Craftsman 917.258911 O Eration, Before Starting The Engine, CHECK ENGINE OIL LEVEL See Fig

O ERATION

BEFORE STARTING THE ENGINE

CHECK ENGINE OIL LEVEL (See Fig. 10)

=The engine in yourtractor has been shipped, from the factory, already filled with summer weight oil

. Check engine oil with tractor on level ground,

°Unthread and remove oil fill cap/dipstick; wipe oil off,. Reinsert the dipstick into the tube and rest oil fill cap on the tube. Do not thread the cap onto the tube. Remove and read oil level. If necessary, add oil until "FULL" mark on dipstick is reached. Do not overfill..

•For cold weather operation you should change oil for easier starting (See "OIL VISCOSITY CHART" in the Customer Responsibilities section of this manual).

=To change engine oil, see the Customer Responsibi{i- ties section in this manual,,

.....%'=-_=--=-_=_"_'"_ FILL CAP/DIPSTICK

FIG. 10

ADD GASOLINE

•Fill fuel tank. Use fresh, clean, regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum of 87 octane,, (Use of leaded gasoline will increase carbon and lead oxide deposits and reduce valve life).. Do not mix oi! with gasoline. Purchase fuel in quantities that can be used within 30 days to assure fuel freshness.

IMPORTANT: WHEN OPERATING IN TEMPERATURES

BELOW 32°F(0°C), USE FRESH, CLEAN WINTER GRADE GASOLINE TO HELP INSURE GOOD COLD WEATHER

STARTING..

WARNING: Experience indicates that alcohol blended fuels (called gasohol or using ethanol or methanol) can attract moisture which leads to separation and formation 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. Drain 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 Instruc- tions for additional information,. Never use engine or carburetor cleaner products in the fuel tank or permanent damage may occur.

fillerneck° Do not overfill. Wipe offany spilledCAUTION:oil orFillfuelto. Dobottomnot store,of gasspilltankor use gasoline near an open flame.

TO START ENGINE (See Fig. 6)

When starting the engine for the first time or if the engine has run out of fuel, it will take extra cranking time to move fuel from the tank to the engine_

•Be sure freewheel control is in the transmission en- gaged position°

°Sit on seat in operating position,depress clutch/brake pedal and set parking brake.

•Place motion control lever in neutral (N) position.

•Move attachment clutch to "DISENGAGED" position. ° Move throttle control to fast position

•Pull choke control out for a cold engine start attempt,.

For a warm engine start attempt the choke control may not be needed_

Note: Before starting, read the warm and cold starting procedures below.

•Insert keyinto ignition and turn key clockwise to"START" position and release key as soon as engine starts_ Do not run starter continuously for more than fifteen sec- onds per minute,. If the engine does not start after several attempts, push choke control in, wait a few minutes and try again, if engine still does not start, pull the choke control out and retry°

WARM WEATHER STARTING (50° F and above)

•When engine starts, slowly push choke control in until the engine begins to run smoothly, If the engine starts to run roughly, pull the choke control out slightly for a few seconds and then continue to push the control in slowly..

=The attachments and ground drive can now be used., If the engine does not accept the load, restart the engine

and atlow itto warm up for one minute using the choke as described above.

COLD WEATHER STARTING (50° F and below)

°When engine starts, slowly push choke control in until the engine begins to run smoothly,. Continue to push the choke control in small steps allowing the engine to accept small changes in speed and load, until the choke control is fully in. if the engine starts to run roughly, pull the choke control out slightly for a few seconds and then continue to push the control in slowly. This may require an engine warm-up period from several seconds to several minutes, depending on the temperature°

HYDROSTATIC TRANSMISSION WARM UP

°Before ddving the unit in cold weather, the transmis- sion should be warmed lip as follows:

°Be sure the tractor is on level ground.

. Place the motion control lever in neutral

Release the parking brake and let the clutch/brake slowly return to operating positlono

°Allow one minute for transmission to warm up,. This can be done during the engine warm up period_

•The attachments can be used during the engine warm- up period after the transmission has been warmed up and may require the choke control be pulled out sfightiy.

NOTE: If at a high altitude (above 3000 feet) or in cold temperatures (below 32 F) the carburetor fuel mixture may need to be adjusted for best engine performance, See 'qO

ADJUST CARBURETOR" in the Service and Adjustments section of this manual.

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