C-175 with KT 17 Kohler twin questions!

[C-175 Nut 0]

I have heard some comments of premature engine failure due to oil starvation problems on these KT-17 Kohler engines in The C-175 Wheel horse. I have just aquired one of these and it runs great! Should I be concerned with this or will I be ok as long as I am not mowing extremely steep slopes? Sugestions please!

Thanks C-175 B)

[combatmp29r 27]

C-175 I have heard some horror stories especially when it comes to part prices on the KT17 and its big brother the KT19. As far as reliability though, I've never owned either though so I really don't have any useful info for you . I did want to say , and there are a few guys on here that know these like the back of their hand. I'm sure they will be along shortly with some .

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,761]

One thing I have heard is to keep the oil just a little bit over full.

Mike........

[DMESS 24]

B) C-175 Nut! Nice to have you aboard.

Unforunately the KT twins were not a bright spot in Kohlers proud history. While logical and simple in design, (for a twin) the oiling system left a lot to be desired. The series I engines like your 175 used a 5 psi "spray" from the cam to oil the rod journals below. The series II engines as found on the 417 used a full pressurized (25-50 psi) sytem with oil passages in the cam AND crank. Honestly IMO, the series II sytem wasn't much better as rod issues were still very prevalent in these engines as well. The Magnum twins replaced the series II engines and still had their share of problems, at least in the WH products. WH went right to the Onan twins in 1988 after one year of using the Magnum twins. The singles, however, were a proven design and utilized for quite some time.

My best advice if you have one that is solid is to keep the oil at the very top of the full mark, change it regularly and maintain everything as obsessivly as you can. Keep the engine clean and free of dirt/grass. Make sure the shrouds are clear for maximum cooling capacity. Beyond that avoid excessive use on slopes (Kohler CLAIMED proper oil pickup at slopes up to 30 degrees) and cross your fingers. It's a crap shoot IMO.

If you are quite handy and have the time and resources, pull it down, inspect everything and service the oil pump and pickup. Unfortunately you have to split the block to do this, so it isn't exactly practical. At this point you might as well go over the entire engine!

Worst case scenario, when a rod lets go, (and that is what happens 99% of the time, at the crank usually) you loose the rod, bend or twist the crank, bust the piston skirt off the bottom of the cylinder jug, and put some nice windows in the aluminum block. This is the reason you see SO MANY 175's, 417's and 418's parted out. The KT 19 wasn't any better as it is simply a stroked 17. There just tend to be way less of them out there.

I have 2 17's, 2 19's and I CAN show you the worst case scenario! They WILL run with most of an old busted rod left inside them by the way. :whistle:

[C-175 Nut 0]

D.Mess and Sparky,

Thanks very much for the information, The tractor I have seems very solid so far in the Engine dept, it does have 1060 hrs on the meter which is not that bad for a 1981 vintage tractor. I did not know the previous owner so I dont know if it was rebuilt or not. By the looks of it I doubt it . It calls for a crankcase refill of 1 3/4 qts of oil so maybe I will just make it an even 2 qts this can't really hurt anything can it?

Thanks Again C-175 B)

[Jim_M 179]

I only have a couple things to add. First, 2 quarts won't hurt it a bit. Second, Be carefull on hills. If you mow a hill, try to run up and down the hill rather than mowing sideways. Mowing sideways on a hill will starve the engine for oil and cause you problems.

[C-175 Nut 0]

Thanks for the reply Jim!,

This was one of the things I was really wanting to know because the slopes I have I do mow up and down not sideways. Thank you very much for confirming that.

It makes me feel a little more confident that I am doing things right to keep that engine going as long as I can.

Thanks Again!

C-175

[Just Piddling 0]

B) I just helped a friend get rid of his C-175 after mowing on a slope and "making some windows " in the engine (after I got what I needed from it ).

To add to the worst case of DMESS, Honda has a repower for $1400. And you would still have a better tractor than anything you could buy new for $1400.

[Rideawaysenior 28]

Completely agree with the above posts. Even still, the Onan engines too had their weak spots. As with any splash lubericated engine flat and even terrain is best. Why the Series two Kohlers were not much better? Who knows. The big soft spot to the Onan engines was in the cooling dept. If the cooling fins became clogged on the piston barrels which did happen, they would tend to over heat and valve seats would come undone. It just comes down to maintenance. If you were to look at some of my machines, they are not the prettiest but as far as mechanics I do what is recommended by the owners manual, however I also listen to what people here are saying. This group is a wealth of information and along their journey's with their Wheel Horses there is someone who may have experienced the problems that you are having or may know the answers to what you are looking to know.

[jerrell 1]

:banghead: Hi Jimmie, i have a c175 and use it for tilling and mowing, i got it about 3 months ago and like it very much, i have had no problems with the 17hp kohler, and enjoyed all the comments listed above, all my work is on flat land so no hills or tilting the machine is not a worry for me , the advise about over filling the oil is a little bit of a concern to me, if i understand things right, overfilling causes the seals to leak so, what to do , i may overfill just a tad to feel safe, i have located a body for a c175 everything except the engine for 50.00 in great shape, thinking of getting the 20hp honda and have two machines so i don't have to change mowers to tillers, welcome aboard.. you will find excellent discussion on this forum