Day 32: AL Borland would be jealous

Today is Day 32 of #mybuffetyear.  Are you good with small engines- a gas-powered lawn mower or a John Deere riding lawn mower?  As I wrote in yesterday’s post, my past track record would tell the story of not being a very handy person.  However, I watched a Youtube video of a guy installing the John Deere Home Maintenance Kit and picked one up at Minnesota Equipment.  It is way outside my comfort zone and/or zone of genius as I have never changed the oil in my own vehicle.  

From what I saw online the home maintenance kit is supposed to be purchased every year.  First I started draining the oil into the oil pan.  Then I changed the spark plug and then the air filter.  Then I changed the oil filter which was a mess and then the gas filter.  Lastly, I put in fresh oil.  It may seem pretty easy writing this, but it was complicated by the fact I didn’t have the right tools.  I didn’t have the right nut driver to get the side panels off to get at the oil plug or oil filter.  All the John Deere mowers on Youtube didn’t have side panels either.  I also needed some kind of vice grip to pinch the gas line to switch out the gas filter.  So this project took multiple trips to the hardware store and multiple trips to find the home maintenance kit to begin with. 

Word to the wise- your local Ace Hardware Store and Home Depot don’t carry the kit.  Once I had all the tools and the kit, installing all the things from the kit took another 2.5 hours.  It probably took longer because it was my first time.  It was so rewarding once it was done and when I was finally able to cut the grass after No Mow May.