Archive through October 07, 2011

[cearles]

I am missing the Throttle Linkage wire that goes from the Governor Arm to the Carb Throttle Lever on my CC86 K181. Will some one measure theres and let me know so I can make one.

Thanks In Advance,
Cletus

 

[wshytle]

I know it's Saturday and the forum slows a little but I'm still having a charging problem on the 1650. I changed the regulator and I'm still getting 14.22 to 14.30 volts at wot. This seems a little high from what I've heard. Shouldn't I be getting voltage in the mid 13s?

TIA

 

[gcoleman]

Wayne, I wouldnt worry too much about it unless wires are getting hot or electronics are being injured. Are you getting 14V going into the regulator or coming out of the regulator? There is such a thing as overcharging but I'd think two volts over wont be to damaging.

 

[dross]

Wayne, I always figured anything below 14.7 and above 13 was a good charging system.

 

[dtanner]

Wayne Shytle
I think that sounds about right. At wot you are using power to run the K at that rpm . so the engine is using 2.3 volts to run at wot. I have a few Cubs here that don`t charge the battery

, I have a long list of things to do this winter .

 

[jmills]

cletus mine measures 2 7/16 at the bends

 

[mfrade]

Wayne S., 13.8 to 14.2 is perfection.. I wouldn't change a thing!

 

[wshytle]

Thanks for all of the input guys. I think it was last week I mentioned this and someone mentioned it would/could "cook" my battery. I'll call it good and move on.

 

[dgallagher]

I have a 169 that I have had for about 4 years. I spent some money on things such as points, rag joint, PTO and Carb rebuild, trunion repair and it now runs great. Hooked up to a 44" deck, it is the best grass machine that I have. However, I can run it 10-12 hours and it doesn't use any oil. After that, for every couple of hours, the oil is down 1/4" or so on the dipstick. This keeps up until I change it at 25 hours or so. It is the original engine. Is this something that is fixable or just that the engine is wearing down and needs rebuilding? Thanks Thanks

 

[mpatterson]

Matt, Glen, Eddie, and others who have suggested things....

I did some searching around on the 982 today to attempt to figure out why it wouldn't start. I started by making sure my battery was fully charged and then tried to roll it over again. Same problems.

So I decided to start with the ground and work my way forward. Removed the battery and then ground cable from the tractor frame. It has some corrosion on the battery end, the tractor end it was clean, but I ran the emory clothe over it again to shine it up. Did the same to the tractor frame and the battery end of the cable. Did the same to the positive cable running from the battery to the solenoid and then from solenoid to the starter. Removed the solenoid from the fender pan where it is bolted next to the battery. It had nice original paint on it still, no rust or corrosion. Figured, better make sure the solenoid isn't supposed to bround out on the frame too, so I sanded off the original paint under the tabs of the solenoid to make it bare metal incase it was needed. Reinstalled it and snugged up the nuts on everyone of the posts. I tride to crank it again - nothing. Well, off came the sheet metal, grill, air filter, etc. Down to a hot rod Cub again.

Looked around at the wiring, felt for any bare spots in the casings, basically grasping at straws. Only thing I found was the small wire running from the points to the coil where it attaches to the end of the coil - it was loose in the small red eylet connector. Not a good thing, but still should not prevent the engine from rolling over. I could see it stop or hinder the firing of the engine, but that would be about it. So I removed the cover of the points and looked over the wire running to the coil. It had been taped up with electrical tape by PO. Not sure if it was spiced or what really went on. I had the correct electrical connectors for each end, so I just made a new wire while I was at it. Put some heat shrink tubing at each end over the connector. Figured I would make the effort to seal things up the best I could. Buttoned things back together at the coil and reinstalled the points cover. Did a bunch more head scratch'n.

Decided to walk away from it for a little. Got a Pepsi and wandered around the tractor for a little bit trying to figure out what else to look at. I took the plugs out to see if they were fouled at all. More so just to say that I had taken them out and seen what the ends looked like. Yep pretty normal. Even looked into the hole like an idiot - yep, still black in there! Pretty normal.

I said screw it, going to try this again. I took a rag and covered up the rab and blew all the dust and dirt off and around the engine away. More dust than anything. The crap that collects around these engines in crazy! I bolted the breather back on and washed out the foam pre-cleaner and thought lets see. Everything was fastened down and ready to try. Pulled out the choke and turned the key and it rolled over like normal about 8 times and caught and did its little puff of smoke/non burnt gas, pushed the choke back in and it ran like normal.

Let it idle for a couple minutes to see what it did...nothing, everything was normal? So I took it for a drive around the yard with no problems. Stopped in the driveway and stood and watched it for a few mintues. Wondering, waiting to see if it did anything stupid. Nope! Drove it back into the garage and idled it down, let it sit for a minute and then shut it off. Started it back up again right away, no problems. STRANGE! So while the engine was cooling down, I went ahead and removed the rear trainer hitch and installed my freshly painted sleeve hitch to get ready for plowing the garden. Ended up getting the sheet metal all put back on and the grill and hood. Just need to finish removing the stuff in the garden and then its ready to plow.
So what the heck was wrong with it? That little bit of corosion on the battery terminals and the loose wire on the coil? I can't see how that would have had that effect on it barley cranking over. If so, can you say VERY PICKY!!

I am baffled to be honest. I am not complaining, just don't understand it. I'd rather do the little bit that I did do than have to replace a bunch of stuff. I was ready to install new battery cables from one end to the other if needed.

 

[dtanner]

David Gallagher

that sounds like you have the float set a little to high and its flooding . The gas will mix in the oil and cause it to use oil because it is thin in that mixed state. I would also clean the breather , or at least have a look at it. My .02

 

[dtanner]

Mike Patterson
I would take the main power wire off that runs to the starter and check it with a meter. Many times I have see these wires go bad ,the wire will have a green look under the casing of the wire and look perfect to you. just by moving that wire it might work perfect ( allow the tractor to start). but the start issue will return . Its not a big $$ item and just might be your problem. I think Marlin and a few others have given you that hint also. No starts can be a pain to find

 

[jbaker]

Don good point for David G
My first thought was what kind of oil are you using David?

 

[mpatterson]

I did forget to mention that. I checked for resistance with the meter. Everything seemed to check out right? That is another thing that confused me. I am thinking I will just replace that wire this winter anyway. Like you say, not too costly and if anything agrivating if it doesn't start.

 

[dgallagher]

I am using 30WT Havoline which I have used for 30 years in my cubs. The breather is clean but I will check the float setting. Thanks.

 

[mhomrighausen]

Ryan M. Good find on the Original in Des Moines.

Angel got the pictures taken during Ryan's visit two Saturday's ago.

AND Ryan sent me a picture of his collection... So Far...

 

[gcoleman]

Mike, Id just make sure to keep the engine sheet metal and starter motor free of dust grass and other general crap that every engine collects under normal use, seems like dirt can cause real headaches for the KT17's and Onan engines. (Just going off what Ive read upon a quick archive search) And of course replacing wire that can be considered problematic never hurts too.

 

[lhinds]

Mike Patterson; I totally rebuilt my 169 and it started doing the same thing after 3 or 4 lawn mowings. I tried everything i knew to including changing cables and ended up taking the engine to the work bench. The points were on .020 so i static timed the engine and that fixed the problem.Iirc the points were on .016 after static timing. The engine had run so hot from runing out of time it had ruined the rings. So i rebuilt it again. It is by far the best mowing tractor i own.

 

[dfrisk]

DON T. & DAVID G. - re Your 169 using a bit of oil. Before I'd tear into the carb again, I'd give the dipstick the "SNIFF Test", see of the oil with a few hours run time smells like gasoline. If you don't get a strong gas smell the carb is probably O-K.

Havoline oil is good oil (I was a BIG Davy Allison fan after the Elliott Bros all split up) and 30W is the right oil to run. Going back about 40 yrs ago I read an article either in Cycle Magazine or Hot Rod mag about just that problem. Either Gordon Jennings or a feature editor named Baker who did a Q&A colume about such things, (He had a really AWESOME '69 Big Block Chevelle that was featured in most of his how-to articles) ANYHOW, having sited my sources, mineral oil starts out with LONG CHAIN Hydrocarbons when it's first put into an engine. This allows them to not seep past the tight gaps between the piston rings & cylinder wall as easily. But as the oil gets "Ground Up" in the running engine these long chain hydrocarbons get broken up and get smaller and more easily pass between the small clearances between the rings & bore. When you stop and think about the tight fits, the high temps, and high speeds everything inside a K341 Kohler when it's running 3000-3600 RPM it's amazing they don't burn more oil than they do.

SO David, to answer your question, if your engine has never been rebuilt, YES, it may be just the larger clearances between all the moving parts that's letting it burn a bit of oil. As Smokey Yunick once said, "there's only a few grams of metal difference between an engine in PERFECT shape and one that's totally worn out. If you had a magnetic drain plug on your Kohler you'd see a little bit of powdered metal on the magnet every oil change.

My best suggestion, as long as your K341 still runs good, doesn't smoke much, check the oil & top it off every time you run the 169, keep changing the oil every 25 operating hours and RUN IT.

when it had 30,000-40,000 miles before a long trip but normally I let it stay there.

 

[dgallagher]

Dennis F. Thanks for the great explanation on the oil burning in my 169. I will keep the rebuild in the back of my mind for a winter project in a few years. Thanks again