by Skywatcher » Sun Jul 19, 2020 4:30 pm
Hi JP
To go along with what Roy M says, any major brand SAE-10w30 oil is acceptable. I believe John Deere have their oils blended for them by Imperial Oil (Esso), so any equivalent oil would suffice, just stay away from the real cheap no-name brands you can pick up at Wal-Mart etc. As for filters -- Wix, Purolator, NAPA and even Fram are acceptable if you are in a pinch. I have used Stens brand oil filters on these engines for over 15 years and never had a problem.
Now to adjusting the valves. Park the tractor on a slight up-hill to reduce oil spillage when removing the valve cover. Remove the 4 bolts holding the cover, if the cover comes off easily, it has a gasket that can be reused as long as it's not damaged. The gasket should come off with the cover. If the cover does not come off easily and you have to separate it from the head with a scraper, it's most likely held on with silicone.
Once you have the cover off, remove the sparkplug and rotate the engine clockwise by hand to observe the valve action. Rotate the engine until you see the exhaust (upper) valve open and start to close. As the exhaust valve is closing, you should see the intake (lower) valve just starting to open. This is top dead center exhaust stroke. Now rotate the engine 375º and you will be at the right position to check the valves.
You indicate that you are 10 miles from anywhere, 10 miles is purely a matter of relativity as to whether it's a long way or not. Out here in Western Canada, we think nothing of hopping in the car and driving 10 miles just for a beer. In England though, 10 miles takes you through 3 villages, one small town and almost into the next county. I always recommend to have an air filter, oil filer, oil, set of blades, both belts and a valve cover gasket on hand in your garage. Drive belts usually break on the Friday afternoon before a long weekend when all the stores are closed until Tuesday. All the best,
Sky
A person who sees Quality and feels it as he works is a person who cares.
A person who cares about what he sees and does is a person who's bound to have some characteristics of Quality.
Robert M. Pirsig. (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)