
7. Stopthe engineand checktheoil level. It shouldbe at the FULL
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