Service a lawnmower

slave1

I have a Masport, Briggs & Stratton, aluminium deck, push, petrol lawnmower 3 years now.

All I have done is top up the oil at the start of each season.

What do I need to do to service?
The other day I it turned on its side and scraped all the embedded grass off and noticed the blades are blunt so will take them off and sharpen them.
However I couldn't find a oil outlet to drain the oil.

Any advice welcomed...

Armadillo

You should be able to find all the answers on the briggs and stratton engine at www.briggsandstratton.com . Even download a user manual. I found the site to be excellent.

The Real B-man

There is no outlet for draining the oil just have to tip it over:mad:

slave1

Cheers, the briggs site is rather good, u can drain alright although they recommend tipping the lawnmower to empty the oil

Mailman

There should be a oil stud on the base of the engine. A standard 3/8 socket type connector should fit into this stud. Warm engine up before removing stud.

Make sure the air filter is clean. Tipping engine on side may clog filter with oil.
Torque cylinder head, check/decoke spark plug and drain carb bowl if engine has been spluttering during use in the past.
To sharpen the blade use a flat file or grinder. The throttle cable would benefit from some lubricating oil.
Sump capacity is 1 pint.

If nylon starter rope has started to fray badly then run over it very very quickly with a naked flame e.g. cigarette lighter.