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How To Check Oil In Lawn Mower – 6 Easy Steps

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Oil plays an important part in your mower’s health. Without oil, you would be left with an almost useless machine. With enough time and usage, it will simply stop working altogether.

This is why checking the oil is so important on your lawn mower. Therefore, we will discuss how to check oil in lawn mower in this article. It’s simple to keep your lawn mower’s oil level at the proper level. Check it regularly and refill it as needed.

If you want your lawn mower to work at its optimum, you must use the proper oil in the appropriate proportions. Lawn mowers, like cars, require oil for lubrication.

The only exception is that lawn mowers use oil more quickly than autos, particularly when cutting damp or long grass. Using too much or too little oil in a tiny gas engine might cause it to seize.

You can remedy the problem, but it will be pricey, and your warranty will most likely not cover it. The correct amount of oil, on the other hand, will lubricate all moving components, increasing the mower’s efficiency and lowering the risk of internal damage.

How To Check Oil In Lawn Mower
via Pixnio

A Guide on How To Check Oil In Lawn Mower 

There are some steps to follow when doing this, and they are relatively easy to follow. Let’s see the steps involved in how to check the oil in lawn mowers.

1. The first thing you need to do is make sure the machine is not working. Park the lawn mower in a safe location and let it cool. If it is, stop cutting your grass and disengage the blade from its position.

Oil is utilised while your mower is hot because not all of the oil is in the crankcase. The oil will collect in the crankcase if you let your mower cool down for at least 10 minutes. Because no oil is in other portions of the engine, you can determine the correct oil level this way.

2. Find the oil fill cap and remove it. The oil fill cap is found on the crankcase, but it can be found in several places depending on the lawn mower’s make and model.

Make sure the area around the fill cap is clean. After this, make sure the mower’s oil cap is off, then proceed to take out the dipstick from its holder.

Clean the dipstick that is linked to the fill cap. Because dirt and debris collect in this area during use, it can tumble into the crankcase and taint the oil if you don’t clean this region before removing the lid.

Accumulation of dirt in the crankcase can choke oil lines, causing the moving parts to lose lubrication.

3. Using the dipstick, check to see how much oil is in, thereby checking the dipstick’s minimum and maximum limits. If the oil level is low, you need to top it up.

There should never be an oil line above the maximum mark. An ideal oil level is between the minimum and maximum levels but closer to the maximum level. Wipe the dipstick off with a rag if you’re changing it. If not, put the dipstick back and proceed to step 4.

4. As we want to easily find out how much oil we need without wasting any, we will need to buy a funnel and an oil catch can. These items should not cost more than $10, and you can usually find them in the same department as your lawn mower’s oil.

5. After buying what you need from step 4, go ahead and fill the engine with oil as it is recommended that you do so and keep monitoring until it’s close to the dipstick’s maximum limit.

Add oil in modest increments until the desired level is reached. Before each check, clean the dipstick. Once it is full, pour the oil into the catch can and be sure to wipe it off with a rag as well.

6. Replace the cap and tighten it clockwise once you’ve verified that the crankcase oil level is correct. After completing this step, your lawn mower is ready to use.

Changing the Oil

1. You will need to use some pliers (or something similar) and take out your lawn mower’s spark plug wire/plug (it doesn’t matter which of the two you choose).

This is because it will make a huge mess if you do not. I know from experience that it is a gooey, oily mess and getting the oil off of the floor can be a hassle.

2. Find somewhere where there is no grass or anything flammable/flammable lying around and put your lawn mower on top of the cardboard. Propping it up against a tree or shed should work as well.

3. With your wire set aside, take out your oil catch can and place it under where the oil will be going. You might want to do this in an area that is easy to clean up because if you don’t, you will have difficulty getting the oil off of the floor.

4. After finding a suitable place for your catch can, take out a wrench and get to unscrewing the plug from your lawn mower’s engine. It would be best if you did not have to use too much effort when doing this.

5. Once you have removed the plug, you can easily drain the old oil into your catch can. It should only take about 5 minutes for this process to be finished with.

6. Put the plug back where it goes, and don’t tighten it too hard (or else you will crack something). If you went with step 8, clean up all of the newly formed oil spills, and you should be good to go.

If you follow these steps, you will have successfully changed your lawn mower’s oil in no time. All that is left to do is re-engage the blade and continue mowing your grass!

Your mower’s needs and operating temperature determine the type of oil to use. Consult your owner’s manual to figure out what type of oil the lawn mower requires. You can seek the handbook on the manufacturer’s website if you no longer have it.

Importance of Right Oil Level in the Lawn mower

1. If your oil level is either too high or too low, it will affect the performance of your lawn mower and its life expectancy.

If you do not maintain the right oil level, it will cause considerable damage to your mower. The oil acts as a lubricant and prevents too much friction between moving parts.

2. A lawn mower with a low oil level will smoke excessively, and the performance will be much worse than when the oil level is maintained.

If you go overboard with adding oil, there will also be a considerable amount of smoke. This occurs because there will be too much oil placed within the engine, and it does not get burned off as it should.

3. On the other hand, if you use too little oil in your lawn mower, it will also harm its performance. This is because friction will increase when there isn’t enough lubrication between moving parts. 


Final Remarks

Each time you use your lawn mower, check the oil. Keeping the oil at the proper level and changing it regularly is important for lawn mower maintenance.

It is preferable not to be bothered about exact amounts regarding the oil level. All you have to do is maintain the amount between both the minimum and maximum settings, but closer to the dipstick’s maximum setting or the fill hole slot.

Now that you know how to check oil in lawn mower, you should have no problem owning a clean-running lawn mower for the foreseeable future. Just keep up with oil changes, and you should be all set.