Immediately prepare your lawn mower for storage at the end of the season or if the unit will not be used for 30 days or more.

LAWN MOWER

When lawn mower is to be stored for a period of time, clean it thoroughly, remove all dirt, grease, leaves, etc. Store in a clean, dry area.

Clean entire lawn mower (See "CLEANING" in the Maintenance

"section of this manual).

Lubricate as shown in the Maintenance section of this manual.

Be sure that all nuts, bolts, screws, and pins are securely fastened. Inspect moving parts for damage, breakage and wear. Replace if necessary.

Touch up all rusted or chipped paint

surfaces; sand lightly before painting.

HANDLE

You can fold your lawn mower handle for storage.

Squeeze the bottom ends of the lower handle toward each other until the lower handle clears the handle bracket, then move handle forward.

Loosen upper handle mounting bolts enough to allow upper handle to be folded back.

IMPORTANT: When folding the handle for storage or transportation, be sure to fold the handle as shown or you may damage the control cables.

When setting up your handle from the storage position, the lower handle will

automatically lock into the mowing

.position.

Lower handle

Handle bracket

Squeeze to fold

Hairpin cotter

Operator presence control bar

 

Upper Handle -_

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Fold

_/_'_----_

,"_

forward for

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storage

__,

,J_

Fold

 

 

\

backward

 

"__

Mowing

Lower handle

position

ENGINE

FUELSYSTEM

IMPORTANT: It is important to prevent gum deposits from forming in essential fuel system parts such as carburetor, fuel

filter, fuel hose, or tank during storage.

Also, 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.

Drain the fuel tank.

Start the engine and let it run until the fuel lines and carburetor are empty.

Never use engine or carburetor cleaner products in the fuel tank or permanent damage may occur.

Use fresh fuel next season.

NOTE: Fuel stabilizer is an acceptable alternative in minimizing the formation of fuel gum deposits during storage. Add stabilizer to gasoline in fuel tank or storage container. Always follow the mix ratio found on stabilizer container. Run

engine at least 10 minutes after adding stabilizer to allow the stabilizer to reach

the carburetor. Do not drain the gas tank and carburetor if using fuel stabilizer.

ENGINEOIL

Drain oil (with engine warm) and replace with clean engine oil. (See "ENGINE" in

the Maintenance section of this manual).

CYLINDER

Remove spark plug.

Pour one ounce (29 ml) of oil through spark plug hole into cylinder.

Pull starter handle slowly a few times to distribute oil.

16 Replace with new spark plug.

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Craftsman 917.379480 owner manual Lawn Mower, Handle, Fuelsystem, Engineoil, Cylinder