8
BEFORE STARTING ENGINE
ADD OIL
Your lawnmower is shipped without oil in
the engine. For type and grade of oil to
use, see “EN GINE” in the Maintenance
section of this manual.
CAUTION:
DO NOT overfi ll engine with
oil, or it will smoke heavily from the muffl er
on startup.
1. Be sure lawnmower is level.
2. Remove oil dipstick from oil fi ll spout.
3. You receive a container of oil with the
unit. Slowly pour the entire container
down the oil fi ll spout into the engine.
4. Insert and tighten dipstick.
IMPORTANT:
• Check oil level before each use. Add oil
if needed. Fill to full line on dipstick.
• Change the oil after every 25 hours of
operation or each season. You may
need to change the oil more often
under dusty, dirty conditions. See “TO
CHANGE ENGINE OIL” in the Mainte-
nance section of this manual.
ADD GASOLINE
• Fill fuel tank to bottom of tank fi ller neck.
Do not overfi ll. Use fresh, clean, regular
unleaded gasoline with a minimum of 87
octane. Do not mix oil with gasoline. Pur-
chase fuel in quan ti ties that can be used
within 30 days to assure fuel freshness.
CAUTION:
Wipe off any spilled oil or
fuel. Do not store, spill or use gasoline
near an open fl ame.
CAUTION
: Alcohol blended fuels
(called gasohol or using ethanol or metha-
nol) can attract moisture which leads to
separation and for ma tion of acids during
storage. Acidic gas can damage the fuel
system of an engine while in storage. To
avoid engine problems, the fuel system
should be emptied before stor age of 30
days or longer. Empty the gas tank, start
the engine and let it run until the fuel lines
and carburetor are empty. Use fresh fuel
next season. See Storage In struc tions for
additional information. Never use engine
or carburetor cleaner products in the fuel
tank or permanent damage may occur.
Engine
oil cap
Gasoline
fi ller cap
Primer
TO STOP ENGINE
• To stop engine, release operator pres-
ence con trol bar.
TO START ENGINE
NOTE:
Due to protective coatings on the
engine, a small amount of smoke may be
present during the initial use of the pro-
duct and should be considered normal.
1. To start a cold engine, push primer
three (3) times before trying to start.
Use a fi rm push. This step is not
usually necessary when starting an
engine which has already run for a few
minutes.
2. Hold operator presence control bar
down to the han dle and pull starter
handle quickly. Do not allow starter
rope to snap back.
NOTE
: In cooler weather it may be necessary
to repeat priming steps. In warmer weather
over priming may cause fl ooding and engine
will not start. If you do fl ood engine, wait a
few minutes before attempting to start and
do not repeat priming steps.
MOWING TIPS
• Under certain conditions, such as very
tall grass, it may be nec es sary to raise
the height of cut to reduce pushing
effort and to keep from overloading the
engine and leaving clumps of grass clip-
pings. It may also be necessary to re-
duce ground speed and/or run the lawn
mower over the area a sec ond time.
• For extremely heavy cutting, re duce the
width of cut by over lap ping previously
cut path and mow slowly.
• For better grass bagging and most cut-
ting conditions, the engine speed should
be set in the FAST po si tion.
• When using a rear discharge lawn
mower in moist, heavy grass, clumps
of cut grass may not enter the grass
catcher. Reduce ground speed (pushing
speed) and/or run the lawn mower over
the area a second time.
• If a trail of clippings is left on the right
side of a rear discharge mow er, mow in
a clockwise direction with a small over-
lap to collect the clippings on the next
pass.
• Pores in cloth grass catchers can be-
come fi lled with dirt and dust with use
and catchers will collect less grass. To
prevent this, reg u lar ly hose catcher off
with water and let dry before using.
• Keep top of engine around starter clear
and clean of grass clippings and chaff.
This will help engine air fl ow and extend
engine life.
