Jump to content
SRB

Kohler K301 Primer Gray Export or Replacement Engine on a WH C-120

Recommended Posts

SRB

So I brought home another horse this weekend. It's a 1976 C-120 8 speed. 61-12K802 - 14063 / 6071. After cleaning it all up I found someone has painted the rear wheel JD yellow...with a brush I think! I'll never understand why people do that kind of thing but I guess that's just me.

 

The thing that really jumped out at me was the engine though. It is completely primer gray, block, tins, coil, breather, and it says on the label "Export or Replacement engine". I have heard of these before but haven't found a whole lot of info out there about them. Some blue, some primer gray. I think the year is a 1998 made on the 194th day. It has a 10 digit serial number, the first two digits are 28, and the next three are 194. Does that sound right? I am a junkie about the history of a machine, so I love to research and find out all the little details.

 

The engine runs great the little bit I have ran it, which was just to load and unload it. The oil looks new and it's been parked in a garage since last year. Overall, the tractors in decent shape. It needs new front tires or tubes, steering links (which I have), a headlight lens, some wiring repaired, and some rear end leaks fixed. At least that's all I've found while I was cleaning it up. Oh, and the back wheels repainted!

 

What do you all know about these replacement engines? Would someone have ordered the engine and done the swap themselves, or was this a dealer thing that they would have taken it in to the local WH dealer to have done? What year did Kohler start doing these replacement engines and what year did they stop? Also, the debri screen on the front of engine is plastic, when did they change over from metal screens?

IMG_20180608_204132746.jpg

IMG_20180609_170756280.jpg

IMG_20180609_170834907.jpg

IMG_20180609_170820534.jpg

Edited by SRB

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
rjg854

That tractor cleaned up mighty nice.  Got some attachments and wheel weights, you should be almost ready to roll :orcs-cheers:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
gwest_ca

1998 is correct but don't think the next 3 digits can be used for dating. That would leave a possible 99,999 units being produced in a year and they certainly made more than that.

 

Garry

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
953 nut

Kohler replacement engines were, and are today being used to power agricultural and industrial equipment. Chances are the oil pan on yours is the one that came with the C-120 because that was a special casting. My guess would be that the paint on the coil and air cleaner cover was done by a previous owner. The only one I ever installed was gray but we had to use ignition and fuel system components from the old engine.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
pfrederi

Gray was standard Kohler Service replacement engine color.  Could have been a dealer replacement or an individual could have bought it. 

service.JPG

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
Sparky
On 6/11/2018 at 6:27 AM, gwest_ca said:

1998 is correct but don't think the next 3 digits can be used for dating. That would leave a possible 99,999 units being produced in a year and they certainly made more than that.

 

Garry

@gwest_ca ...what’s the secret to dating these motors? This is the decal off my grey K241 replacement motor.

E287C628-882A-4C97-8BBF-D5648D2296C1.jpeg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
gwest_ca

10-digit Kohler serials begining with 20 are the 1990 Kohler production.

This info is on one of the first pages of most Kohler service manuals.

Added those pages to our files and you can get to them by using the word dating to search the files. When the results come up click on one of them and when it opens click on the picture to enlarge it. Nothing to download.

1965-1995 - Click on the picture.

1990-2007 Click on the picture.

Garry

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
SRB
On 6/11/2018 at 5:27 AM, gwest_ca said:

1998 is correct but don't think the next 3 digits can be used for dating. That would leave a possible 99,999 units being produced in a year and they certainly made more than that.

 

Garry

Thank you for the reply Garry. 

 

Has Kohler ever put the build date in their serial numbers? Also, in a 10 digit code, the first two numbers being the year, if the next three where the date code for the day of the year wouldn't that mean they could produce 99,999 per day?

 

Thank you everyone for the great info. I apologize for the late response but I am not getting email notifications for replies.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
SRB
On 6/11/2018 at 5:42 AM, 953 nut said:

Kohler replacement engines were, and are today being used to power agricultural and industrial equipment. Chances are the oil pan on yours is the one that came with the C-120 because that was a special casting. My guess would be that the paint on the coil and air cleaner cover was done by a previous owner. The only one I ever installed was gray but we had to use ignition and fuel system components from the old engine.

953 nut, yes the oil pan and dipstick do look to be the original as they both have remnants of red paint on them. It is a lot bigger oil pan than my 79' C-101 has, that's for sure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
SRB
On 6/11/2018 at 4:01 AM, rjg854 said:

That tractor cleaned up mighty nice.  Got some attachments and wheel weights, you should be almost ready to roll :orcs-cheers:

Yes it did rjg854. I was pleasantly surprised. I am also surprised you are the only one that has commented on the wheel weights. :D They alone were worth it for me. I have wanted a set of factory WH weights since I got my C-101 last year.

 

Does anyone know the history of the WH weights? Some are red in color and others are ivory in color. Which are the older, red or ivory? Style differences, etc?

 

The plow and snow thrower will get sold as I already have both. They will help recoup the funds spent on the whole package. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
gwest_ca
1 hour ago, SRB said:

Has Kohler ever put the build date in their serial numbers? Also, in a 10 digit code, the first two numbers being the year, if the next three where the date code for the day of the year wouldn't that mean they could produce 99,999 per day?

Never heard that they did. You are correct in your thinking. I need to watch the serials to see how low they go for a given year.

 

Garry

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...