Poor old engine...

[Rhoderman]

Man, someone abused this poor old K301 beyond excuse. This is from my 122 I bought from some kid who probably raced it down the street and who knows what.
The ring gaps weren't lined up like this, but the 2nd and the oil ring were lined up when I took it apart.
The 2nd ring is installed upside down.
The top ring has a bit excess clearance, would you agree?
Poor old engine... She's getting lots of new parts now. I'll never abuse her like this I swear.
She sounded like heck, and smoked like no tomorrow, but she still RAN! Kohler.

[Matt G.]

I've got a K241 that probably is similar inside...engine was said to have ran but smoked bad. I took the head off and found the piston is worn close to 3/16" smaller than the bore....I think it'll be fun to see what it looks like when I take it apart.

[johncub7172]

yea, me too! little 71 cubby's little heart just gave out. maybe i over worked hims, but it did smoke to begin with. got another k161 on bench, federal yellow in on monday. need to remove pto and crank pully and put on new k161. the 71's k161 just free spinns. but will have it repaired at a later date. at least i can have everything fixed on these good-'ole IH cubcadets!

[Rhoderman]

The amazing part (to me) was that the bore cleaned up at .010 over!
The piston had about 1/8" of "rock" to it.

[johncub7172]

the k161 on your left{no head} is out of my 72, which is being re-painted and will take over snow duty by next snow. this motor is almost ready for paint.31$ a quart of federal yellow. on the right, is my 71 k161, which the crank free-spinns. will have 71 k161 repaired sooner than later. untill then, going to run the 71 k161. i dont believe anything major happend, other than a broken connecting rod and replace the piston and rings. going to pull the pto and starter pully and put on the 72. will not having a pto cause the motor to become out of balance? no need for one on the 72 snow pusher motor. well, its my fun and dont mind all the extra wrenching. wondering how much $ in replacement parts will cost. hummm...

[johncub7172]

here is what happend to 71 k161. the connecting rod snapped in two, and gave out around the crank. this next picture shows the crank pin with minimal scuffs/grooves. guess i need to check w/ micrometer for out -of-round [1.1855 to 1.1860 new] hope i dont need to take out and have ground .010 undersize. so hopefully its only c.rod, rings, and oilbase gasket. the piston and block show no damage at all so far. says here i need to check piston ring grooves and land. i some-what understand. i sure do hate taking something like this to somebody to be fixed. thats not in my program. i could use some feed back, i've never had a job like this. but iam not with out a prayer, as i can simply turn to my 72 k161 and worrie about the 71k161 a bit later. the show must go on.

[Matt G.]

I think that crank needs to come out and have the aluminum cleaned off of it at a minimum. Run your fingernail along the axis of the crankpin...if it catches anything, you've got to clean it off.

[Merk]

The crank will need to be rmoved from the block. I doubt you will have enough clearance to check crank jounal with the crank in the block.

While the motor is apart I would check the cylinder bore in 6 places as Kohler manual recomends. Odds are you will find a taper in the bore and the bore will be out of spec. By time you hone the cylinder bore it will be out of spec. If the piston shows any signs of being burnt above the top ring groove it should be replace.

I had a gent who thought he could get by honing and new rings. Two years later I had to rebuild the motor because it was using oil and down on power.

Best thing you can do is spend the money now and do the job right the first time.

[johncub7172]

thanks guys! that is the best advice and i will do just that and have the job done right the first time! will keep ya all posted on the 71 k161!

[MikeC]

Johncub7172
When I saw the first pictures you sent, it sure looks like you have the engine sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. Or else your shop is a heck of a lot fancier than mine.
So I figured maybe it's just cold out in your shop and you brought the engine in the house for the picture.
Then in the second set of pictures, with the engine apart and oil on the cardboard underneath it, I can see that same pattern from the couch in the background.
So, my question is: How in the heck do you get away with working inside, dismantling an engine on the furniture? If I tried that my wife would give me such a shot, right upside my head.