106 swamp resurrection. Of sorts

[Adam Olczak]

I'd assume this thread will likely be familiar to anyone whose ever dug into a unit that's been sitting for at least a decade. FYI

Day 3 of being a Cub owner.

Put 4 tires on the donor(possibly) 104 unit so I could move it around some after washing it.
Got it set up on the hoist and dug in a little last night.

-Removed the fuel tank
-Removed the carb
-Removed the S/G

Whatever gasoline that was in the system is basically caramel. Brown and nearly solid. My intention is to rebuild as many of the original parts I can without compromising reliability. Both butterflies in the carb are seized tight, and it took a lot of work to even get the needle valve out. Carb is soaking until I get home from work.
The intake port had some rusty "fuel" buildup in it that I was able to scrape and blow out with the air gun and some penetrant. Forgot to snap a pic before-hand.
The intake valve appears to open and close fine, but it's rusty enough that I'm contemplating pulling the head and cleaning the assembly for peace of mind/inspection opportunity.

Fuel tank appears solid as far as I can tell. Going to try to remove the prehistoric muck with the steam washer later today.
After it was dug out of the woods, I found the S/G stuck until I put some force on it by hand. With that in mind I just took the thing off and tore it down once I got the tractor into the shop. The bearing on the pulley end is pretty horrible.
Checking out the points when I get home.
Rebuild kits for the S/G and Carb are on the list for now.

 

[dschwandt]

I'd pitch that shut-off valve and bowl.
Get a new one, not worth the time to mess with the old one for sure.

 

[gary noblit]

Adam, I,m jealous...Just can't imagine having all that free space to move around in and a hoist too !!!!

 

[Adam Olczak]

Adam, I,m jealous...Just can't imagine having all that free space to move around in and a hoist too !!!!

I'm perpetually thankful for my half insulated pole barn. The '76 Rotary hoist was a lucky find and is useful for too many things to list.

 

[Adam Olczak]

Day 4 of Cub ownership
Got the fuel tank cleaned out nicely with the steam washer. I filled it about halfway with carb cleaner in the hopes that it will reach the spots I couldn't.

Got home with the compression tester for peace of mind and noticed that I couldn't roll the engine more than 3 revolutions either direction, and the oil dipstick was whistling as I was rotating the engine by hand.

After I got the head off, I found the exhaust valve stuck open, so I changed plans and just removed the engine.
I couldn't get a decent pic of the cylinder walls but there is only some very minor scoring. I'm guessing it's a stuck ring but I want to dig through the manuals before I continue the tear down.

 

[RAllison]

 

[jkoenig]

I am jealous of so many things Adam! What a great shop, plus a fun project. Seeing your block sitting there reminds me of working on mine. That is such a good engine. Now I have a KT17 twin. Twice the weight, twice the fun, and somehow seems to be three times the $.

 

[dschwandt]

Your compression check will be fruitless as there is a compression release built into the cam action.
Check the Kohler K aeries engine manual for more info on your specific engine.

 

[Adam Olczak]

Your compression check will be fruitless as there is a compression release built into the cam action.
Check the Kohler K aeries engine manual for more info on your specific engine.

Though I can probably borrow a paper version, the page for the service manuals on this site present like this. To me at least.

Regardless, until I have some form of manual, am I wrong in assuming that the compression release wouldn't vent compression gases into the crankcase? The dipstick was whistling as I was turning the engine over by hand.

 

[gary noblit]

Adam, you said ex. valve stuck open.The compression relief lifts the ex. valve a few thousands on the compression stroke so you can't possibly get a compression reading.You are going to have to remove valves to make sure guides and stems are not scarred.You will mostly certainly have to at least clean valve seats if not regrind....use lots of P.B. to break up scale on stem....Your getting close to a complete rebuild but you might get lucky..take your time...no fear they're just parts.....that whistling is just the e ngine being friendly

 

[dschwandt]

The CR interrupts the compression cycle a bit to relieve some of it in order to relieve the load some on the starter to avoid "kick back"

Shoot me a PM w/your e-mail address and I can PDF you a copy of it.
I usually have it up on my lap-top when reassembling an engine to refer to it when needed.

Damn shame these fine machines are left out in the elements.
You are likely to have all sorts of electrical issues as well from rusted/corroded terminals, bad grounds and inoperative switches etc. so be prepared.

Me, I'd just order up a new harness and be done with it.

 

[Adam Olczak]

The CR interrupts the compression cycle a bit to relieve some of it in order to relieve the load some on the starter to avoid "kick back"

Shoot me a PM w/your e-mail address and I can PDF you a copy of it.
I usually have it up on my lap-top when reassembling an engine to refer to it when needed.

Damn shame these fine machines are left out in the elements.
You are likely to have all sorts of electrical issues as well from rusted/corroded terminals, bad grounds and inoperative switches etc. so be prepared.

Me, I'd just order up a new harness and be done with it.

PM sent.
For the money, I was planning on a new harness anyways. The parts list is ever-growing.

Thank you for the quick send sir!

 

[Adam Olczak]

Adam, you said ex. valve stuck open.The compression relief lifts the ex. valve a few thousands on the compression stroke so you can't possibly get a compression reading.You are going to have to remove valves to make sure guides and stems are not scarred.You will mostly certainly have to at least clean valve seats if not regrind....use lots of P.B. to break up scale on stem....Your getting close to a complete rebuild but you might get lucky..take your time...no fear they're just parts.....that whistling is just the e ngine being friendly

Well David just sent the manual and it is currently printing. I might decide to rebuild this one depending on what I find.
In the mean time, a few Garden tractor guys local to me are offering up alleged good engines to use so Ill probably do that first just to have at least one working tractor for pulling things around the property. Including my two other dead Garden tractors
The only other thing I have is way too heavy to be driving around on the grass. Especially with the ridiculous rain we've been getting lately.

 

[Adam Olczak]

I am jealous of so many things Adam! What a great shop, plus a fun project. Seeing your block sitting there reminds me of working on mine. That is such a good engine. Now I have a KT17 twin. Twice the weight, twice the fun, and somehow seems to be three times the $.

I was very lucky to of found the place 3 years ago. It's nearly everything I wanted in a shop, and property.

With a wedding approaching, I had to pump the brakes on my more expensive hobbies. This Cub one is cheap enough, and small enough that I can get away with it without getting in trouble with the other half

 

[rjruchti]

Personally, I am not a Kohler fan, especially of that KT17. More of them that ventilated the block than there is running in working tractors, mine included. I would not wast a $1 on that engine. Find another engine to put in there.

 

[mgwin]

Roger,
Jim K. has the KT17 in one of his running tractors, not Adam. Adam has a K-241.

 

[JPrattico]

Looks like a fun project!

I've done 2 similar revivals so far. My 107 which sat for about 30 years, and my 147 which sat for about 15. I think its fun!

 

[Adam Olczak]

Managed to free-up and remove the k241's exhaust valve on Monday with a spring compressor after soaking it with Kroil for nearly a week.

Yet again I forgot to snap a pic of the huge garbage heap that was built up in the exhaust port before scraping it out.
The guides, valves, and cylinder are all in pretty good shape so I'm just going to clean everything up and wait for the mail man to drop the needed replacement gaskets/parts off.

Starting work on the 106 chassis tonight.

 

[dschwandt]

Take the block to the machine shop and have it properly cleaned and inspected once you get it apart.
Cracks may become evident once it's cleaned up.

 

[rrschmitt]

The long time machinist at the shop where I take my Kohler blocks for overhauls always installs a new exhaust valve guide and tells me to replace the exhaust valve with a new one. He says old exhaust valves will not maintain the proper clearance gap due to loss of temper in the steel. Also eliminates the possibility of the valve sticking open when in use.