Engine Maintenance - Craftsman 247.203710 Operator's Manual

EngineMaintenance
Checking the Engine Oil
Use a4-stroke, o ranequivalent h ighdetergent, premium qualitymotoroilcertifiedto
meetor exceed U.S. automobile manufacturer's r equirements f orservice classification
ofaminimumlevel S J(higher l etterratings areacceptable s uch asSL andSMgrades).
Motoroil will display thisdesignation o nthecontainer. SAE 10W-30 isrecommended
forgeneral, a lltemperature use.Ifsingle viscosity o il isused, s elect t he appropriate
viscosity f orthe average t emperature inyourarea from thechartbelow.
Colder _ 32°F _Warmer
Oil Viscosity Chart
Check y ourengineoil levelmorefrequentlyto avoidpossible enginedamage from
runninglow onoil.
Tocheck the engineoil,proceed asfollows:
Ensure that thetractorison alevelsurface.
Clean the oil fill areaof anydebris.
1. Remove t he dipstick,seeFigure 9,andwipewith acleancloth.
2. Reinsert d ipstickandpresscompletely down.
3. Remove t he dipstickandcheck the oil level.Itshouldbeat the Fullmarkon
the dipstick.
Di
OilDrain
Figure9
4. If low,addoil slowlyintothe 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 reduceoil levelto FULL mark on 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 drainportontherightside of the
engine. S ee Figure 9 .
3. Disconnect sparkplug wireandkeepit awayfromsparkplug.
4. Remove t heoil fill cap/dipstick fromthe oil fill tube.SeeFigure 9.
5. Turnthe steeringwheelall the wayto the right to betterexpose the drain
plug.
6. Attachthe oil drainhose(packed withthismanual)onthe drainport as
showninFigure 10.Place theoppositeendof the sleeve inacontainer
suitablefor collectingoil with acapacity of not lessthan64oz.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Figure 10
Remove o il drainpluganddrainthe oil.
Remove t heoil drainsleeve andstoreinasafelocationfor lateruse.
Replace t he oil drainplug.
Remove t heoil filter,seeFigure 11,and dispose of it properly.
Partiallyfill the newoil filter approximately 3/4of the wayfull with clean
freshoil.Beforeyou installthe new oil filter, lightly lubricatethe oil filter
gasketwith someof the oil bysimplydippingyourfingerinthe oil and
runningit aroundthe gasket.
5. Replace d ipstick,andtighten.
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