•For cold weather operation you should change oil for easier starting (See "OIL VISCOSITY CHART" in the Mainte- nance section of this manual).
•To change engine oil, see the Mainte- nance section in this manual.
ADD GASOUNE
•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 depos- its and reduce valve life). Do not mix oil with gasoline. Purchase fuel in quanti-
ties that can be used within 30 days to assure fuel freshness.
IMPORTANT: When operating in tem- peratures below 32°F(0°C), use fresh, clean winter grade gasoline to help in- sure 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 storage 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 Instructions 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.
TO START ENGINE
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 engaged 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 "DISEN- GAGED" position.
•Move throttle control to choke position. NOTE: Before starting, read the warm and cold starting procedures below.
•Insert key into ignition and turn key clockwise to "START" position and re- lease key as soon as engine starts. Do not run starter continuously for more than fifteen seconds per minute. If the engine does not start after several at- tempts, move throttle control to fast po- sition, wait a few minutes and try again. If engine still does not start, move the throttle control back to the choke posi-
tion and retry.
WARM WEATHER STARTING (50 ° F and above)
•When engine starts, move the throttle control to the fast position.
•The attachments and ground drive can now be used. If the engine does not ac- cept the load, restart the engine and al- low it to warm up for one minute using the choke as described above.
COLD WEATHER STARTING ( 50 ° F and below)
•When engine starts, allow engine to run with the throttle control in the choke
position until the engine runs roughly, then move throttle control to fast posi- tion. This may require an engine warm- up period from several second_ to sev-
eral minutes, depending on the temper- ature.
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WARM UP
•Before driving the unit in cold weather,
the transmission should be warmed up as follows:
•Be sure the tractor is on level ground.
•Place the motion control lever in neu- tral. Release the parking brake and let the clutch/brake slowly return to operat- ing position.
•Allow one minute for transmission to warm up. This can be done during the engine warm up period.
•The attachments can also be used dur-
ing the engine
NOTE: 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
Service and Adjustments section of this manual.
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