Craftsman 917.259172 manual Before Starting the Engune, To Operate on Hills, To Transport See Fig

OPERATgON

	R	NOTE: To protect hood from damage when transporting
CAUTION: Do not operate the mower
		your tractor on a truck or atrailer, be sure hood is closed and
without either the entire grass catcher,
		secured to tractor° Use an appropriate means of tying hood
on mowers so equipped, or the dis-
		to tractor (rope, cord, etc.).
charg e guard in place.	_ !

FIG. 10

FIG, 9

TO OPERATE ON HILLS

hills with slopes greater than 15° and CAUTION: Do not drive up or down do not drive across any slope.

•Choose the slowest speed before starting up or down hills.

•Avoid stopping or changing speed on hills,

•If slowing is necessary, move throttle control lever to slower position_

oif stopping is absolutely necessary, push clutch/brake

pedal quickly to brake position and engage parking brake.

°Move motion control lever to neutral (N) position.

IMPORTANT: THE MOTION CONTROL LEVER DOES

NOT RETURN TO NEUTRAL (N) POSITION WHEN THE CLUTCH/BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED°

°To restart movement, slowly release parking brake and clutch!brake pedal.

°Slowly move motion control lever to slowest setting.

°Make alt turns slowly°

TO TRANSPORT (See Fig. 10)

When pushing or towing your tractor, be sure to disengage transmission by placing freewheel control in freewheeling position. Free wheel control is located at the rear drawbar of tractor_

•Raise attachment lift to highest position with attach- ment lift control

•Pull freewheel control knob out and hold in position by inserting retainerspring into forward hole of control rod.

°Do not push or tow tractor at more than two (2) MPH.

°To reengagetransmission, reverse above procedure.

BEFORE STARTING THE ENGUNE

CHECK ENGINE OiL LEVEL (See Fig. '15)

•The engine in your tractor has been shipped, from the factory, already filled with summer weight oil_

•Check engine oil with tractor on level ground_

°Remove oil fill cap/dipstick and wipe clean, reinsert the dipstick and screw cap tight, wait for a few seconds, remove and read oil level° tf necessary, add oil until "FULL" mark on dipstick is reached. Do not overfill°

oFor 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 oi!, see the Customer Responsibili_ ties section in this manual.

ADD GASOLINE

°Fill fuel tank_ Use fresh, clean, regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum of 87 octane. (Use of leaded gasoline wilFincrease carbon and tead oxide deposits and reduce valve life). Do not mix oil 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 gasohot or using ethanoI 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 untit 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.

CAUTION: Fill to bottom of gas tank filler neck. Do not overfill. Wipe off any spilled oil or fuel. Do not store, spill or use gasoline near an open flame,

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