I would like to know the way to fill oil into the gear case in the auger of a John Deere snow thrower.
I have an old John Deere snow thrower from 1990's that I got from my father-in-law (who has retired to sunny Florida and doesn't need to worry about snow any more). The model number is 522. It is a small dual-stage snow thrower with a 4-stroke engine. I want to get it ready for the winter.
I am supposed to check the oil level in the gear case in the auger, and then refill if needed. The part that I don't understand is how I am supposed to refill the oil into the gear case? According to the operator manual, there is a small plug in the gear case that I am supposed to open, and see if there is any oil draining out. If oil doesn't drain out, this means there is not enough oil, and I should slowly fill it with oil. But the manual doesn't say exactly how to refill the oil. I don't see how I can refill the oil because the plug hole is facing sideway.
I thought only way to refill the oil is to place the snow thrower sideway in order to have the plug hole facing upward. But I doubt this because if I needed to place the snow thrower sideway, the manual would have say so and would have also asked me to drain the fuel from the fuel tank and all those safty requirement before turning the snow thrower sideway.
I thought the gear case may have another plug hole for filling oil. But I cannot find it in the gear case, and I cannot find any info about this in the manual.
Can someone tell me the right way to refill the gear case oil?
Thanks in advance for any info.
Jay Chan