wesley 32 #1 Posted January 17, 2015 Has any one done or had done any mods to the Kseries con rod , it seems that they are the weak point on this engine,this comes up a lot when talking to people about this engine , normal talk is oh yes had one of them till the con rod broke ?, there must be a way of making it stronger, will se if l get get hold of an old rod an have ago. wes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 14,911 #2 Posted January 17, 2015 In my experience, I would have to say that quite the opposite is true. The K-Series is one of the toughest engine out there. The rod is not a weak point if the engine is maintained properly. Old oil, lack of oil, and general misuse will cause any engine to have problems. Sometimes, when someone rebuilds an engine, they will install the connecting rod backwards with the oil hole in the cap pointing away from the camshaft, or they will not torques the bolts tight enough. Other times, in the process of disassembling or reassembling, they will damage the dipper, causing it to break off under load. I currently have 6 Wheel Horses with K-Series engines, and none have thrown a rod in all the hours they have been in service. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
meadowfield 2,545 #3 Posted January 17, 2015 I second that, I reckon it's poor maintenance or old age in 99% of cases Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prondzy 3,867 #4 Posted January 18, 2015 I believe the single biggest cause of broken connecting rods in k series kohler engines is improper governor setting and over-revving the engine (above kohler's stated 3600rpm) which will stretch the connecting rod or break it. If you take this into consideration with the above statements you should get a lifetime out of a connecting rod. I have been using the stens aftermarket rods on my rebuilds and I am loving the price and performance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shynon 7,435 #5 Posted January 18, 2015 I agree, K series is one of the best if maintained properly. Engine RPM not set correctly will stretch rod if not break it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WH nut 553 #6 Posted January 18, 2015 yeah, what they said Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wesley 32 #7 Posted January 18, 2015 Well many thanks, from the posts l can se a picture forming on the con rod breaking,and mybe in my engines case l was to blame along with the age of the engine , there is a nagging thing going on in my head ,did l get the oil hole in the con rod the right way round in the first place ?.Still you live an learn l will make certain that this time round its right plus the other tips ,again many thanks ,will report on the build when its done. regards wes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 38,967 #8 Posted January 18, 2015 One thing about that rod dipper is it can get hairline cracks and you won't even see them. I had a k-341 I was going to redo and sent it over to a friend who builds kart racing engines to check out first. Stuff looked pretty good at first glance but the bore which was all ready .030 over was so out of round it needed to be sleeved. Then the rod was treated with some sort of aluminum dye that he had and that rod dipper looked like a spider web with all the cracks. There was no guarantee on how long that dipper was going to hang on there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don1977 604 #9 Posted January 18, 2015 One thing that causes broken rods is wore out bearings in the balance gears along with a hole in the block. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wesley 32 #10 Posted January 26, 2015 Well just waiting for a head gasket then we will se if this engine is going to be ok ,but if it fails then am going to put a 13hp honda on the old lady , will keep you posted. wes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wesley 32 #11 Posted January 29, 2015 Well all back together ,and have had a test run,run it up to nice an hot etc ,and sounds great ,will no now put on new fuel lines an and treat her to a new battery and with luck the old lady can go back to work hauling up fire wood.I must admit that l was not happy when it blew up, but working it out the horse carrys between 11 an 15 tons of wood each year so should not moan ,still we all do ,and many thanks to the people that helped me out on here. regards wes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites