Precleaner element???
 

http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinec...1346_c_all.pdf
I've been reading my manual for the K301 on my 1250. No oil filter which I figured out by reading a past thread. It says after 25 hours to change the oil and service the pre-cleaner element. Is this what filters the oil? After 100 hours it states to service air cleaner. I was hoping I could get some words of wisdom from one of the many Kohler gurus on this site. Thanks

The prefilter is a foam piece that goes over the air filter or around it actually. There is nothing that filters the oil in your 12 horse as it just slings it instead of pumping

Yes I see now after looking at the air filter diagram. I was just being hopeful for some kind of filtration. Does this have an adverse effect on the engines life? Not having an oil filter. I mean the motor is over 30 years old and still runs strong with no smoke. So I guess that is a statement in its own.

Well the k161 in my 62 original just got opened up for the first time in its life about 2 months ago and that's just because the oil pan was leaking.. the k301 in my 66 123 is still on its standard bore and I don't see any signs of it ever being rebuilt so if they are taken care of they do last I have a 100 % original k91 sitting in the shed that has never been rebuilt and shows no signs of coming apart

I never knew how tough these motors are. I am glad to own one. I don't abuse any of my motors and always change the oil before it needs changed. That being said I won't worry about the filter. The biggest problem I am having with the motor is that the carb loosens up after running for a couple of minutes. I am afraid to crank on the bolts to hard and thus stripping them. I am looking for a torque spec but can't find one at the moment.

I always tighten mine about a quarter over finger tight. Maybe try some loctite or something or maybe a lockwasher if it will fit in there

I was definately thinking locktite. I was wondering if I should use a high temp kind. I'm pretty sure the Lock washers will fit. My buddy says that auto zone has some high temp locktite, I'm going to check that out. Thanks for the advise. It seems like the last owner cut a lot of corners on this 1250. I found chunks of leaves in the gas tank??? The muffler had some crappy clamp on it and it rattles when running. Pos battery cable was broke in half at the battery and taped together. So needless to say she is in better hands now.

Don't use loc-tite or lock washers...if they are vibrating loose, you don't have them tight enough.

The high-temp loc-tite will make the bolts nearly impossible to remove.

I wouldn't worry about an oil filter. When I got my 1250, I went through and changed the oil, air filter, spark plug, hydraulic filter, and hydraulic oil. There was a leak in a rear axle seal that I had to replace to keep hydraulic oil from leaking, but other than that my 1250 is pretty solid, even though it looks like it's been through heck and back--pretty sure yours was in nicer condition from the pictures (at least cosmetically). After changing all the filters/fluids, the thing is a tank. I put synthetic 10w-30 in mine like an idiot as mine sits in a heated garage and should really have straight 30 weight unless it's sitting out in the real cold. There's a chart in the manual that tells you what weight you should use depending on the temps, I believe. It can be found here too.

I use these on all my small engines that don't have filters.

http://kirkengines.com/index.php#MagneticOilDrainPlug