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My Craftsman YT4000 mower, with B&S engine 445677-2188-G5 engine goes thru air filters very quickly. Or rather, the mower will die if I don't replace them often (like every other use!)

I noticed the Craftsman manual that came with the mower recommends oiling the pre-cleaner, which I have never done. I guess because I can't read. So I tried to call Sears to confirm this and they would NOT speak to me since I did not purchase the extended service plan.

I try to avoid mowing when dusty.

But is the manual correct? I think I tried oiling it once but probably had too much as it got into the paper element.

There are probably other factors involved with the lousy performance, like over heating and then just stopping or not getting gas due to bad gas. Driving up a slope is something it really hates. Drained all the gas and replaced with fresh. Its about 8 years old now.. maybe that main long gas line needs replacement, which looks very annoying to replace.

Oiling the pre filter was always the normal method but is no longer recommended mainly due to people over oiling the pre filter and leading to oil contamination of the main filter. Air filter plugging would result in running rich and poor performance. Shouldn't cause the mower to die without blowing black smoke and flooding the engine out first,

ILENGINE said:

Oiling the pre filter was always the normal method but is no longer recommended mainly due to people over oiling the pre filter and leading to oil contamination of the main filter. Air filter plugging would result in running rich and poor performance. Shouldn't cause the mower to die without blowing black smoke and flooding the engine out first,

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Thank you.

I would definitely oil the foam pre filter with 30w oil as per Briggs recommendations. As Bert said, if you over oil, can run rich and clog. But hey, let it clog with dirt. Least its not going into the engine. That's the job of the filter to catch dirt. I run foam pre's on all my mowers that offer them. Inner paper stays like new.

Clean with hot water and dish soap. Put in a cotton towel to remove water. Let dry over night. Add a table spoon or three of 30w oil. Compress ALL of the oil out in a red shop rag. Should be gently oiled. You need to saturate it first then get the bulk of the oil out by squeezing gently.

Some people use a plastic sandwich bag with 30w oil inside. Drop in the filter for oiling. Remove the bulk of the oil as you wish.

Also put a nice trace of grease on the paper filter, where it seals, to the filter housing. Aids in sealing the paper filter keeping grit and grass out of the engine.

slomo

Thanks.. I'll be sure to wring out the oil into another rag.

ajrobson said:

Thanks.. I'll be sure to wring out the oil into another rag.

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These used to be on most all mowers back in the day. Good old foam filters. Briggs recommends 30w oil. Some people use Lucas motor honey junk because it's stickier. Stick with 30w and you will be fine. You can get a gallon of 30w Supertech at Walmart for 10 bucks.

slomo