Storage - Craftsman 944.362111 Owner's Manual

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, re move all dirt,
grease, leaves, etc. Store in a clean, dry area.
1. Clean entire lawn mower (See
"CLEANING" in the Main te nance sec-
tion of this manual).
2. Lubricate as shown in the Main te nance
section of this man u al.
3. Be sure that all nuts, bolts, screws,
and pins are securely fas tened. Inspect
moving parts for damage, breakage
and wear. Replace if nec es sary.
4. Touch up all rusted or chipped paint
surfaces; sand lightly before painting.
HANDLE
You can fold your lawn mower handle for

storage.

NOTE: The upper handle has an "anti-
fold" bracket located on the right side of
the handle. This bracket prevents the
upper handle from folding forward, which
helps protect control cable(s) from dam-
age.
1. Squeeze the bottom ends of the lower
handle toward each other until the
lower handle clears the handle bracket,
then move handle forward.
2. Loosen upper handle mounting bolts
enough to allow upper handle to be
folded back.
IMPORTANT: When folding the handle for
storage or transportation, be sure to fold
the handle as shown or you may damage
the control cables.
• When setting up your handle from the
storage position, the lower han dle will au-
tomatically lock into the mow ing position.
SQUEEZE
TO FOLD
Lower handle
STORAGE
Operator presence
control bar
Upper handle
Lower
handle
ENGINE
FUEL SYS TEM
IMPORTANT: It is important to prevent gum
deposits from forming in essential fuel sys-
tem parts such as carburetor, fuel fi lter, fuel
hose, or tank during storage. Also, alcohol
blended fuels (called gasohol or using etha-
nol 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).
CYLINDER
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
to dis trib ute oil.
4. Replace with new spark plug.
13
FOLD
FORWARD
FOR
STORAGE
Mowing
position