Govener gear?

Seven · Apr 22, 2020

I'm wondering why Kohler used a nylon or plastic govener gear it looks ok from what I can see . But I'm into the lower end and wondering if it should be replaced or leave it alone?

mgonitzke · Apr 22, 2020

The plastic gear is cheaper to make than a metal gear, and still provides a fairly reasonable service life. That said, if you have the engine all apart (the governor is the last thing out and the first thing back in) and it has taken on a yellow/orange/brown/burnt color, I would replace it. Then it is set to go for a few more decades.

Seven · Apr 22, 2020

Can you replace it with out having to remove the crankshaft?

dkirk · Apr 23, 2020

Kohler switched from metal governor gears to plastic early in the K-series production mainly due to cost reasons. The first plastic gears were Nylon with the weights attached using pressed-in roll pins - this is the gear on the left in the picture. Over time, these have a tendency to crack where the roll pins are pressed in. The crack leads to loosening of the roll pin, it backs out, and destruction then ensues. These older governor assemblies should be replaced with the newer style as shown on the right. These were molded of glass-filled thermoplastic and the weights are attached by pins with peened over ends - thus pins cannot creep out. The thermoplastic is a much better material than the Nylon - more stable in a hot environment and doesn't become brittle with age. I would recommend upgrading to this newer design while you have the engine apart.

Crankshaft has to be removed to get access to the governor gear.

mgonitzke · Apr 23, 2020

David, any idea when the changeover to the current design happened? I'm curious, as the later Magnums and Commands use similar governor gears.

dkirk · Apr 27, 2020

Matt - I looked through some of the old Kohler service bulletins I have and can't find anything on when these newer governor assemblies were introduced. But if I remember correctly, it was sometime during the '80's.