Archive through September 30, 2012

[jbaker]

Whats your opinion?

I have a 301 that has a bad govener that has a head gasket with only the 30 minute heat up cool down and torque on it, Think it will be ok to take out and reinstall in my current 301 that is in need of a gasket?

 

[jchamberlin]

Mike Patterson: I agree with everything Harry wrote up below, but would add that a balanced assembly is important. If you've ever seen the calculus equations describing the reciprocating mass in an internal combustion engine, you would understand it IS rocket science. (My teacher, a woman, skipped over the example I would have liked to have spent two weeks on to focus on financial statistics instead.)

There has been an extensive discussion on engine vibration recently (search on Brian Wittman

); apparently the engine's balance (and hence vibration) is affected by the speed at which it is turning, i.e., its RPM. Many users report more vibration at medium RPM than at low or high RPM. I'm not sure of all the science behind it, but I do know that the tolerances allowed in a typical manufacturing environment can be improved upon. Dave Kirk, of Kirk Engines, the creator of the "Killer Kohler" (see the link on the "Better than New section) will take your crank and add balance weights to it that are permanently attached, or at least are in little danger of destroying themselves or your engine. But again, most of us don't need them. The balance becomes a concern with the greater reciprocating mass of the 12 HP, 14 HP, and 16 HP motors, and even then, as Harry mentioned, the factory simply did away with them. So unless you're building a puller, trying to get the last HP you can out of your engine, or have a vibration problem that can't be solved in any other way, balance gears, or a balanced crankshaft aren't really necessary; and the balance gears especially are undesirable.

Again, not your worry, because your engine doesn't have them.

 

[sleggett]

I would like to add lights to my 1000 but I'm not sure of the wiring route from front to rear. I did a search and found some good pics of the rear end from April 10 and 11. I have acquired head lights and tail lights, also a wiring diagram. My question is where does the wiring go from the head lights to switch to rear? I assume it goes along the right frame with the other wires to the switch and back along the frame to the rear. Any pics would help.

 

[drglinski]

As far as the balance gears are concerned, my IH mechanic of 40 years told me that he puts the balance gears back in, otherwise the engine bounces around a lot, and he's never seen them fail and go through the engine block.

 

[digger]

Daniel G.
Tell your IH mechanic of 40 years to take his brain out of the 70's and learn something from these guys that KNOW MORE than he does!!!!!

 

[wshytle]

Jeff-

I think that head gasket will be fine. You may want to torque the head an extra time through a heat and cool down to make sure the head bolts are doing their job.

I don't know why Dennis didn't put his two cents worth in on the cross hatching. I was looking forward to seeing what he had to say.

Maybe next time.

 

[rmcshane]

Charlie- Well said

Kraig, could you post that picture of the engine you had that had a window in the block? That way we could give Daniel G. a look at why his IH mechanic is wrong??

 

[dfrisk]

WAYNE - I think somebody ran a ball hone or brake hone through that cylinder and roughed it up a little and maybe put new rings in it some time back. And the hone had a bit of iron embedded on the ball or stone. It's definitely NOT a scratch from a broken piston ring. Rings do revolve around the piston in a running engine, except in 2-stroke engines where they're pinned so the can't. But they revolve really slowly, about one revolution for every 1000 engine revolutions, so they only revolve about 1/3 of a degree, or twenty minutes of angle per each revolution, so... pretty much straight up & down.

If Jeff isn't replacing the rings and he can't feel the scratch with his finger nail, I'd install the new head gasket and run it some more.

The cylinder wall seems pretty smooth and shiny, I would not put in new rings without roughing it up some, they'd never break-in.

Looking at Jeff's pic's, I sure wish Kohler had put TEN head bolts/studs on the K241/301/321 like they did in the 341. Back when we were still running the original K161 in the #70 back in the late 1960's I came REAL close to drilling & tapping an extra head bolt hole thru the head & block on that K161. The gasket kept blowing always in the same place. Dad didn;t have anything flat enough to dress the head down flat.... and machine shops cost lots of money, and I think a K161 head gasket was two Bucks and change! With the top of the block, both sides of the gasket and underside of the head painted with aluminum spray paint the gaskets would last a month or so, 3-4 mowings of both farm yards.

 

[kmcconaughey]

 

[tbradshaw]

Thanks for the help guys. As far as the pictures of the original, if someone has a closeup of the throttle linkage hooked into the disc on the governor mechanism and the choke cable with the oil bath air cleaner with its brackets etc. Thanks again.

Tom