« Lawn mower blades — How to extend their life | Main | What affordable lawn mower do you recommend? »
Can you help with Lawn Mower Maintenance?
By admin | September 11, 2009
scotty_doesnt_know asked:
I am a lawncare newbie (I’ve lived in an apartment the majority of my life). Now that spring is here, I need to get my lawn mower ready. How do I change the oil?? Sharpen the blades? What to use for an oil catch pan? I feel stupid for asking these questions, but I was never taught this growing up. Any help/suggestions are appreciated.
Pine Scented Candles
I am a lawncare newbie (I’ve lived in an apartment the majority of my life). Now that spring is here, I need to get my lawn mower ready. How do I change the oil?? Sharpen the blades? What to use for an oil catch pan? I feel stupid for asking these questions, but I was never taught this growing up. Any help/suggestions are appreciated.
Pine Scented Candles
WordPress database error: [Can't find FULLTEXT index matching the column list]
SELECT ID, post_title, post_content,MATCH (post_name, post_content) AGAINST ('can you help with lawn mower maintenance') AS score FROM wp_posts WHERE MATCH (post_name, post_content) AGAINST ('can you help with lawn mower maintenance') AND post_date <= '2010-09-10 07:50:56' AND (post_status IN ( 'publish', 'static' ) && ID != '446') AND post_password ='' ORDER BY score DESC LIMIT 7
Topics: lawn care |
September 12th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
email me and ill walk you thru it !
hurry im tired it is allmost time for sleep!
September 14th, 2009 at 4:01 am
The balance of the automotive section and will make noise in the drill and when full you need is file.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:54 am
The side of the side of news papers inside if it no buy new paper one oil only about bucks at the mower buy cheap set it with the cover it or file in nice size about cap full of the big lots will fit inside if possible place it drains now put few passes on the spark plug did we forget the bolt maybe.
An olde rag by squishing it will be either 916 or uses flat or fold it or philips turn untill you see good.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Quick and dirty for lawn mower tune ups:
1. Pull the spark plug. If it’s fouled, replace it. Better yet, replace it anyway, as they only cost a few bucks.
2. Unscrew the air filter cover (or unsnap it, if it snaps into place) and check to see how dirty it is. If it has a foam element over it, clean the element with water, dry it, then squeeze some motor oil onto it and wring it out (it should seem mostly oil free, but still tacky). If the air filter itself is dirty, replace it. IMPORTANT: If the air filter looks even slightly dirty, replace it. The particles caught by the main filter are too small to see by the naked eye, so if you see particles, it is over-dirty.
3. Drain and replace oil:
- The drain plug will be square, so you can’t miss it. It is normally located on the lower side of the engine (riders) or the underside (push). Simply unscrew with a sizable pan under it. Riders have 2-4 quarts of oil, Pushes have just over 1 quart normally.
- Once the oil is drained, replace the plug and fill it with the recommended oil (riders normally take 10W30, pushes normally take SAE30). Every brand has different specs, so look in your manual! Do not listen to people who say “every mower takes …”
- Do not over fill the oil! The oil dipstick will tell you if it should be crewed in or not while checking oil level. On screw-in types, if you do not screw it in while checking the level, you will drastically overfill the crankcase and cause the engine to seize up in short order. (made a LOT of money from that one)
4: Sharpening the blades: Don’t do this yourself! If not properly balanced after sharpening, you will destroy your spindle bearing (riders) or destroy your engine crankshaft (pushes). Not to mention sharpening a blade is not as easy as it looks. The angle must be right and mulching blades require steady hands to avoid damaging the blade beyond repair.
5: General lube/cleaning:
- Spray your mower down with degreaser and let it sit for a few minutes. Spray off with a jet water nozzle.
- Drip oil anywhere a hinge or cable opening resides.
- Grease anywhere a grease nipple resides (you need a grease gun for this). Many riders have them, almost no pushes have them. If you do grease, grease until grease comes out of an opening. Greasing a few shots does not cut it.
6: Check belts for damage. Replace if any damage is seen, especially dry rot! Belts take a lot of torture, but a damaged belt will fail in short order and sometimes a bit of damage to the mower or you upon failure.
7: Check tire pressure. Fill tires to nominal PSI stated on the side of the tire. e.g.: Different tire pressures in the rear end of a rider can (and will) kill your tranny. Sometimes the little things make a big difference.
8: Prior to storage, always put fuel stabilizer in the your mower and run it for a few minutes. Many people will say “run it out of gas to prevent fuel clogs”, they are ignorant! No fuel = no lubrication of the rubber gaskets in the carb, which = dry, cracked gaskets in the spring and a complete carb rebuild in your future. PS: Carb rebuild kits cost very little, but let your mechanic do the job if you are not knowledgable in the area, as a properly tuned mower will add years, if not decades to its lifespan.
Doing your own mechanic’s projects are fun and instantly rewarding when done properly. Why let your mechanic get all of the gratification? Do it yourself and save a few bucks at the same time, when appropriate.
Have fun!
September 18th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Edward W. gave you a great answer, but I need to make a couple of comments to his answer. The only engine company that requires 10W-30 is Kohler, and that is in the Command and Courage series engines. Almost everything else is SAE 30. Oil capacities variety. Most push mower engines only require about 20oz. of oil, and the riders usually require about a quart and a half. DO NOT OVERFILL!!!! Check your dipstick by screwing it in ALL the way then pulling it out.
On blade sharpening, if the very ends of the blades are rounded, they will need sharpened so the end is as square as possible. Most dealer only charge around $3-$5 to sharpen a blade.
Good luck!