Lawnmower Tune Up and Oil Change Tips

Time for the lawn mower tune up. I pulled the lawnowers out of the garage today, ready to change the oil and do a tune up on both mowers. We have several how to tune up a lawn mower videos on GardenFork ( links are below ), here are some photos and tune up tips as a refresher.

Lawnmower Oil Change and Tune Tips:

• Change the lawnmower oil at least once a season
• Replace the Air Filter every year, more if its a dusty environment
• Change the spark plug each summer
• Sharpen the mower blades when the grass cutting suffers
• Remove debris from under mower deck after each use

Add and Drain mower oil here.

The Lawnmower Oil Change is crucial to the mower engine. The oil lubricates and cools the engine, and the oil slowly breaks down and loses it ability to do this over time. If you use your lawnmower more than the average person, consider changing the oil more than once  season. I change the oil in the mowers twice a season – i'm a firm believer in the idea that regular oil changes prolong the life of your lawnmower. Most mowers drain the oil through the same tube where you add oil.

Always recycle your waste oil, bring it to a car repair shop or oil change shop. Some towns offer used oil recycling.

Make sure the gas cap is tight first.

Replacing the air filter is something many people don't do, but it should be changed or cleaned when you change the oil. Air filters are not that expensive, and easy to change out. We show you how in our How To Tuneup Your Lawnmower video here.

Use a spark plug wrench to remove the spark plug

If your mower is hard to start, it may be because the spark plug is failing. The spark plug provides the ignition in the engine cylinder, and if its failing or dirty, the engine runs poorly.

Sharpening the lawnmower's blades is crucial to cutting the grass, dull blades tear the grass leaves. You want the blades of grass to be cut cleanly. Its not rocket science to sharpen mower blades, we show you how in this How to Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades video.

Sharpen blades and clean mower deck

Clean out all the cut grass from under the mower deck. This will help the mower last for years. Wet grass clinging to the underside of the mower allows the deck of the  mower to rust out prematurely. It only takes a few minutes to scrape the underside of the mower, put the clumps of removed grass in your compost pile.

Watch our Lawnmower Repair Videos:

How to change the oil and tune up your lawnmower

How to sharpen lawn mower blades.