New to old cubs purchased 129

[suburban man]

I have owned a 2000 series cub since 2004 but was at a customers house yesterday and he had a model 129 in the front of the garage. Original owner since 1974 he thinks, said it hasnt been used for 8 years but he starts it occasionally. Burns oil due to worn rings- original Kohler engine still on it. He has all the parts for a complete rebuild- rings, gaskets, decals, tailight lenses, trans fluid,etc. all manuals and a good deck , snowblower, wheel weights and chains, He said he would like to get his money out of the parts he has- $150.00. I gave him $200.00 and told him I'd be back to pick it up with a trailer. Question...what can I expect to run into with the Kohler rebuild? I have good experience with engines but none with Kohlers. Can I expect to just hone it and drop in rings or do I need to go oversize and do valve guides and lap or grind valves? I understand that it depends on condition of the cyl. but was just wondering what is usually found. Would I be better of repowering it with a modern overhead valve engine? I'd sorta like to keep it original. Thanks for any input. Dave

[metalrain]

Welcome to the club Dave.
Short answer, after 35 plus years of running, a complete overhaul isn't out of the question. You'll just have to check the specs and see what you have. In my case, a bad head gasket along with carbon build up (need to de-carbonize every now and then) chewed up the piston. It ran well, but smoked bad. All that was needed in my case was a new piston/rod/hone/cleaned up the valves...good to go.





Pull the head and see what it looks like. Stick with the 12hp kohler...do what you gotta do and it will go another 35 plus years. You'll love the new found torque.
Good luck

metalrain

in case you don't know...200 dollars will buy you a good set of cub wheel weights and a set of chains....nice score.

[Merk]

You will to disassemble the motor and take measurements as the Kohler service manual shows. Most times you will find the motor out of spec or almost out of spec. After you hone it it will be out of spec. I've know a few who tried to just hone.....work good for a year or 2-had to spend more money to do the job right. A good gasket set for your K301 is $55 to $65. Part of my rebuilding process is taking measurements before and after machine work is done to block. This includes new part(s) like a connecting rod.

Parts you will need to rebuild a K301 the right way are:
piston and rings
conncting rod
gasket set
governor gear-if your current one is plastic(should be plastic)
points plunger rod
points and condensor
spark plug wire
spark plug
new head bolts
valves-depending on wear
valve guides-depending on wear

Machining work that needs done:
bore cylinder
grind valves-if they are serviceable
crank journal may need turned

You can't ordered connecting rod, piston and rings until you take measurements of the cylinder and crank.

The carbon didn't cause the marks on the piston in metalrain's post. That is the hottest area in the combustion chamber. That piston is melted because of heat.

[Methos]

[camarokidz28]

[suburban man]

Thank you for the replies. That was the type of information I was looking for - I wouldn't have thought about the governor gear or points plunger. Does the rod have inserts or just use the aluminum as the bearing? What about crank mains are they on bearings or bushings? I have only owned Sears Suburbans prior to this except for my 2000 series. I just couldn't let this old 129 workhorse fade away. Are there any problems with the 129 I need to be aware of? The original owner looks to have taken very good care of this unit and said he had a rototiller that ran off the back gearbox sometime back. That would be a neat set up. best wishes Dave

[Merk]

The rod has no inserts.
The mains are on big roller bearings.