Archive through May 13, 2009

[kmcconaughey]

Aaron, great job on that tool box and the extreme hitches!

Brendan, the tool box looks great all painted up, perhaps too good for your Cub, you gonna paint the rest of the Cub now?

 

[dplogman]

Luther- thats a good suggestion. Someone gave me a bit of advice long ago that the CC book should use: remove the filler plug first, then the drain plug. If you remove the drain first and cant get the filler loose, you've got no way to fill it! D

 

[rpalmer]

I took the 301 out this morning. Pulled the head looked it over,pretty bad. Called a machine shop to get an idea what I was looking at cost wise. Went back to start disassembly and found that I never thought to align the pto screws with the slots for removal. I looked in Kservice manual and it assumes the pto is not on the engine. So how do I get the pto to align with the engine out of the tractor? Thanks.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Richard, if you use a 3 jaw puller you should be able to depress the center button with it in order to rotate the PTO pulley to align the set screws with the access holes. BTDT

 

[kide]

Kraig:
I second that (yup, BTDT, too)

 

[jpallen]

All right. Newbie question.

What's BTDT?

Bang The Damn Thing?

Is there an acronym cheat list around here???

 

[sashiery]

Been There Done That. Got the tee shirt.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Been There Done That

 

[kmcconaughey]

ACRONYMS

 

[mgonitzke]

Richard P.-

Put your fingers behind the clutch, put both thumbs on the center button, and push in on the center button, rotating the clutch at the same time. That spring isn't strong enough to require a puller to compress it.

 

[dgallagher]

I am in the middle of fixing a clutch on a 128. Didn't someone invent a tool to remove the @X$# roll pin in the drive shaft? Please let me know. Thanks

 

[rpalmer]

Thanks Kraig and Matt. Matt I'm a lot older that you and my thumbs ain't what they should be. But I'll try. The head gasket was blown pretty bad might have a warped head. Here's a couple of photo's. Balancing gear was as loose as a goose. It's out now! I have seen a few heads in my time but never have I ever seen a carbon build up like this. After I get the pto off it's off to the machine shop. This is gonna be a for sale one million dollars CC.

- Peace -

 

[kmcconaughey]

Richard, depending on the condition of the PTO you may be able to do as Matt suggested. With the worn out PTO I had on one Cub I was able to do that. On a recently rebuilt PTO I ended up using the 3 jaw puller to turn it. The 3 jaw puller made it easy to do. YMMV.

Jeff, YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary...

 

[kmcconaughey]

David, KENtucky Ken did indeed invent and sell a few pin tools. However he is no longer making them. I have the Hydro Version that I finally got a chance to use last summer. The gear drive is sized differently I believe he may have made a few universal models. I think Charlie has one of those and might even have a complete set.

 

[rpalmer]

I'm gonna use the 3 jaws. My thumb joints don't let me to too much. I think I tried pushing on the springs with my thumbs and then my palm. That's when I made the post.

 

[dfrisk]

Richard - warped heads are pretty common on Kohler's. The K241 I rebuilt in 1985 was warped as bad as ANY I've seen and still tried to run. I had the machine shop that did some work on that engine plane the head, they took almost 1/8 of an inch off to get it flat again.
Whats all that "Stuff" on the exhaust valve guide? Looks like burnt oil residue? If so, looks like Your exh. valve was running AWEFULLY hot.
Just a suggestion, but even if Your rod journal on the crankshaft is still round and not tapered, I'd install a new connecting rod and for sure install a new exhaust valve. If the bore is still round and not tapered I'd just have the machine shop lightly hone the bore to establish a new cross hatch pattern on the cylinder walls, install new piston rings and go. But if the walls are worn out of round or tapered it'll have to be boored .010" O/S. New piston, rings, & wristpin/keepers was just over $100 4-5 yrs ago for a K321 I rebuilt, OEM Kohler parts.
On that K241 I built back in '85 the shop knurled the thrust faces of the piston. I didn't have to bore the block and install oversize piston/rings. The engine still ran 1400 hours on that rebuild and the bore still looks good. But it's getting bored O/S this next time.

 

[rpalmer]

Dennis, I guess I should first say that the piston in it is .020 over. Just from looking and trying to use the inside measure on my calipers. I think my cylinder went egg shape. I ~looks~ like it's about .050 over standard bore. I hope I'm wrong on that. But if it won't clean up at .030 over I'm going to sleeve it back to standard. That build up is *solid* carbon. It's really amazing that it even ran. The valves look thin and their seats aren't very wide either. I hope they aren't recessed. Considering the above I haven't much hope that the guilds will be in any better shape. The prices on this stuff is not cheep. It's raining here and if you look at the back ground of one of those pictures you'll see my green work bench that I mow. I'm trying to decide if I should let the shop set my bearing plate. It doesn't seem hard but I've read about guys not getting it right so I don't know. Ya know it's a wide frame and when I was putting the wiring harness in I thought this would be a good time to adjust the steering but I didn't. Now I have the engine out and the thought is there again. I guess I'll never be easier to do than now.

 

[dfrisk]

RICHARD - If You mean setting crankshaft end play by "Setting the bearing plate", That's real easy to do with just feeler gauges. Kohler spec's are .003" to .020" end play. REAL wide range. The complete gasket kit has several each of several different thickness of gaskets. Put one of every size and a couple of each thinner one on DRY and install the bearing plate. Tap the crank back & forth and measure clearance inside the crankcase with a feeler gauge when the bearing plate is drawn up tight and torqued to spec. Subtract gasket shims till You get to around .005" endplay. Coat gaskets with a Very Light coat of Your favorite gasket dressing and reassemble. Torque the four capscrews in a criss-cross pattern in steps making sure the cover draws up evenly. I always end up with around .010" end play. Also I don't use RTV when assembling engines. I've had good luck with Permatex Aviation Form-a-Gasket #2, and used Permatex HYLOMAR on My last engine. But Hylomar is getting real hard to find anymore.
It's tough to measure an engine bore with a calipers. Dial bore gauge is the best way, quick & really accurate, snap gauge and a mic is the next best way.
The valve guides are replacable, but I've never replaced them in any of My rebuilds. If Your valves are recessed, there's a pretty good chance You have valve seat inserts that can also be replaced, if not, Your machine shop could machine the block for them and install them. My K321 had intake & exh. seat inserts both, and the K241 only had exh. insert.
If You sleeve the bore back to OEM 3.250" You should be good to go for many years. Kohler K-Series are actually a very simple & reliable engine and easy to work on. When I pulled My K321 and K241 apart Son & I used an impact wrench and THREE different sized sockets and a rubber mallet. Took about fifteen minutes because I kept getting in the way cleaning things! Reassembly takes a bit longer, We swap the impact for a 3/8" ratchet or torque wrench.

 

[rpalmer]

Dennis, Well I see I'll go ahead and set the bearing plate. Yes she came apart just like you said except I used a plastic mallet to set up some vibration removing the fly wheel. It'll take longer to clean the parts.

I'd like to thank every one for their valuable input.

 

[bbrigham]

Kraig...It doeslook to good, so does the engine tin

I am going to give it a rattle can job...eventually..it has to work it's way up my list first