Dust is a killer on a lawn mower engine and drive system. When you are mowing on a dusty lawn, your mower will kick the dust up and it covers every part of your mower from the transmission to the electrical components.
To keep your lawn mower working its best for years to come, here are some pro tips that will do the trick.
- Air Filter
Check your air filter more frequently. You probably change it once a year right now, but if you are mowing in dusty conditions, you may need to change it 2-3 times a year or more. Remove the filter cover and use compressed air to blow out the housing. Now remove the filter and inspect it by holding it up to a light or by putting a light inside of it for round filters. If there is little light shining through, replace it. If there is a foam air filter, gently clean it with compressed air and then wash it in a mix of liquid detergent and water. Squeeze out the excess water and allow to dry. You can also spray some oil filter oil on it to help capture the dust before it gets to your air filter.
- Oil
Check your oil and change it more frequently. Fine dust particles will get through the air filter and crankcase seals and into the oil. These microscopic pieces of sand are like a diamond and will scour the engine parts and create more wear over time. By changing your oil more frequently, you will purge these contaminants out of the system each time you change it.
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- Spark Plug
Change your spark plug a couple times year. As this dust comes into the engine, it mixes with the gas and air and ignites in the cylinder. It can collect in the spark plug and fowl it out. Spark plugs are fairly cheap, so change them out to keep your engine burning clean.
- Cleaning
Keeping your engine, deck and drive system as clean as possible is extremely important. As you mow, this dust collects on everything and builds up over time. This creates heat buildup on an air cooled engine and reduces the life of the engine. The same thing happens with the transmission.
Use a leaf blower or compressed air to blow the dust off your engine, transmission, body, frame and deck after each mowing.
The dust will get into the deck system and damage bearings, pulleys and linkages. When you clean your deck, it may be necessary to use an air chisel to get the dust/grass mixture from under the deck.
- Greased
There are grease fittings on the deck, on the suspension components and the front wheels on most lawn mowers. Be sure to great them more frequently in dusty conditions. The dust will impregnate the bearings on the deck and the wheels. Fresh grease helps push out that dust away from these critical components.
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- Clean You Lawn Mower
Most people never clean their lawn mower. A good electric or gasoline power washer does a great job. You can even load it up and take it to the car wash for a good deep cleaning. The only precaution is to be careful around carburetors, fuel injection components and computer controlled units.