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scotty_doe
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.
Answer
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!
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!
How much will it cost to fix my lawn mower?
randomobje
Hi all - I know nothing about lawn mowers or motors in general. Anyways - I just inherited a lawn mower which (I think) was a decent quality mower in its day (early 00's), but has been sitting in a shed with the gas and oil in it for several years. I am guessing that I'm going to have to take it in for repairs to get the motor all cleaned out and de-gunked and working again. Any ideas on how much something like that should cost?
Thanks!
Answer
It's easy enough to drain the gas and oil yourself. Not much to it really. There should be a plug under the deck of the mower for the oil drain. Replace it with fresh. Pull the spark plug out and brush it clean and replace it. May take a few pulls to get the old gas out of the line but if there was nothing wrong with the mower to begin with it should be good to go. Could save you quite a bit of money. If that fails then take it to the shop.
It's easy enough to drain the gas and oil yourself. Not much to it really. There should be a plug under the deck of the mower for the oil drain. Replace it with fresh. Pull the spark plug out and brush it clean and replace it. May take a few pulls to get the old gas out of the line but if there was nothing wrong with the mower to begin with it should be good to go. Could save you quite a bit of money. If that fails then take it to the shop.
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