sticking valve

[jdroison]

the lead in the gas did act as a lube on the valve guides, like in the IHC regular which ran on kero originally. the valve guides needed a mod when going to unleaded.

[Merk]

by Wild Bill
So to say that these old engines were puposely designed to burn a fuel that was not in use at the time, is asinine.

I suggest you read the section on fuel types. It can be found on page 1.5.

It has a section that talks about leaded gas can be used in areas where unleaded gas is not available. Including the internet manual I have 4 sources for a Kohler Service manual. All have the same date I posted in a previous post.

This is 2012.....not the 60s, 70s, or 80s. I have go by what the Kohler manuals say. Unleaded gas was available in the early 70s in my area. It cost more.

Like you I ran unleaded fuel in my small engines until it became unavailable. One thing I notice is I have less valve problems with unleaded fuel.

[jcsmith]

I 2nd Sam Mac. My 104 did the same thing. The fins on the exhaust side of motor were packed with grass and dirt, leading to too much heat and stuck valve. Good luck, Chris

[TONYD]

THANKS to everyone. the Additive you recomended seems to be helping I use the mower today for about 3 hours and I was on a steep incline with heavy grass before it did it. I hope it gets even better as I keep using it.

[orphie]

CADplan:

Per your advice, went ahead and pulled the engine on my 1872, for the replacement of the iginition module. Went well and while opened up, cleaned and replaced a couple missing bolts as well as the fuse holder, which was causing some issues. Photo taken while "work in progress".

[Matt G.]

Please tell me there's something holding the engine securely in that position...it looks pretty precarious.

[fixerlr]

I use nothing but 91 oct fuel onall my small engines it doesnt have alcohol in it and has a longer shelf life works for me

[Merk]

by fixerlr
I use nothing but 91 oct fuel onall my small engines it doesnt have alcohol in it and has a longer shelf life works for me

You need to to go to your Kohler Service manual and read/reread the section I listed in my last post. 91 octane fuel has no longer self life that E10 fuel. Mosy if not all small motor manufactures recomend buying fresh fuel every 30 days and use a fuel stablizer. Where you store, how you store and the container you store your fuel in makes a huge difference on fuel quality. I haven't found a stock Kohler engine that needs 91 octane fuel to run right.

[CADplans]

Originally Posted by Merk

You need to to go to your Kohler Service manual and read/reread the section I listed in my last post. 91 octane fuel has no longer self life that E10 fuel. Mosy if not all small motor manufactures recomend buying fresh fuel every 30 days and use a fuel stablizer. Where you store, how you store and the container you store your fuel in makes a huge difference on fuel quality. I haven't found a stock Kohler engine that needs 91 octane fuel to run right.

I agree that 91 is not needed, but, if 87 has ethanol, and 91 doesn't,

I would run the 91!!

I have seen many places that only sell a certain octane as no ethanol, luckily around here it is 87.

We have one station that sells 87 with ethanol and 87 without ethanol.

Decisions, decisions!!

[Merk]

by CADplans
I agree that 91 is not needed, but, if 87 has ethanol, and 91 doesn't,

I would run the 91!!

I have seen many places that only sell a certain octane as no ethanol, luckily around here it is 87.

We have one station that sells 87 with ethanol and 87 without ethanol.

Decisions, decisions!!

I don't have problems running fuel with ethanol in it. Most of the time people having fuel issues goes back fuel storage problems.