How to Clean a Craftsman Air Filter (Without Wrecking It)
Clean a Craftsman mower air filter right: wash and re-oil foam, tap or replace paper, service dual-stage - and know when to swap it instead.
Maintenance & Care Editor
Sam Rourke
Sam Rourke is the maintenance & care editor at Mower Mentor. Sam covers the routine, preventive side of mower ownership: oil changes, blade sharpening and balancing, air-filter and spark-plug tune-ups, deck cleaning, fuel care, winterizing and spring start-up, and the by-the-hours maintenance schedules that tie it all together. Sam came to this work through fifteen years of small-engine service, holds Equipment & Engine Training Council (EETC) certification, and has run a Briggs & Stratton and Honda GCV service bench long enough to know which maintenance steps actually matter and which are dealership upsells. Every procedure on the site is one Sam has done on a real machine, photographed step by step, with the torque values and part numbers that the manual buries. Sam's own fleet - a gas walk-behind, a battery mower, and an aging riding mower - is the documented test bed for the maintenance calendar. Sam lives in the US Great Lakes region.
At a glance
- Guides published
- 68
- Newest guide
- August 4, 2026
Guides by Sam · Page 4
Showing 46–60 of 68 guides, newest first
How to Change a Craftsman Lawn Mower Spark Plug (+Gap)
Change your Craftsman mower spark plug in 6 steps: find it by body style, use a 5/8 or 13/16 socket, gap to .030, and reinstall without cross-threading.
Craftsman Lawn Mower Air Filter: Find Your Part by Engine
Match the exact Craftsman air filter to your engine: decode your 917 tag, find the Briggs, Kohler, Tecumseh or MTD part, and stop buying the wrong one.
Craftsman Lawn Mower Spark Plug: 3-Plug Chart & Gap (2026)
Match your Craftsman mower's plug fast: RC12YC, RJ19LM or F5TRC by engine, plus the exact gap, socket size and Champion-to-NGK cross-reference.
How to Tune Up a Craftsman Lawn Mower (917 Tag First)
Tune up your Craftsman lawn mower in under an hour: read the 917 tag, then service the oil, air filter, spark plug and blade by engine (Briggs, Kohler, MTD)
Honda Lawn Mower Tune-Up Kit: We Matched 6 by Serial (2026)
Match your Honda mower to the right tune-up kit by engine and serial. See what's inside, genuine-vs-aftermarket value, and where to buy it cheapest in 2026.
Clean a Honda Air Filter: Paper, Foam & Dual (Bench-Tested)
Clean your Honda mower air filter the right way: tap or replace the GCV paper element, wash and re-oil foam, and fix an oil-soaked filter fast.
How to Change a Honda Lawn Mower Spark Plug in 6 Steps
Change your Honda lawn mower spark plug in 6 steps: 13/16″ socket, .028–.031″ gap, 14 ft-lb torque, plus how to read a fouled plug. HRR, HRX & GCV.
Spark Plug for a Honda Lawn Mower (BPR5ES, Gap & Socket)
Find the right spark plug for your Honda mower: nearly all take an NGK BPR5ES, gap 0.028–0.031 in, 13/16 in socket. Cross-reference plus the BPR6ES exceptions.
Honda Lawn Mower Air Filter Finder (GCV160/170/190)
Decode your Honda engine code (GCV160/170/200) to the exact air filter part number, compare OEM vs aftermarket, and buy the one that fits.
How to Tune Up a Honda Lawn Mower: 4 Steps Under $40
Tune up a Honda GCV mower in 4 steps - oil, air filter, spark plug, blade. Exact GC/GCV specs (10W-30, BPR5ES, .028–.031 gap) plus DIY-vs-shop costs.
Toro Tune-Up Kit Finder: Match 6 Kits to Your Engine
Match Toro mower to right tune-up kit in 2 minutes - decode your engine and serial, compare the 6 OEM kits and what's inside, and see OEM vs cheaper third-party
How to Clean a Toro Air Filter (3 Models Tested)
Clean Toro air filter the right way: wash the foam, never wash the paper, and open the cover by model. Includes the 2–3x-a-season rule and the oil-in-filter fix
How to Change a Toro Mower Spark Plug (Socket + Gap)
Change your Toro spark plug in 6 steps — the exact socket size (5/8″ or 13/16″), the 0.030″ gap, and the plug that fits your engine. Under 10 minutes.
Toro Lawn Mower Spark Plug: Find Yours by Engine (2026)
Find the right Toro spark plug by engine: Briggs, Kohler or Toro, with the exact Champion/NGK number, gap and socket. No upsell, just OEM spec.
How Sam’s guides are checked
Every guide on Mower Mentor follows the same published standards. If one falls short, tell us and we’ll fix it.
- 01How We Test Mower RepairsEvery fix is tried on a real mower first: the diagnosis, the readings, the part fit and the job.
- 02Editorial policyBrands can’t pay to change a guide, and anything paid for is labeled.
- 03Fact-checkingPart numbers and readings are checked against the test log and the manufacturer.
- 04Corrections policyConfirmed errors are fixed within 7 business days, directly in the guide.
- 05Sponsorship PolicyWhat brands can and can’t pay for, and how it’s labeled.