It's Crying Time....

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

I wish Jason had a little crying face smilie. It could be of use right now, cause that's how I feel. Friday I went out and did some snow plowing, had a blast and the C141 didn't complain one bit. Ran fine with it's usual smoke on start up which went away within a few seconds. Today I go out to play some and it started up fine again, same as Friday. After about 5-10 minutes time it started to loose power. I was thinking just before I noticed the power loss that it sounded strange.

So I started to take her back to the stable when it made a sound and then died. I try to start it and it crank but had an unique metallic sound and did not start. So I'm sure it either spunned a bearing or worse. I was going to rebuild it when it was smoking a few months ago. But a good carb cleaning since then and the smoke issue went away. But I guess it needs it now.

I talked to the wife and she's like..."see I told you so, you should have kept the John Deere!" I went by my lawn mower repair guy and we agree he will rebuild it, but he wants to wait until March. Which is okay with me (not really) as I need that time to smooth things over with the wife.

So, bottom line, my C141 will get an overhaul and my 314-8 will have carry on as the only running horse among a bunch of deeres. :P

[TT-(Moderator) 1,131]

Awwwwwwwww, Terry!

I hate when that happens!

Just make sure you tell the wife that the engine WAS NOT made by Wheel Horse and even Kohler's on JD's can fly apart.

Get some pictures of the damage when you get it opened up. :P

[Stigian 1,234]

Sorry to read about your C141 engine woes

Its all part of the fun i guess, well thats what i keep telling myself

Im in the same WH position as you, my Raider 10 looks very nice but has a knackered engine, so my 312-8 gets all the abuse :D

[Rollerman 290]

Terry there is not a lot to pulling them apart & doing a basic rebuild.

If things are broken or the bore & crank are out of size then it requires machine work & more money.

Have you checked over a few of the basics....does it still have compression & spark?

There still hope it might be something minor unless the parts from the inside our now on the outside.

Sorry to hear about it's break down though....no doubt a plot brought on by your unsrcupulous John Deere's :D

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Thanks, guys, for the condolences.

Terry,

I actually threatened to pull the 10 hp Kohler off my JD 210 and put it on the C, but that met with some negative reaction from the wife also.

Ian,

My C isn't the prettiest, but she's a keeper.

Stephen,

I actually thought about tearing into this one myself, but I don't want to be the one who does permanently damage where my wife can say...."See I told you so!" again. Seriously though, she isn't that bad, just a woman.

You know I thought about doing the compression thing and checking for spark, which I will do. Right now I'm still upset and I need to focus a little on the worst case scenario. With the metallic sound I'm hearing when it cranks, I'm thinking it's beyond the spark and compression testing. But you're right I will check those things and pray for the best case scenario.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,264]

Man that stinks. Come on over here, in a couple of weeks the K301 comes off the C-120, and gets torn apart, we can have a tear down party. Seriously though, first things first. Don't try to to do any testing on the motor, it sounds like something is broken inside and you don't want to risk putting it through the block. If you have some general tools and a torque wrench you can probably do the rebuild work and save a chunk of change. You will only need a machine shop to press on and off bearings, bore the block or cut the crank, the rest is nuts, bolts and measuring.

If you tear into it and get stuck many of us have lots of experience taking these things apart and back together so don't sweat it.

Look on the bright side, this is step 1 for the restoration process :D

[TT-(Moderator) 1,131]

It only takes 10 minutes to pull the cylinder head off and see if everything is still moving the way it should, Terry.

Make sure you also check the back of the block under the starter area for any signs of cracking (or holes ) -- which usually indicates a balance gear "let go".

[Rollerman 290]

Terry good luck on your diagnosis...I hope it's on the side of minor.

Take a look at the nut in the flywheel too.

Not sure the engine in the 210 would fit either...seems they have a JD spec oil pan that would complicate things.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

As for as rebuilding this myself, I'll probably could do it. And if I can't I know people who can. My brother-in-law and I have pull several engines from cars, trucks, and a couple of lawn tractors. Just last Saturday we pulled a 3.8 from a '95 or '96 Mustang. So I have the tools and some mechanical know how.

I will probably start looking more closely at it in the next couple of days. I'm sure there is something broke in there. I will have a closer look though.

As for the engine from the JD, Stephen, I think you're right. The oil pan would be different. And I'm reluctant to mess with a running tractor to fix another one anyways. I just said that to the wife as I was throwing out ideas.

But, I love my C141 so it will live again.... :D

[kpinnc 11,877]

Sorry to hear about the woes Terry, but chances are a good rebuild will cure all the ills! One good thing about old Kohlers- they last, and they are relatively easy to fix. If the block needs boring, a good shop will do it for $40.

Parts are pretty easy to find too, though the genuine Kohler parts can be a little expensive.

I hate you had some bad luck, but chances are it's fixable!

And I know this risks hijacking the thread, but I'll say it anyway- leave those balance gears out, and you'll never have to worry about them again. You'd be surprised how little difference they make.

Kevin

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Thanks, Kevin, for the words of encouragement.

Ah, yes, the balance gears. I heard about not putting them back in. Sounds like a plan. :D

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Terry, just a quick note... you can't just "pull the 10 hp Kohler off my JD 210 and put it on the C." If I remember right, the 2xx series Deeres used a tapered PTO, and, well, you'd still have to tear them apart and change over the cranks if you wanted to swap them.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Thanks, Jason, for the info. I don't really want to use that engine anyway. I'm hesitant to destroy a tractor to save another one. The JD looks decent, runs real good, and I could sell it pretty easy the way it sits or just use it.

If the K321 is rebuildable in the C141, then that's what I'll do. Then it should last the next 30 years. :D