Engine Maintenance - Craftsman 247.28901 Operator's Manual

ENGINE
MAINTENANCE
Checking the Engine Oil
Onlyuse high qualitydetergentoil ratedwith APIserviceclassification
SF,SG,SH, or SJ, Selectthe oil's SAEviscositygradeaccordingto
the expectedoperatingtemperature. F ollowthe chart below.
Althoughmulti-viscosity oils (5W20,10W30,etc.)improvestarting
in coldweather,they will result in increasedoil consumption when
usedabove32°RCheckyour engineoil levelmorefrequentlyto avoid
possibleenginedamagefrom runninglowon oil.
f'_older 32°F _Warmer_
,_. Oil Viscosity Chart j
Tocheckthe engineoil, proceedas follows:
1. Ensurethat the tractoris on a levelsurface.
2. Cleantheoil fill area of anydebris.
3. Removethedipstickand wipe with a clean cloth.
4. Insertand tightendipstick.
5. Removethedipstickand checkthe oil level.It shouldbe at the
Fullmark on the dipstick.See Figure9.
f
Dipstick_
Changing Engine Oil
The engineoil shouldbe changedin the first 5 hoursand thenevery
50 hoursor once a season.Tochangethe engineoil, proceedas
follows:
1. With engineOFF but still warm,disconnectsparkplug wireand
keepit awayfrom sparkplug.
2. Removethe oil fill cap/dipstickfrom theoil fill tube. See Figure9.
3. Clipthe oil drain sleeve(packedwith this manual)ontothe oil
drain port. Routethe oppositeend of the sleeveintoan appropri-
ate oil collectioncontainerwith a capacitygreatenoughto collect
the usedoil.
4. Removedrain plug and drainoil intoa suitablecontainerwith a
capacityof no less than64 oz.
5. Performsteps2 through4 inthe oppositeorder afteroil has
finisheddraining.
6. Refillthe enginewith newmotoroil untilthe oil levelon the
dipstick readsFULL.Replacetheoil fill cap/dipstick.
Usedoil isa hazardouswasteproduct.Disposeof usedoil properly.
Do notdiscardwith householdwaste.Checkwith your localauthori-
ties or or contact 1-800-4-MY-HOME for a list of safe disposal/
recyclingfacilities.
7. Reconnectsparkplug wire.
Oil Drain
Valve
Oil Drain
Sleeve
Figure9
6. If low,add oil slowlyintothe engineoil fill. Do notoverfill.After
addingoil, wait one minuteand then recheckthe oil level.
Donotoverfill.Overfillingwith oil maycausethe engine to not start,
hard starting,or engine smoking.If overthe FULLmark on the
dipstick,drain oil to reduceoil levelto FULL markon dipstick.
7. Replaceandtightendipstick.
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