K301 flywheel and 106/129 frame
 

I have a cub 106 with a k301 swapped into it, had to cut the frame little to get it to fit, let my buddy borrow it to plow his driveway and he returned it with a bent frame and a awful rod knock. Plan on completely rebuilding this engine but was wondering if it would be safe to put a smaller flywheel/shroud off of a k241 onto the k301 without having cooling issues or the crank being out of balance (as I've been told). Also, would the 106 "body" possibly bolt up to a uncut 129 frame? Any help is appreciated !

You mean you swapped in a k321 or k341 and Cut the frame right?

No. it had a k241 in it and put the k301 in it. It's a narrow frame

K301 would fit in a narrow frame with no mods. Either you have the wrong blower housing/flywheel on it, or you put in a K321 (or even a K341). I'm sure it did bend the frame. Can't just go hacking up a frame and expect it to still have strength. As far as the rod knock..... You sure it's a rod and not the PTO?

Wide frame and narrow frame tractors don't mix. Can't swap parts and pieces with a 129.

It held up fine plowing my drive with a few inches of snow and keeping up with it. But my buddy trying to plow 2+ feet of it was just too much. The shroud on the k301 looks to be original so I'm not sure how it's not the right one

Where did you get the K301 from????? 129?
Does your K301 engine have a wide base motor mount system?

I'm not a 100% sure...I think my IH cub Cadet 128 has a big flywheel.

I think the engine came out of a case 222 not sure, there is no pto on it

And there it is..... Probably has the bigger housing on it. Not a Cub Cadet motor, so it didn't bolt right in.

The tractor should have handled 5' of snow and not broken the frame. It got weakened when you modified it. Not his fault.

Dale, a big flywheel 301 would fit in the 129 frame, but should have had the smaller one originally. Pretty sure they didn't go to all large flywheels in Cubs until the QL series, but seen some oddball stuff from the factor on the 1X8/9 tractors. Like factory black engines. :beerchug:

So putting a smaller flywheel on it wilL not cause engine damage, right?

Nope. Won't hurt it at all.

The frame might not have broke but everything else would have lol

I thought so, a guy I work with was trying to tell me it would throw the engine out of balance and throw a rod. Thanks for the info

The balance gears inside are more dangerous.... if it still has them. The flywheels and cranks are balanced independently.

Oh ok cool. I appreciate the help brother

Man, I love your answers J-mech, I being a driver, not a mechanic understand what You're trying to impart.
I'm going to you whenever in the future I decide to start on my Kohler. I deal in boat trailer bearings and swap out races and bearings every other year since I'm at capacity.
Thanks,

Kevin

K301 in a 106
 

I think I found my answer in the body of this thread, but, hopefully, I'm wrong! I have a 106 with a k241 engine in it. It's smoking, so I thought I'd find a k301 to swap in when I'm at my summer cabin (where my tractor is). Well, I found a complete k301 - and the guy even threw in 2 complete blocks for $70 - WOW. But, the base is wide - about 11 1/2". I don't have access to my tractor so I can't measure it. So, did Kohler make a narrow based k301 for Cub Cadet, and a wide based k301 for other applications and this one won't fit my narrow frame tractor? Thanks for any help!

Yes. The wide base block does not fit any cub cadet. Sorry. It's not going to work for you.

Thanks!
 

Shoot! But, I would have bought the engines anyway. With slightly ground valves and a set of rings it's just like new. I'll keep looking for the narrow base k301 or just rebuild the k241. Appreciate your help.

Ground valves and new rings doesn’t make a "new" or even "like new" engine. Ring jobs don't last long.

Ring jobs don't last long.
 

Hey, now I'm interested! The reason I said that it's just like new is because with new rings, the ring end gap is .010", which is just what the spec. is for a new engine. The cylinder has no ridge to be reamed. I've rebuilt a bunch of engines in my many years and if they are in spec they seem to last a long time. This one is amazingly within "new" specs. This is my first Kohler engine rebuild. Do they not do well with ring jobs? Thanks again for your help.

Ok.... *sigh*

You know, I typed out this long response, then deleted it and decided to just go with "no". No. No engine lasts very long with just a ring job. Especially air cooled Kohlers. But, you might get lucky. Some people do.