Dresden Guy 24 #1 Posted June 4, 2014 Help - RS Kohler gurus. I went to help a friend with his 16 hp Kohler and two things concerned me about his K-341. Question 1) the engine would not start with a newly installed small garden tractor battery, but did start with a jump start booster pack + the tractor battery. When it did start, it did not smoke from the muffler. The slow idle was pretty rough, but the engine did smooth out at higher RPMs. The max throttle seemed to be no more than maybe 2000 - 2500 rpm (???). Would the engine be seizing in some way or something else causing it to be sluggish?? 2) when the engine had run for 4-5 minutes at max rpms, there was some smoke coming from the breather??? I have never seen that before. Any thoughts what would cause this? I mowed with the tractor and the rpms never seemed to get above maybe 2500 rpms (guessing, but my K-341 really revs, big time. Any ideas what problems / gremlins may be lurking. I am not a good diagnostician! Dresden Guy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Save Old Iron 1,565 #2 Posted June 4, 2014 a quick first check might be the points gap if the spark is too far advanced, starting can be an issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Save Old Iron 1,565 #3 Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) smoke from thr breather ? check oil level in the pan could be blowby from a stuck or broken ring maybe some marvel mystery oil added to the crakcase or let a few teaspoons into the spark plug hole to seep by the rings overnight has he had the breather apart and assembled it improperly or upside down? any history on the engine? any recent work done? approximate hours on engine? Edited June 4, 2014 by Save Old Iron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 40,736 #4 Posted June 4, 2014 I would check for a big carbon build up in the head also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dresden Guy 24 #5 Posted June 4, 2014 smoke from thr breather ? check oil level in the pan could be blowby from a stuck or broken ring maybe some marvel mystery oil added to the crakcase or let a few teaspoons into the spark plug hole to seep by the rings overnight has he had the breather apart and assembled it improperly or upside down? any history on the engine? any recent work done? approximate hours on engine? Professor SOI .... it's good to hear from you. As usual, all your points are all well taken and 1 or 2 of them seem quite likely to be the contributing issues. The owner twice showed me the crystal clear oil on the dipstick, but without my glasses, I couldn't see the level of the "non-dirty" ☺ oil. The hour meter showed approx. 500 hours.....that seemed extremely low for a 1976 K-341??? Maybe i's really 1500+ hours? A broken or worn ring also sounds like a very real possibility. But, the smoke (not excessive) coming from the perimeter of the breather really threw me.....there was also some oily residue on the gasket that mounts to the breather - ???? The owner wants to sell his tractor and I liked everything else except these somewhat puzzling engine issues. Bottom line, if I proceed toward buyng, I need to take a much closer look at several issues - those you mentioned will definitely be on my punch-list! Thanks SOI Guy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dresden Guy 24 #6 Posted June 4, 2014 I would check for a big carbon build up in the head also. Mike, that is an excellent point, but without pulling the head, is there any way to determine the carbon and cylinder condition, etc.? And, what would be the most likely cause of a carbon build-up in the head? Mis-firing? Wrong oil? Faulty timing? Bad rings? Thanks Mike for that good advice. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fordiesel69 258 #7 Posted June 4, 2014 No there is not. Pulling the head is super easy. However, start by chekcing the point gap, it should be .018 - .020 After that, you may need to adjust the throttle cable mount on the engine to allow for more full throttle. Living in 2014 you should have the capability of shooting a video for us, demonstrating the problems you are having. We will be able to see and hear what is going on. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dresden Guy 24 #8 Posted June 4, 2014 Thanks to all - SOI , squonk , and Fordiesl69. Great stuff, and I do all that the PO will allow. Spark gap and throttle cable travel should be very simple. Agains, thanks and I will go back and look at as much stuff as allowable. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Save Old Iron 1,565 #9 Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) Would the engine be seizing in some way or something else causing it to be sluggish?? In re-reading your original post, the concern about the engine being too "tight" can be checked by removing the spark plug and manually rotating the engine by hand. Without the pkug in the head, no resistance should be met on the compression stroke and the flywheel should be easy (enough) to turn and check for unusual friction. One last thought. Check the starter. Make sure it is disengaging from the flywheel. Edited June 5, 2014 by Save Old Iron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
can whlvr 993 #10 Posted June 5, 2014 tell him to check the muffler too,and a good carb cleaning sounds in order,is it not reving due to improper throttle cable adjustment,or governor needs to be looked at,could be a sticky valve,and I would check the engine vent too,it could be dirty or plugged Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheel-N-It 2,968 #11 Posted June 8, 2014 I suspect you are looking at an International Harvester Cub Cadet (clock type hour meter). Yes that engine could have 1500 hours or 2500 hours. There is no way to know for sure. If you suspect it is seizing thats because it may be. If it is seizing then you can expect the connecting rod to one day eject itself through the front (or side in this case) of the engine block. Good luck with this but based on my own experience I would approach this thinking the engine is worn out rather that the engine just needs a few adjustments and a tune up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fordiesel69 258 #12 Posted June 8, 2014 +1 And you would not want your 16HP engine to blow, as they are among the most rare of the K series. A 12Hp can be had just about anywhere, a 16Hp on the other hand.............. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cleat 5,702 #13 Posted June 8, 2014 The 16 HP Kohler in my Ford cranked over hard and it turned out to be the compression release tab on the camshaft was bent down effectively disabling the compression release.. This made the engine crank over with full compression which it seems the K-341 does not like. I bent this tab back up as per the engine manual and it cranks over fine summer and winter and has now for over 12 years since. Cleat 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dresden Guy 24 #14 Posted June 14, 2014 RedSquare guys are awesome........ thanks for all the good info - from EVERYONE! Valuable advice from experience which is the best - again, Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 40,736 #15 Posted June 15, 2014 What did you find? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites