JPrattico
Well-known member
In October 2020 I brought home a '61 Original with a rusty deck and big wide ag tires for $500. I have realized that this machine was a lot more of a project than what the seller claimed. They were a father and son with quite a lot of Cubs and Cub parts laying around, seemed trustworthy enough, but there is no way they put the work into this that they claimed they did. When I bought the unit it was running and driving but the governor was not working right and the engine would overspeed. It was assumed by both me and the seller that it "just needed some adjustment". About 9 months later, and some careful use of the tractor to make sure that I did not overspeed the engine, I finally found time to try and make those "adjustments" to the governor late August 2021. No matter what I did I could not get a functional governor. At that point I pulled the assembly apart, and that was when I quickly discovered that it did not need some adjustment, the entire governor gear was MIA. so, out came the k161. Drained the oil, and over to the workbench for disassembly.
This is where things got kinda weird. I have listened to and read countless stories of governor failure on Kohler K series engines, in every story the governor fails by flying apart into a bunch of small pieces. However this is not what I found, there was almost no debris in the oil pan. Instead, the governor was mostly intact, wedged up above the camshaft just right that the cam gear didn't hit it and you couldn't see it if you removed the governor arm assembly. This of course led to complete disassembly of the engine to remove it. Along the way I discovered that the connecting rod was pretty badly scored and would need replacing, its probable that the overspeeding may have contributed to this. But upon pulling the governor out, it only became more confusing.
I have not changed anything with this governor. This is exactly how it came out of the engine. I do not have any idea how that weight managed to come out of where it's supposed to be. Besides that, the pins holding the weights have been pushed outward by impact on the opposite side. The gear teeth have been eaten away at by the retaining screw. There is a large gash on one side from striking something (this is what pushed those weight retaining pins outward). underneath the weight that is no longer where it should be is a deep gash in the gear teeth that seems to be where the retaining screw went through the gear when it came loose. The side of that weight even has a decent gash in it. Both weights have dents and dings at the edges, and the center hole where the gear rides on the governor shaft is wallowed out. I have been trying to figure out what happened first, but I am pretty well stumped. Did the gear rub against the retaining screw and cause the failure? Or did that weight manage to come loose and strike something, then causing the gear to hit the retaining screw and cause the failure?
Now I've been looking around for a replacement governor. Nowhere on the internet can I seem to find a governor that specifically says it will fit the k161. However besides the damage the governor I removed seems to match the governor in my k301 that I swapped into my 107. I guess I'm looking for good confirmation on whether or not I can simply use a governor from a larger K series since they seem to be the same. I need to know what I'm looking for. I also need a look at the retaining screw, because the screw I pulled out really doesn't look like a factory piece, but I don't know for sure.
I purchased this governor off Fleabay just to see, and it arrived a couple days ago. The color is not age or use, but rather the color of the material it is molded from. It appears to be heavier, and a higher quality material than the governor I pulled from the engine. The only difference between the 2 seems to be the center tower, which appears to be a little better made on this governor. The center pin protrudes further but the tower is slightly shorter, so the 2 are still the same height. Everything else appears to be identical. Radius, # of teeth, etc. Will this work? Or do I need to find another? I only paid ~$12 for it, and if it won't work in the k161 I can probably stick it in the k241 when I rebuild it for the 107. So, thoughts?
This is where things got kinda weird. I have listened to and read countless stories of governor failure on Kohler K series engines, in every story the governor fails by flying apart into a bunch of small pieces. However this is not what I found, there was almost no debris in the oil pan. Instead, the governor was mostly intact, wedged up above the camshaft just right that the cam gear didn't hit it and you couldn't see it if you removed the governor arm assembly. This of course led to complete disassembly of the engine to remove it. Along the way I discovered that the connecting rod was pretty badly scored and would need replacing, its probable that the overspeeding may have contributed to this. But upon pulling the governor out, it only became more confusing.
I have not changed anything with this governor. This is exactly how it came out of the engine. I do not have any idea how that weight managed to come out of where it's supposed to be. Besides that, the pins holding the weights have been pushed outward by impact on the opposite side. The gear teeth have been eaten away at by the retaining screw. There is a large gash on one side from striking something (this is what pushed those weight retaining pins outward). underneath the weight that is no longer where it should be is a deep gash in the gear teeth that seems to be where the retaining screw went through the gear when it came loose. The side of that weight even has a decent gash in it. Both weights have dents and dings at the edges, and the center hole where the gear rides on the governor shaft is wallowed out. I have been trying to figure out what happened first, but I am pretty well stumped. Did the gear rub against the retaining screw and cause the failure? Or did that weight manage to come loose and strike something, then causing the gear to hit the retaining screw and cause the failure?
Now I've been looking around for a replacement governor. Nowhere on the internet can I seem to find a governor that specifically says it will fit the k161. However besides the damage the governor I removed seems to match the governor in my k301 that I swapped into my 107. I guess I'm looking for good confirmation on whether or not I can simply use a governor from a larger K series since they seem to be the same. I need to know what I'm looking for. I also need a look at the retaining screw, because the screw I pulled out really doesn't look like a factory piece, but I don't know for sure.
I purchased this governor off Fleabay just to see, and it arrived a couple days ago. The color is not age or use, but rather the color of the material it is molded from. It appears to be heavier, and a higher quality material than the governor I pulled from the engine. The only difference between the 2 seems to be the center tower, which appears to be a little better made on this governor. The center pin protrudes further but the tower is slightly shorter, so the 2 are still the same height. Everything else appears to be identical. Radius, # of teeth, etc. Will this work? Or do I need to find another? I only paid ~$12 for it, and if it won't work in the k161 I can probably stick it in the k241 when I rebuild it for the 107. So, thoughts?
