Archive through December 11, 2010

[adonohue]

i have a k301 on my off topic. how much performance difference is there between a 12hp and a 14hp engine, if both were in good running non worn out condition? my off topic came with a k241 10 hp and i installed a k301 and a noticed i pretty big difference between these 2 engines, the k301 had more lugging ability. of course i was comparing a worn out k241 to a nearly new k301 replacement shortblock. not really a fair comparison. while i love my k301 i still desire more power at times. really heavy wet snow and really tall grass. i would love to have an engine on one of my tractors not never seems to run out of power. the k301 has enough power where it takes the load fairly well, but when the load gets really heavy the rpms will drop. it have enough power where i have never been able to overload it to the point of stalling, the belts will slip before it will stall.

is that extra 2 hp worth the difference, or would i not notice much. i would always like more hp/torque, who doesn't?

my friend at the mower shop told me that he has turn quite a few 12's into 14's by having them bored out, but they might have had the "301" stamped on the side of the block.

if all the blocks that are stamped on the side are the same, i could "go large", have it bored out to and install a 16hp piston. the 16hp was the largest kohler single, unless you count the k361 18hp. that thing was a beast


overhead valve, 18hp, cast iron. must have been quite powerful.

if i had it my way, i would own a super cub or a jd 430, something with some real power. but those machines are well out of my budget.

im always looking for more power, kinda like tim allen. i have a 89 camaro pulled the 305 and stuck a 350 in its place. how about a vangard twin? has that ever been done on the old cubs?

 

[ccarney]

Art - still gotta blade? Maybe that would scrape it off. Hopefully the thrower will dig into it.

My drive is clear after 3 hours, 3 gallons of gas, 2 pair of wet clothes, and one warm 782!

Kraig - impressive drift! Since I live in a bowl-yard, I think more than 18" has drifted down in the drive.

 

[adonohue]

the block does indeed have k301 stamped on the pto side of the block. how do they bore it out larger without running into the threaded holes for the cylinder head? the holes look to be awfully close to the bore. the block i got was off an IH cub and since its a 12 it would have been off of a 12x tractor.

is 100 bucks a fair deal on a useable block, good crank, and a good camshaft? crankshaft is in good condition. keyway, crankpin and flywheel side are all in good condition. this engine came out of running tractor that was getting tired(it smoked when pulled out).

i have worked on more than a few k series engines, so tearing it apart was easy. i think i had the whole engine apart in 1 hour. most of the time was spend messing around with the flywheel which can be a pain in the behind to get off. i always use a harmonic balance puller, probably the best way (i think.

 

[mgonitzke]

Andrew

You cannot put a K341 piston in anything smaller...the K341 block is different. One more head bolt, among other things. A fresh K301 probably has more torque than a Vanguard V-twin...today's engines don't have any torque.

Take a look at Kraig's 8:24 pm post...you can do a few of those things to a K301 and make more than 14 hp without having to go to the 14 hp piston, leaving more room for future rebuilds. The cheater cam alone will probably do it...

 

[adonohue]

i really would have though the vangard v twin would have had more power than a k series engine. all i have ever heard about vangard are good things, supposedly one of the best engines briggs has ever made. k series are still excellent engines, but they are a very much aged design. i would have thought that with today's technology they could produce more powerful engines and that get better fuel efficiency . only problem i see with all that epa CARB crap, that the emissions laws would kill the performance on any modern engine. i know that allot of lawn tractors rated at 20+ hp really dont have 20 hp. i also thought that a vangard was a premium engine, and not that junk like the courage or lower intek models.

i guess they dont make them like they used to and if you want real power you have to spend big bucks and buy an onan powered tractor. if you think single cylinder kohlers are expensive to repair, lol. price an onan for parts.

i am kind of surprised that the epa hasnt tried to force the k series out of existence. 20 some years after kohler discontinued the line many are still in use and still many are getting fresh rebuilds. i guess that says something about quality.

dont get me wrong, i love the k series and think they are among the best small engines ever produced. i always just wanted a little more power. i kind of like the way twins sound, thats why i said vangard v twin. i guess the onans would be allot better than vangards.

you would think that with all the marketing hype with overhead valve that they would in fact deliver better performance then the older flatheads. so do they at least deliver on better fuel economy?



as far as future rebuilds cant you have these blocks sleeved? does it really matter with all of the useable blocks still around. they are constantly on ebay. of course i guess thats not an excuse to ruin one for future rebuilding.

if you bored it out to k321 specs, couldnt you still go to k321 .010, .020, and .030 specs. you can bore out a k321 when you rebuild them.

 

[canton]

Thanks Steve, I have it tached to 3600rpm at WOT so I'm good there. Where does one get one of these overdrive pulleys?

Love how I spelled "Chute" by the way...sheesh!
I was out doing snow removal for 2 hours today at 15 degress. Bit of a brain freeze I guess.

 

[bhjohnson]

I had good intentions for pushing a little snow today.

But the "little" seemed to be too much.

So I opted for the other color and enjoyed the cab.

 

[adonohue]

nice 318 brian. what kind of blower is that? i know its not a 49 or a 47. i can see its a 2 stage but doesnt appear to be a 47. 318's are nice tractors. i had a blade on my 112 last winter and its great for the lighter snowfalls but these garden tractors have there limits and will only push so much. i see these dual wheel kits on ebay, i wonder if they make a difference. duelies on a garden tractor, seems kinda cool for winter use anyways. i think it would look stupid for mowing the lawn. i have wheel weights and a weight box on my 112 along with a 37a blower, it will go through ALMOST anything. oh, yeah and the k301 runs excellent. it will be nice when i get the cub running. i might eventually look for a blade or blower for that machine as well.

i dont mean to talk about off topic tractors to much, but i found your post interesting. so tell me what kind of blower is that and how hard was it to make it work?

 

[jupton]

Kraig : I to think the right load baring fork needs to be moved down.. to I,m working in a welding shop while doing this Restoration project on my 147 i,ll cut this off & re-weld it back in line the other...
wanted some other in up from you guys... Thanks Jeff u

 

[bhjohnson]

Andrew, The blower was made by a company called Uni-Tatch. I believe they may have sold out to John Deere in the early to mid 90's since the design is very similar to the JD 47 blower. I still love pushing snow with the 149, but todays wind was too much.