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Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | It's mower or less up to youBy ANDREA LORENZ All winter your lawnmower waited, waxed and ready for you to fire her up this spring. Wait you dont wax your lawnmower? Tim Lowery does, so we asked him how to prepare the mower, even if we didnt do the proper fall maintenance. Wait what fall maintenance? Well try not to make this too painful: If you didnt drain the fuel last fall, do it now. Lowery said AES Lawnparts in Olathe, Kan., where he works, recommends putting the leftover gas in your vehicles tank. Better there then in your neighbors yard. If you do nothing else, change the oil and replace the air filter. If you neglect those two things, youre asking for trouble, Lowery said. You can clean the air filter with soap and water for foam filters or compressed air for element filters. Jim Platt, owner of Northland Feed in Kansas City, recommends cleaning the air filter every three to four mowings if your yard is dusty. Replace the spark plug(s). Make sure the threads dont cross when installing the new one. Take your time, said Lowery. You dont want to force it or youll blow the plug out. Sharp blades equal healthy grass and a spiffy yard. A couple of options to sharpen blades: by hand or machine. Platt said if the blade isnt too dull, you can use a file or grinding stone. Then hang the blade on something. If one end falls lower than the other, you need to balance the blade. Taking the blade to a store for a machine balance and sharpening should cost less than $10. Most places charge extra to remove the blade from the mower. Remember to disconnect the spark plug before touching anything on the mower, but especially before removing the blade. Charge the battery. You should have stored it in a warm place during the winter. OK, no more nagging. Inspect the bolts, chains and belts on the mower. The belts should not be checkered or cracked. The chains might need lubrication. Make sure the wheels and handles are tight. Using either a putty knife or water, clean the dried dirt, grass and other gunk under the deck that you should have cleaned last fall. (OK, last time.) If you use water, Platt recommends running the mower for a minute afterward to dry off the engine. For the Tim Allen types who prefer a pressure washer, Lowery said to note the model numbers from the stickers on the engine and mower. Pressure washers can blow those stickers completely off. If you lose the sticker, youll have trouble finding replacement parts. Finally, lubricate. Look in the owners manual to find the grease zerks, if the mower has them. The areas in need of oil might be obvious because of the surrounding black stains. Check the steering area and where the blades attach. Or, you could save yourself time and take the mower to a shop for spring cleaning ($50 to $80, not including parts). But Tim Allen would not approve. Remove the keys before messing with a riding mower. With push mowers, you MUST disconnect the spark plug before maintenance. Push mowers rev up from force exerted on the blade when the cord is pulled. When you move the blade with your hand, you are setting in motion the start process. If you dont know how to disconnect the spark plug, check the owners manual or call your local parts store. Save yourself a return trip. Bring model numbers to the shop to get the right parts. You should have two numbers: one for the mower and one for the engine.
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