How loose or tight for the governor?

[FatJackDurham 318]

As I prepare to reinstall my carb and adjust everything, I notice that my governor is a little bit stiff, even without the spring attached.

 

I still have the clamp fully tightened to the shaft and I haven't take it it off to try to clean around it, so I don't know if it's just crud build up or not. I wanted to ask, how freely should that governor be able to move? the place where it connects to the carb, the main throttle thing, moves very freely, there are no springs that close it. I have ordered a new throttle cable that I assume will move freely since it has a twist lock. But, the governor doesn't move freely. Is this normal?

[Ed Kennell 42,847]

There should be no friction in the governor.

[FatJackDurham 318]

3 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

There should be no friction in the governor.

 

Thanks, Ed. Based on my understanding, the shaft goes in to connect to a gear with some flyweights, right? If the friction isn't due to crud build up externally, what is a likely cause and resolution?

[wallfish 18,577]

What's the engine being discussed here?

Shaft is just a rod with a tab attached to it and the tab gets pushed by the fly weight mechanism. Shouldn't really be any resistance moving the rod while the engine isn't running.

Sounds like you do have crude build up so probably best to get that cleaned off and get a good look around that area where the shaft comes out.

Edited November 2, 2016 by wallfish

[FatJackDurham 318]

Wallfish, THANKS! THat is a great diagram that I have been trying to find and somehow missed. I didn't know if the shaft was attached to something else or not. So, if it's only a tab, then I can see how it should freely move.

 

So the if the outside of the shafts can't get cleaned enough, then it's possible that there is crud in the ... bushing, or whatever is inside the engine.

 

Does it take a complete engine rebuild to get in there and cleaned it up?

[wallfish 18,577]

It's possible to get the shaft out without taking it apart except for the oil pan but it's a PITA. You shouldn't have to do that much anyway. I was able to do it on a 8HP K181 but not so sure about others.

Remove the Gov. arm

Clean all around and maybe spray it with oil.

If necessary you can remove the retaining nut and the shaft will slide out towards it. Clean that all up and put it back together. DO NOT DROP THE ROD INSIDE OR YOU WILL BE OPENING THE OIL PAN! Not sure if it will fall all the way in or not, probably not but don't chance it.

Diagram is from the manual. Here's a link.

Kohler K-Series SM TP-2379 LR.pdf

[FatJackDurham 318]

GOvernor turned out to be okay. It was actually the connector pivot between the throttle lever and the governor. I took it off, cleaned it, oiled it and it works, THanks for the info.