oil change - easier said than done

With our old riding mower, Lonnie always had the oil changes done when the mower was in the shop for a belt replacement or blade sharpening, etc.  They would even pick up and deliver the mower since they are right here in town.

With the new mower, the dealer is farther away...and we don't have a vehicle that can pull a trailer with the mower on it...so I told Lonnie that I want to learn to change the oil.

At 20 hours of operation, it was time to change the oil and filter (not so often after this first time).

Look, it explains everything right here in the manual.

Trip to the store #1 - Lonnie goes to an auto parts store and buys recommended oil and oil filter.

While looking at this first photo - notice how large that opening is on the oil drain pan.

Somehow, I missed having it positioned correctly when I removed the drain plug.  Oops.

Next - I didn't know that you couldn't remove an oil filter with your bare hands...but I had a lightbulb moment and realized what that tool I've seen laying around here for years is used for.

But after a search through the basement and out-buildings I couldn't find it anywhere. So...

Trip to the store #2 - I went back to the same auto parts store and bought a "strap wrench" and some oil-absorbing material for the driveway.

The guy who waited on me was the same guy that had waited on Lonnie earlier in the day. He remembered which filter he looked up for our mower and he made sure I got a strap wrench to fit it.

Unfortunately, when I got home, the wrench would not fit the filter I wanted to remove. 

So I called Lonnie, who was on his way home and asked him to stop and get the next larger size.

That was Trip to the store #3.    

 I removed the old oil filter! Yea!

Then it was obvious that the new filter was the wrong filter for our mower. So....

Trip to the store #4 - I went to Lowes (where we should have gone to begin with) and bought the correct filter and put it on.   Remembered to replace the drain plug before adding new oil, too.  

 Ta Da!

I'm so happy! A little blurry, but happy!   It should be easier next time.

Trip to the store #5 - It was Lonnie's turn to go, so the next day he took back the wrong oil filter and strap wrench for a refund.

There are a couple of other things to check for routine maintenance, but I had about all I could stand for one day!