Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - mower question

One more question.

My dad moved to a house which doesn't have a lawn. So, he gave me his lawn mower. About 2 years old craftsman hardly used. But, the oil has been sitting in there for about 1 year.
Should I do anything special except drain it? Should I have any other concerns?

Thanks,
Shawn

No, just drain the oil and fill her back up with SAE 30 weight engine oil. But I would suggest sence your doing all this you might as well get a new air filter for it if it looks dirty. Also replace your sparkplug if it looks all tary and carbined up looken. Remove the old gas and replace with fresh gas and add a little bit of carb cleaner into your gas. Not to much now. I would say 1 once of that stuff would do find in a small walk behind mower engine. And you should be all set. Let us know how it goes.:)

Hello Shawn!

If the oil is clean, I'd leave it there. It doesn't go bad in a years time. If it's dirty and you decide to change it, crank it up first to stir up any contaminants that may have settled to the bottom of the engine. Let it run a few minutes, then shut it off and change it. Check the air filter as mentioned, and check the blade... sharpen or replace if needed.

Thanks all.

The oil was a bit dirty so I replaced it. The mower was a little slow to start. But, it runs so much smoother than my old one. My old one is the same model but 3 years older.

Which brings up another question. I'm going to keep the old one around. Should I do anything particular to store it? I've trained the fluids and disconnected the plug.

Thanks

I think you'll be ok storing it that way. Drain the carburetor too. You might spray some lubricant on all cables, linkages, and moving parts to keep them from sticking/rusting.

I don't know where you live, so depending on the climate you're in as well as the climate of the actual storage area, I would recommend using fuel stabilizer during prolonged storage. I also don't know what you have for a mower, so, you will add one-half ounce stabilizer per gallon of fuel and then let engine run for 10 minutes. It will then be a matter of preference if you want to drain the fuel system. Personally, I say don't, unless you remove the fuel bowl and blow out this area with compressed air. My opinion on this matter is that if you were to "run" the engine out of fuel, you actually don't remove all the fuel from the bowl. It's this small quantity of fuel that creates havoc. Every mechanic you ask will likely give you different views on this matter, this is just my recommendation, based on my experience.