Tgtack 779 #1 Posted May 22, 2017 (edited) On the top of my Kohler 12 hp engine, there is a bracket for the generator that appears to be held down by two head bolts. Can I safely remove those two bolts to remove the bracket and the tin on top of the engine to repaint them? Or will this mess up the head gasket? Edited May 22, 2017 by Tgtack 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,197 #2 Posted May 22, 2017 Absolutely, just re-torque afterwards. The 8hp Kohlers have threaded blanks in those 2 spots with nuts so you can do that with out torquing. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 38,569 #3 Posted May 22, 2017 If it were me, I would remove the entire head. For an extra 20 bucks you get a new gasket and you can clean all of the carbunkles out of the head chamber and get a birds eye view of the condition of the cly. walls. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 51,018 #4 Posted May 22, 2017 5 hours ago, stevasaurus said: just re-torque afterwards Torque them cold and then run the engine and hot torque just as you would after a gasket replacement. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tgtack 779 #5 Posted May 26, 2017 I plan on doing an overhaul on this engine this fall, just want to make her a little more presentable for the show. Mine looks no where near as nice as the picture I posted. So will probably skip the head gasket for now if I can pull the two bolts without messing up the gasket. Only have about 25 days to get her done and still have to finish repairing the frame. Fortunately am off work all next week! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clueless 2,893 #6 Posted May 26, 2017 12 hours ago, Tgtack said: I plan on doing an overhaul on this engine this fall, just want to make her a little more presentable for the show. Mine looks no where near as nice as the picture I posted. So will probably skip the head gasket for now if I can pull the two bolts without messing up the gasket. Only have about 25 days to get her done and still have to finish repairing the frame. Fortunately am off work all next week! You need to loosen all the head bolts before you take the two out, then re-torque them when your finished. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 51,018 #7 Posted May 26, 2017 9 hours ago, clueless said: You need to loosen all the head bolts before you take the two out, then re-torque them when your finished. Probably a good idea, but I have done a couple of head bolts to remove a gas tank and re-torque then hot torque and got away with it. Rather be lucky than good any day. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jnbimplements 1 #8 Posted May 28, 2017 You can remove the two head bolts and it won't cause any problems. These engines aren't trying to move 2-35 tons like cars and big trucks on the roads today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites