4 Important Tips for Efficient Lawn Tractor Maintenance

The easiest approach to maintain your lawn tractor operating properly is to adhere to the maintenance recommendations in the tractor’s manual. However, owner’s manuals rarely offer advice and practical knowledge that come from experience; they typically merely provide a general description of what to do and when to do it. To speed up and simplify lawn tractor maintenance and tubeless tire repair, seasoned mechanics revealed which measures are the most crucial.

#1. Blowing the Tractor’s Mower Deck

You might believe that the pulleys and belts on a mower deck are shielded from dirt, grass clippings, and other debris by the belt guards on top of the mower deck. However, the exact opposite is true. Debris is sucked in by the rotating belts and pulleys and trapped inside by the guards. Then it starts to spin around, tearing up your belts and grinding away at the pulley surfaces. Every replacement belt you put on will be swiftly consumed by a worn-out pulley. Simply blow the deck off with an air compressor or leaf blower after every third or fourth mowing to avoid needing to buy a pricey belt and pulley replacements.

#2. Choosing the Right Oil

Your lawn tractor needs routine oil changes, just like your car does. You can disregard the recommendation for a particular brand of oil in your owner’s manual. To pick the optimum kind of oil for your mower, pay attention to the suggested viscosity (such as 10W- 30). Look for a “winter weight” oil recommendation in the instructions if you use your tractor to clear snow. Never, ever, replace the oil alone without replacing the oil filter. Wipe up any oil that’s spilled onto the engine to avoid a buildup of sludge. Take the used oil in bottles to the local oil recycling facility for disposal.

#3. Cleaning the Air Filters

Most likely, you’re already aware of the significance of changing the air filter as frequently as the owner’s handbook advises. But between changes, it’s also a good idea to clean the filter. When cleaning a foam prefilter on your tractor, just use soap and water; never use a solvent or other cleaner. Blow out the pleated paper filter using a gentle air compressor blast. Remember that this doesn’t replace routine filter replacements. Replace the filter with a fresh one as needed, even if it appears clean.

#4. Good Greasing

Greasing is not particularly complicated, yet many tractor owners get it wrong. The biggest error is choosing the incorrect grease. Use the brand-indifferent variety, whether it be polyurea, lithium with molybdenum disulfide, or plain lithium, that the manufacturer has advised. Every time you change the oil, grease all the fittings. To find them all, consult your owner’s manual. Your mower deck and other accessories can have grease fittings as well. It’s much simpler to access the fittings using a flexible hose.