Finally pulled the K321 out of the 1450

Battlewagon · #1 01-21-2011, 08:45 PM

Been awhile since I have posted. Now that hunting season is over, I have picked up the wrenches and what I have found ain't good. I pulled the engine. 1st problem, PO ran without checking mount bolts on oilpan for a long time. I will replace with a cast iron unit. I noticed excessive movement at the rod to crankpin. Pull piston and mic'd crank journal. 1.490, 1.489, 1.490 then 90 degrees 1.495, 1.494, 1.494.

What to do with the crank??
Option one, turn .010 and cross fingers.

Option two, turn .020 and use aftermarket rod.
What is the best rod to use??

Option three, turn .020 and use bearing inserts on a new modified Kohler rod. What bearing inserts do I use??

Option four, find a better crank.
Anybody have one lay'in around?

I also found the cam endplay to be .028. Can I just shim it to spec or is the cam wasted??

The rest of it looked surprisingly good. And NO balance gears.:biggrin2.gif:

Price is a concern but not time. I have my 1200 for mowing duties and can drag my Fergie to the house to disc my garden spot this season. My plan for the 1450 is to pull my Brinley plow.

Need some wisdom here. Thanks a bunch.

Roanoker494 · #2 01-21-2011, 09:30 PM

Glad to see someone bringing a "old one" back from the brink, I am in the middle of a engine rebuilt myself. The only advise I will give is that it is always a bad idea when fingering crossing is involved.

Dave R · #3 01-22-2011, 08:58 AM

I have a K321 thats going to come out just as soon as its warm up a bit. My shop outside is not heated, so the weather has to be better.

I called O'Reilly Auto Parts (This is not a commercial) and asked if they had a machine shop. They do, I can take the block and crank to the local store, they will pick it up, machine the cylinder for $40 and machine the crank for $35. and return them to the store. The lad said it would take about a week up and back now. I put this on here only because most of us have an Oreilly store close by.

I am anxious to get mine done.
Dave in SW Missouri

Mike1450 · #4 01-22-2011, 09:16 AM

Battlewagon:

My K321 out of my 1450 had similar issues on the crank. The machine shop cleaned it up nicely only going .010 under. Its typical on these engine that the crank pin gets a little out of round. Even if you had to go .020 under you should be still good.

I would use a Kohler rod over an aftermarket version.

The cam should have shims on the end already. My cam end play was out a little as well. I found that the shims in there were worn down. I replaced them and it was back in spec.

Battlewagon · #5 01-22-2011, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike1450

Battlewagon:

My K321 out of my 1450 had similar issues on the crank. The machine shop cleaned it up nicely only going .010 under. Its typical on these engine that the crank pin gets a little out of round. Even if you had to go .020 under you should be still good.

I would use a Kohler rod over an aftermarket version.

The cam should have shims on the end already. My cam end play was out a little as well. I found that the shims in there were worn down. I replaced them and it was back in spec.

If I go .020, I have not found a Kohler rod. Is there a part number I am not aware of?? All I found for Kohler is std and .010.

Merk · #6 01-22-2011, 09:30 PM

Quote:

by Battlewagon
If I go .020, I have not found a Kohler rod. Is there a part number I am not aware of?? All I found for Kohler is std and .010.

You have to take a Kohler rod to a local machine shop and have them modifiy it for bearing inserts. The local machine shop should have access to part number for bearing insert.

Battlewagon · #7 01-23-2011, 12:52 PM

Local machine shops near here, either cater to industrial type work or automotive and claim they do not work on small engines. If someone here knows what bearing inserts will work, I could get them and have the industrial shop fit them to a Kohler rod. No matter what I do the crank will have to be sent somewhere. Any machine shops that are better than others who don't mind shipping??

pulse301 · #8 01-23-2011, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battlewagon

Local machine shops near here, either cater to industrial type work or automotive and claim they do not work on small engines. If someone here knows what bearing inserts will work, I could get them and have the industrial shop fit them to a Kohler rod. No matter what I do the crank will have to be sent somewhere. Any machine shops that are better than others who don't mind shipping??

Have you tried your nearest NAPA that has a machine shop? I know they sell a lto of th ekohler parts, they may machine the engine for you also.

What part of georgia are you from? I'm officially in Powder Springs, but closer to downtown Acworth than I am downtown Powder Springs.

Battlewagon · #9 01-23-2011, 10:25 PM

I am in Dublin. Our Napa closed it's machine shop a long, long time ago. Our local Carquest has the machinery but alas the machinist retired long ago and no one knows how to operate it. Closest hit I have had is Cassidy Machine in Macon. $78 to turn it but getting them to do the inserts may not be an option. I am gonna call the local O'riellys in the morning and see about their service mentioned above. I can probably get our local industrial machinist to open up the rod for inserts but I need to know the part number and application of the bearing inserts so that I can purchase them to put in the machinist's hands.

Dave R · #10 01-23-2011, 10:33 PM

Battlewagon, my O'Reilly store sends their work to their shop in Springfield, Mo.
This is the town they originated in years ago. I don't know if they have other shops around the country, but hopefully they do. There use to be a half dozen shops around with a 30 mile area of my house, and now there are none.

Guess its a sign of the times. Let us know how it works out for you.
Dave in SW Missouri