How To Change Your Lawn Mower Oil Filter And How Often To Do It

If you're the type of homeowner who likes to roll up your sleeves and take lawn care into your own hands, you know that lawn mower maintenance plays a major role in tending to your grass the right way. As one of the essential lawn tools for healthy, green grass, a well-maintained lawn mower comes with a lot of benefits, including a cleaner cut for a better-looking lawn and prolonged lawn mower life. But between sharpening the blades or refueling your lawn mower, it's easy to forget about other maintenance tasks that might prove equally important, such as changing your oil filter. If your lawn mower comes with one of these, you should change the oil filter after every 50 to 100 hours of use or once every season. Fortunately, it's an easy task to tackle yourself: simply unscrew the old oil filter from your mower and put a new one in its place.

Typically found on riding lawn mowers, the oil filter serves an important purpose: It prevents dust and debris from entering your lawn mower's engine and wreaking havoc on its performance. That's why neglecting oil filter replacement might be one of the accidental ways you're damaging your lawn mower. Sometimes, you might notice signs that it needs an oil filter change, like dirty oil, strange sounds when in use, or an overheating engine. In these cases, increasing the frequency of your oil filter changes might be a good idea. Otherwise, sticking to the recommended replacement interval should be enough to keep your lawn mower in tip-top shape.

Replacing the oil filter is usually done in the same go as changing the oil in your lawn mower, which is why the steps for these processes are typically merged. To prepare your lawn mower for the job, place it on a flat surface to make sure it doesn't roll. Although you should tackle this task with a cool engine, you can start the mower and let it sit for a bit to warm it up slightly. This helps loosen the oil, making it easier to drain in one of the later steps. Turn the engine back off and let it cool again before disconnecting the spark plug to make sure the mower doesn't accidentally start as you're working on it.

When preparation is complete, find the oil fill cap and oil filter on your lawn mower. These are usually on the top or to the side of the engine. Place a container underneath to catch the oil, remove the oil cap, drain the old oil, and then replace the cap. Next, take a wrench and wrap it around the oil filter to unscrew it with a counterclockwise motion. Take the old filter off, taking care to drain any leftover oil inside into your container. Then, lubricate the new filter with a small amount of oil to ensure a tight seal and screw it into place by turning it clockwise. 

Once the new oil filter is where it's supposed to be, all that's left to do is add fresh engine oil. To replace the oil you've drained out, pour new oil into the oil fill tube. For extra caution and precision, using a funnel during this process can go a long way. As you're replacing the oil, make sure not to overfill the tube, as this can create issues for the engine. When you're done, put everything back in place and enjoy clean and efficient mowing all season long.