Engine Maintenance; Checking The Engine Oil; Changing Engine Oil; Changing The Oil Filter - Craftsman 247.288811 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°E Checkyour engineoil levelmorefrequentlyto avoid
possibleenginedamagefrom runninglowon oil.
('_older _ 32°F _War me'_r
Oil Viscosity Chart
Tocheckthe engineoil, proceedas follows:
• Ensurethat the tractoris on a levelsurface.
• Cleantheoil fill area of anydebris.
1. Removethedipstickand wipe with a clean cloth.
2. Insertand tightendipstick.
3. Removethedipstickand checkthe oil level.It shouldbe at the
Fullmark on the dipstick.See Figure9.
f
Dipstick-_
Oil Drain
Valve
Oil Drain
Sleeve
J
Figure9
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.
5. Replaceandtightendipstick.
Changing Engine Oil
Theengineoil shouldbe changedin thefirst5 hoursand thenevery50
hoursor oncea season.Tochangethe engineoil, proceedas follows:
1. With engineOFFbut stillwarm,disconnect s parkplugwireand
keepit awayfromsparkplug.
2. Remove the oil fillcap/dipstickfromtheoil fill tube.See Figure9.
3. Turnthe steering wheelall thewayto the rightto betterexposethe
drainplug.
4. Clipthe oil drainsleeve(packedwith thismanual)ontothe oil drain
port.Routethe oppositeendof the sleeveintoan appropriate oil
collectioncontainerwitha capacitygreatenoughto collectthe used
oil.
5. Remove the oil drainplug,Theoil willbeginto drainoutof the
engine.
6. After theoil hasfinisheddraining,replacetheoil drain plugand
tighten.Be carefulnotto overtighten.
7. Remove the oil drainsleeveand storeforlateruse.
8. Refilltheenginewith newmotoroil untiltheoil levelon thedipstick
readsFULL.Replacetheoil fill cap/dipstick.
Usedoil is a 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.
Changing the Oil Filter
1. Draintheoil fromthe engineas described above.
2. Remove the oil filterand disposeof properly. S eeFigure10.
0il Filter
Figure10
3. Beforeyouinstall t henewoil filter,lightlylubricate the oil filter
gasketwith fresh,cleanoil.
4. Install t he oil filterby handuntilthe gasketcontactstheoil filter
adapter, t hentightenthe oil filter 1/2to 3/4 turns.
5. Add oil as described above.
6. Startand runtheengine.As theenginewarmsup,checkforoil
leaks.
7. Stoptheengineand checkthe oil level.It shouldbe at the FULL
markon the dipstick.
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