K301 12HP Camshaft ACR spring broken......Does it matter?

[Fordiesel69 271]

The ACR spring was broke, so I ripped it off the cam so it would not fly off and damage the engine upon rebuild.  The starter did not have any problem before turing it over.  I was wondering if the counter weight would flap around and get damaged.

 

Can this spring be sourced or does the cam need to be replaced?

[MarkPalmer 81]

It should be fine without the spring.  It just helps the flyweight come back to low speed position when the engine is stopped, and doesn't necessarily render the ACR ineffective. 

 

-Mark-

[oldredrider 2,553]

The last time I checked (bout a month ago) the spring is still available from Kohler. However, the K series cam is not.

[Fordiesel69 271]

So to be clear, I don't need to worry about it..... Like I said the starter was able to handle it just fine. I would buy one but my local shop did not have on and can't for another week.

[MarkPalmer 81]

The springs assist the weights to move inward when the engine is shut down to actuate the ACR.  Not having them won't necessarily stop the ACR from working, but they make it easier for it to work.  Any of the K engines with a gear driven starter (and a good battery) don't really benefit much from the ACR, you might not even notice if it's actuating or not when cranking the engine.  I've even built K181's that used starter generators using the non-ACR spark advance cam, and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference in the cams. 

 

-Mark-

[Fordiesel69 271]

Excellent, less work for me then. Hope to have it buttoned up by wed and have it mounted by thurs.