Engine quit today, now no compression
 

After a lot of work this past spring (http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=37565), my 1200 Kohler k301 has run great all summer. Mowing and leaf sweeping today, and after about an hour it started to sound funny, like it was revving fast. I shut it off and when I tried to start again it would turn over but not start. After I turn the key off it keeps spinning much longer than normal.

Did some googling to figure out what it might be. I took out the sparkplug, turned the key with my finger over the hole, no air pressure. I can turn the engine by hand more easily than usual.

Based on the symptoms it seems like a broken connecting rod. I'm hoping one of you will tell me it's something simpler :Help:. Thoughts? What are my options and what should I do next?

Pull the tin ( sheetmetal ) and the head to see if the piston moves.

Sorry but from what you described, it may be a broken connecting rod. If not, it'll be a good excuse to decarbon the head and piston.

It may be a stuck exhaust or intake valve.

thats what i was thinking.

I can see the exhaust valve moving through the sparkplug hole. I just decarboned the head this spring as show in the linked thread. I'll have to pull the head again to see more.

You could also take the valve cower off and see what the valves are doing.

Is the piston moving?

I don't think so. How would I tell for sure?

Put a pencil or dowel rod down into the spark plug hole and rotate the engine, if it doesn't move, piston's not moving.

Is the spark plug hole in an AQS head over the piston?