Engine hours ?

[cubs4lifeofme]

What hours you all got on you Koehler engines ? and problems ?

 

[cubs4lifeofme]

I found a 1811 but it's weathered with 1200 miles on it is why I'm wondering.

 

[cubs4lifeofme]

Hours not miles. Lmao

 

[dkirk]

Highest recorded time on a K-series Kohler that I know of was a K301 used in a golf cart...went a tad over 5000 (five thousand!) hours. Tractor service is a bit more severe, but I would think with good maintenance at regular intervals, 3000 hours should be attainable. The high rate wear rate components are the piston rings and this is made apparent by increased oil consumption on high time engines. Oil changes and keeping cooling system clean and free of debris are key maintenance requirements. Keep engine speed up when working the engine hard, such as mowing or blowing, as this provides the cooling air flow necessary for keeping temperatures in the green. A;ways check oil level before a job and keep topped off. Do these simple things and engine should last the life of the tractor...which for an IH Cub Cadet is apparently forever!

 

[dfrisk]

Dave K. Always good info in any post you make. The K-241 I rebuilt back about 1985 was an "El Cheapo" rebuild, Not a Killer Kohler. Reused the original piston, machine shop knurled it and told me how to fit it in the bore, new rings, new rod, think -.010", gaskets & seals. Little work with a Dremel on the ports, thin skin cut on the block deck and planed the head. That engine spent it's fair share of hours at wide open throttle, blowing snow, mowing way too tall of grass, was my plow day tractor of first choice, pulled my home-made lawn vacuum around my 2+ acre lot for 3-4 years, all up weight for tractor, vacuum unit, cart full of leaves & clippings well over 2000#, and around 1300-1400# empty. It still pulled good, never blew a head gasket, retorqued it a couple times, and decarboned the engine with the water spray process into the carb with the engine running 2000-2500 rpm. As the hours racked up a hard carbon layer built up on the valve stem of exh valve, running wide open full load increased exh valve temp and caused valve to stick, idle engine down and relieve the load and the valve freed up, but as the hours accumulated it got worse. At a hard pull, good combustion pressure, good ring seal it burned very little oil, but it was my yard spraying tractor, ran 1st gear 1800 rpm with a 15 gallon sprayer in the cart, or spot spraying around trees, bushes. Less sealing pressure on the rings, oil consumption was higher, after 3-4 hours oil level dropped 1/4".
That engine got rebuilt about 6 yrs ago, OEM parts were crazy high priced, I used Stens parts except the conn rod. It probably doesn't have 100 hours on that rebuild, 50 hours might be a better guess. The Tiny Tach only worked a month or two. I'm not a huge fan of the K161/181 engines, they struggle at everything they do, and their service life suffers. The 70 aka 100 the K241 is in went thru an engine rebuild or replacement every 3 years the first decade of it's life mowing two farm yards.
Dad was not thrilled when he saw the K161 in our '63 Cub Cadet original, he remembered all the problems with them on generator duty from his time in the Army in the 1940's, but they were/are the Cadillac of small air cooled engines.

 

[tritter]

I wish I kept track of how many times the hourmeter in my 1450 has gone around. I’m thinking it’s on it’s 3rd cycle. Bought the machine from wife’s uncle in 2004, gave him $400. it had sat for years. Gas tank was bone dry. It started right up. I mow about an acre, no snow duty here in Seattle. It was a demo tractor at his IH dealer in the ‘70’s. When he sold the business the 1450 was the only machine he kept, and a Scout. He passed away around 2006