This morning was the yearly John Deere tune-up on the mower.
- replaced the oil filter
- replaced the fuel filter
- changed the oil
- replaced the spark plug
- sharpened the blades
- greased and lubed joints
- checked the belts
- checked the tire pressure
- checked the engine pressure
He said we’re going to need new blades next year since we have a new lawn. New lawns are murder on blades apparently. The most interesting part was when he told me cleaning the mower is not a good idea. Leaving it dirty is best. A lot of people hose it off right after they finish mowing when the ball bearings are hot. The hot bearings don’t like the cold water and the water can get inside and ruin the pulleys. He told me a story about a guy who had 60 hours clocked on his mower and it was spotless. When he told the guy that his pulleys were shot and he should stop cleaning it, the guy responded with, replace the pulleys, I’m not stopping cleaning it. So basically keeping the mower dirty is a good thing and will help it last a long time. However what I do need to do is to scrape the underside of the deck more often to allow the blades to cut better.