Good Source for K241 Engine Parts

My restoration of my Cadet 100 had been on hold for a few months until last week, now I am almost done with the disassembly of all major components and ready for cleaning and paint.

Revisiting my K241 engine, I originally planned on just cleaning and painting it, replacing the head gasket and ignition parts and rebuilding the carburetor. It has clean oil and spins freely with compression, so it likely runs fine.

But scope creep is coming in as it usually does, “might as well rebuild it while it is out”. I have been eyeing the complete rebuild kit sold on the ISaveTractors website, but from my previous experience with classic British cars, the complete rebuild kits are usually full of substandard parts. I’m thinking I will need to source as many genuine IH/Kohler parts that I can find new, such as a piston, rings, bearings, valves, etc. Can anyone recommend a good source for quality engine components?

Cody Crowley said:

My restoration of my Cadet 100 had been on hold for a few months until last week, now I am almost done with the disassembly of all major components and ready for cleaning and paint.

Revisiting my K241 engine, I originally planned on just cleaning and painting it, replacing the head gasket and ignition parts and rebuilding the carburetor. It has clean oil and spins freely with compression, so it likely runs fine.

But scope creep is coming in as it usually does, “might as well rebuild it while it is out”. I have been eyeing the complete rebuild kit sold on the ISaveTractors website, but from my previous experience with classic British cars, the complete rebuild kits are usually full of substandard parts. I’m thinking I will need to source as many genuine IH/Kohler parts that I can find new, such as a piston, rings, bearings, valves, etc. Can anyone recommend a good source for quality engine components?

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I have NOS Kohler parts.
https://www.ccspecialties.org/

Parts Tree and Jack's Small Engines are two decent sources.

I can understand your scope creep while you have the engine out, but before you decide overhauling I'd have a look see at what you got.
First order of business is removing the head. If the piston is stamped .010, .020 or.030 then you know it's been overhauled previously. Doesn't necessarily mean it's good but at least you'd know it's been done before.

Next would be measuring the bore and looking at the cylinder wall. There are Kohler spec's for tolerance measurements, including with all the piston sizes. If something is marginal or out well it's time. If it looks good, well back to maybe just a good de-carboning and new head gasket.

I probably wouldn't pull the pan unless something is out of tolerance up top. If something is out then you need to remove the pan, disconnect the rod and measure the crank. If it's within spec then you can also measure the rod, check for spec, and decide if you want to replace the rod. To me the rod is the weakest component in a Kohler K. You don't have balance gears to worry about in a K241, so the common failure becomes the rod. It's only going to go up and down so many times before it decides to just stop and break. If it's already been replaced once and is within spec it's probably got a long time left and I'd reuse it.

If the bore is off on the cylinder wall and you have to have it machined then I would probably replace the rod. If the cylinder is close and just needs honing you can do yourself then maybe just reuse the rod. I don't know the price of rods anymore but true Kohler rods used to be fairly inexpensive. Since it's the weakest item (most common failure item - even though they hardly fail) I like sticking with a Kohler rod that will last another 50 years - of course that depends on a reasonable price to.

One thing I wouldn't do is replace the main crank bearings. Ya, ya, ya, some guys are gonna say that's crazy. Some shops are gonna say they always do it. But have you ever heard someone say their K failed because of a bearing? Yes, you can remove the crank and remove the bearings, and use a microscope to see possible minute pitting in the balls - but once you see the size of those bearings and how easily they spin (don't do it without a little oil coating them, and only a couple times), I feel pretty certain you'll decide like me and will just reuse them and save your good money.

I would probably replace the governor gear if you remove the pan, especially if you have the plastic version which sometimes fails.

Hope this helps you. CC Specialties, one of the sponsors in the colorful boxes at the top of the page, is a good source for original Kohler parts. But remember you won't know what you really need until you have a look see.

Old Cubs Never Die, they just find another resting place.

I would not just blindly reuse the mains. If they don't have play and turn smoothly, they can be reused. If they feel rough or loose, they need to be replaced. I have found worn bearings in these before.

mgonitzke said:

I would not just blindly reuse the mains. If they don't have play and turn smoothly, they can be reused. If they feel rough or loose, they need to be replaced. I have found worn bearings in these before.

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Agree. I wasn't trying to imply just blindly reuse them. I did say to spin them a few times. Rough or loose they obviously should be replaced.