Throttle govern speed with a mind of its own

[SuzukiT350man]

My 129 I recently got back running works great, but the RPM’s won’t go up until it’s almost full throttle on the dash. I’ve adjusted the throttle cable back and forth where it’s clamped down and linked to the governor arm with a spring, and did every combination you could think of to the spring on the governor arm with the same result every time. It either runs at idle or full throttle with no happy medium, and I’m stumped by it. I saw another post on here like this and he fixed it by loosening the governor arm and turned the governor shaft a certain way and fixed it, but didn’t work on mine. Any suggestions? I followed every adjustment the manual had for the throttle with the same result every time.

[finsruskw]

Follow the instructions in the FSM for setting and adjusting the governor.
There is a procedure for doing that and you have to start there with the carb to governor arm properly adjusted so the carb is at WOT when the governor is set.

With the governor arm loose on it's shaft and the shaft held CCW against the internal stop, the carb should be at WOT. That is when you tighten the clamp back up while holding both in that position.

If you cannot feel the stop when turning the shaft CCW, and it basically just wants to spin around 360*,you have issues inside the engine with the governor itself and that is another whole can of worms that will require some major engine dis assembly.

Once that is set, providing you can get it set, the rest should fall into place.
Is the main spring on the correct way to avoid binding or rubbing somewhere on the large end, where the coil on the spring is located?

I usually loosen the governor arm clamp & lightly clamp a needle nose vice grip on the shaft, rotate it CCW and hold it against the stop. That done and with the carb at WOT, position the arm w/the carb at WOT and then tighten the clamp. I usually use a rubber band to hold the vise grip in place while tightening the clamp.

An extra hand will come in handy here or, in lieu of a rubber band, you could have a lovely assistant aid in this task as well.

Good luck!

[SuzukiT350man]

Originally Posted by finsruskw

Follow the instructions in the FSM for setting and adjusting the governor.
There is a procedure for doing that and you have to start there with the carb to governor arm properly adjusted so the carb is at WOT when the governor is set.

With the governor arm loose on it's shaft and the shaft held CCW against the internal stop, the carb should be at WOT. That is when you tighten the clamp back up while holding both in that position.

If you cannot feel the stop when turning the shaft CCW, and it basically just wants to spin around 360*,you have issues inside the engine with the governor itself and that is another whole can of worms that will require some major engine dis assembly.

Once that is set, providing you can get it set, the rest should fall into place.
Is the main spring on the correct way to avoid binding or rubbing somewhere on the large end, where the coil on the spring is located?

I usually loosen the governor arm clamp & lightly clamp a needle nose vice grip on the shaft, rotate it CCW and hold it against the stop. That done and with the carb at WOT, position the arm w/the carb at WOT and then tighten the clamp. I usually use a rubber band to hold the vise grip in place while tightening the clamp.

An extra hand will come in handy here or, in lieu of a rubber band, you could have a lovely assistant aid in this task as well.

Good luck!

Yep there’s my problem. The governor shaft spins 360° so i’ll start tearing it down and see what can of worms i’m gonna get. And yes the main spring is on correctly and doesn’t bind up. I’m scared to open the carb to WOT, last time i did the engine revved way past 3600 rpm and the hydro pump was screaming way higher than it should. So once I get the governor dialed in I’ll report back. Thanks for the help!

[finsruskw]

The stop has broken off the shaft.
This will require dis-assembly of the engine.
I highly recommend you down load a copy of the FSM from the Kohler site and print the section on dis-assembly and follow it to the letter as the governor is the last thing to come out of the engine as well as the 1st thing to go back in during re-assembly.

Be prepared to thoroughly clean it before and after dis-assembly and after to remove any debris of what may be left of the governor.

Have you ever taken one of the engines apart before?

[SuzukiT350man]

I’ve completely overhauled a k181 and it’s pretty much the same as a k301 but a bit smaller of course. I’m waiting on parts for my other 129 so i’ll have to use it with a broken governor for a couple weeks. I’ve printed out an entire breakdown of a Kohler k series so i’ll keep in touch

[SuzukiT350man]

I’ve decided that the motor with the broken governor stop isn’t worth fixing in my situation, it burns a lot of oil even with ZDDP additive and definitely lacking power. I could use it for parts but I’ve got an idea for a project for the rest of the tractor, gonna post about it soon

[finsruskw]

Overhaul it, not a big deal.
Parts are readily available
IT's NOT a boat anchor unless it has serious cracking issues somewhere.

Sounds like yet another Cub is on track to "Never-Never Land"

The Cub Cadet world seems fraught with ideas, dreams and good intensions but we rarely ever see solid finished results, I fear most wind up on the scrap pile
Just my $.02 worth