a rebuild question
 

i will be taking the motor out of my 72 108 this weekend to put new rings in it and seeing how i am a newbie on cubs, i am wondering while the engine is out, what else do i need to check/replace/repair. it does not have a deck and the steering is tight. any suggestions or pointers. thanks everyone in advance!!!! jeff

The bore in that engine needs to be measured (as per Kohler engine manual) if the bore is tapered, out of round, scarred, pitted or otherwise out of spec. it needs to be bored out, or you will end up with the same problems that you currently have. The plastic governor needs to be replaced as do the rod and piston, the valve guides need to be checked and the seats and valves should be ground at the very least, the head should also be sanded flat. Decking the top of the block is optional unless it isn't flat.

If the clutch isn't making any noise and it releases smoothly and pulls good then you don't really need to rebuild it, I would however put a new bushing in the 3 pin driver, just to help keep everything lined up.

thanks for the info. i know the cyclinder has been bored out .010 over and checks within specs as far down as the piston will go. it was rebuilt about 2 years ago but was not broken in properly and the rings never seated (or set, whichever is the proper lingo) so i thought that i would do it over and try it once more and if it continues to smoke then i will just tear it down again and completely rebuild it 100%. all this cub does is pull a motorized bushhog and maybe a trip around my place. the clutch mechanism seems to be in tip top shape, with nothing out of the norm, can't be beat for a freebie cub!!! but again, i really appreciate your info and knowledge. thanks jeff

That's probably why the rings never seated. You need to put a heavy load on it for awhile to get the rings to seat.