Kohler k301 runs rich, quits under load

[olds45512]

by the looks of it id say that gasket wasn't sealing properly, either why you'll need a new one. the head is probably warped and will need straightened.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by ccollins0601

A couple questions:
- The head gasket appears to be in good shape, should I get a new one or could it be re-used?

The head gasket is blown/leaking. I can see it from the pic. No, you cannot reuse them. EVER.

See post #4 to read my recommendation again.

Just to reiterate a point: Plane the head.

Originally Posted by ccollins0601

- The area around the engine block is filled with some sort of insulation-type material. You can see it at the top of the first picture. What is this and is it supposed to be there?

NO. Get that all cleaned out. That is making the engine overheat..... which is what more than likely caused all this trouble.

[ccollins0601]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

The head gasket is blown/leaking. I can see it from the pic. No, you cannot reuse them. EVER.

See post #4 to read my recommendation again.

Just to reiterate a point: Plane the head.

Ok thanks. Just to clarify, plane the head means this, correct?:
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=22831

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by ccollins0601

Ok thanks. Just to clarify, plane the head means this, correct?:
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=22831

Yep, sure does!

[finsruskw]

While you are this far into it, if you have time, you may as well pull the engine, do a general cleanup, inspect the ISO mounts and repair/replace as needed, check and tighten engine to cradle bolts, remove the flywheel tin and clean, etc, etc, etc....You will more than likely find the shroud and flywheel full of grass, mouse nests and who knows whatall adding to the overheat problem. You can also resurface the head yourself using a flat piece of thick glass and sandpaper. It will probably cost $20 and up to have a machine shop do it.

Do it all right the first time and you will be rewarded w/years of service. The 1200 is a great little tractor and I use the heck out of mine all year. It's my favorite plow rig.

BTW Kohler recommends doing the head carbon removal thing every 500 hours.

[ccollins0601]

Update: ordered an OEM gasket. Will be out of town this weekend so may not get to the valves until the weekend after.

Originally Posted by finsruskw

While you are this far into it, if you have time, you may as well pull the engine, do a general cleanup, inspect the ISO mounts and repair/replace as needed, check and tighten engine to cradle bolts, remove the flywheel tin and clean, etc, etc, etc....You will more than likely find the shroud and flywheel full of grass, mouse nests and who knows whatall adding to the overheat problem. You can also resurface the head yourself using a flat piece of thick glass and sandpaper. It will probably cost $20 and up to have a machine shop do it.

I did the ISO mounts when I first got it. The PO had replaced the drive plate and bushing, which were destroyed prob due to the mounts being bad, so that was my first taste of working on the 1200.

It still needs a new flex coupling down on the other end; I have one but when trying to install could not get the old one out - the driveshaft would not budge. I loosened the cradle bolts on the engine but still no movement. I had already tightened the adjusting nut on the clutch which had helped make shifting gears far less violent than before, so eventually I gave up and bolthed the old flex disc and couplers back together... Maybe I'll try again now that everything is apart. Am I supposed to knock out the pin on the coupler to do this job? Or is it a matter of moving the whole engine+driveshaft? do I need to disconnect/disassemble the clutch somehow?

Not sure I'll pull off the flywheel tin, from what I can see it looks reasonably clean and I've got to stop somewhere. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Originally Posted by finsruskw

Do it all right the first time and you will be rewarded w/years of service. The 1200 is a great little tractor and I use the heck out of mine all year. It's my favorite plow rig.

Thanks, I hope that will be the case!

[Cub Cadet 123]

That insulation gunk is debris from mice, grass (?), dandelions, etc. that affects the cooling of your engine. Clean it out and look for that at periodically as part of a preventative maintenance plan -- it will appear to clog/obstruct your engine cooling tins.

To clean out more of that carbon buildup in your head, you can use EZ-OFF oven cleaner or the purple Kleener/degreaser sold in the automotive section of automotive stores and Wal-Mart (if those are in your area). Be sure to wear rubber gloves and protective eyewear when using these chemicals. Just spray it and wipe clean.

I would get a new head gasket. Judging by the look of yours, you had some oil blow out. Be sure to spend the extra money to purchase Kohler parts for the head gasket......some of the knock offs do not have the wrap around the inside of the gasket and oil can leak through the layers of the gasket.

These are probably things that others have mentioned but my computer will not allow me to pull up the 3rd page of this post.....strange.....so, sorry if these are repeats of what others have already said.

One more thing, don't forget to re-torque your head bolts in the correct order after 5-10 hours of run time (I think that is correct......I forget, but it is mentioned in the manual).

Best regards,

Cub Cadet 123

[darkminion_17]

The service manual recommends soaking the head gasket in water for a short time before installing.

[ccollins0601]

I finally got back to this last weekend and believe it was successful. Thanks for all the help!!!

I pulled the valves and cleaned everything up - valves, guides, head, piston, etc

20150411_001631.jpg

20150411_001544.jpg

20150404_145423.jpg

(note the picture of the valves is from when I was about halfway through, I cleaned them up more before reinstalling)

I cleaned up the exterior of the engine as best I could and vacuumed/scraped out the 'insulation gunk'. I called it this because it was pink and really did look like insulation. Maybe some mice found it nearby and transported it?

Next, getting the valves reinstalled. Despite the warnings on other threads, I didn't buy a valve spring compressor, also had no grease on hand to help stick the keepers on. I tried it with screwdrivers and other implements for at least 30 minutes without even getting close to success. Determined to finish, I scoured the garage and invented my own spring compressor from an old caulking gun, hacksaw, a couple wood blocks, and duct tape:

20150410_214321.jpg 20150410_214329.jpg

It worked pretty great! Patent pending

I planed the head using the glass/sandpaper method as suggested (the pic above is from after planing) and installed with a new head gasket. I soaked the head in water for a short time before install. I cleaned up the head bolts with carb cleaner too. One was pretty gunked up, the others weren't too bad.

Torqued the head bolts per the manual, new gaskets for the valve breather & carb. Drained and cleaned the gas tank too. Put a little mystery oil in the spark plug hole and put in a new spark plug. Lots of bolting things back together and some new gas, reconnected the battery, and time to fire it up.

Turned the key and she started on the first try! Was a little smoky but I attributed that to the mystery oil.

I drove around for about 30 minutes. I changed the oil (SAE 30, had been using 10w30 in the winter) and retorqued the head bolts. Reinstalled the top piece of the engine cover and put on the air filter, ready to go! Started up easy and was running nice and smooth.

So, I went out and bought a leaf sweeper, tine dethatcher, spike aerator, and pull behind spreader on CL.

I used the leaf sweeper pretty intensively for 2-3 hours over the weekend. The engine ran great - it didn't stall out or backfire, ran strong at full throttle and idled real nice too. While this use wasn't as heavily loading the engine as the snow plowing where I had so much trouble in the winter, I think it's a pretty good sign I've fixed the problem.

Again, thanks for all the help! Next - get the mower deck fixed up

[red211]

Nice compressor, and glad to here all that work paid off!!! Nothing like turning the key, firing right up and running smooth.