K91 govener stiff

[Stigian 1,234]

Morning all, Nigel and I fired up his

suburban yesterday and although the engine sounds sweet with no nasty noises the govenor arm does not move freely.

Cleaning it and a touch of oil has helped a bit but it's still too stiff to move as it should.

Are we going to have to pull the engine out and pull it apart to see if the problem is internal or will the gov free itself up

after a while?

I'm guessing were not the only ones to have this problem, so what did you do to sort it?

 

Thanks Guys.

[wallfish 18,087]

It should easily move back and forth.

Since a bit of oil helped, I'm guessing it has some crud or dirt stuck in there. No need to remove the engine yet, just remove the arm and loosen the 3/4 bushing nut. Everything will come apart except the the shaft should remain in the engine. Clean everything and re-assemble. With the disc, spring and arm off, you can feel if the shaft is binding in the bushing nut.

 

[nigel 150]

Hi we had all that off but the shaft is still very stiff has anyone got a diagram of what's on the other end of the shaft to give us some idea what's going on and any ideas on sorting it please

[pfrederi 18,667]

Edited February 21, 2017 by pfrederi

[nigel 150]

Umh ! Many thanks for the diagrams, looking at them I still can't understand why my crossshaft is so tight ? Any ideas please

[pfrederi 18,667]

 

 

Was the cross shaft a bit bent maybe???

 

Edit:  Just realized K91s are different than the larger ones that are all the same in governor parts.  Sorry

 

What spec number is motor??

Edited February 21, 2017 by pfrederi

[stevasaurus 23,277]

This is from a K 181, but I'll bet it looks the same.  I'm holding the shaft in my hand in the 1st picture.  See that little washer to the right...that butts up to the block when tightened.  It could be sticking a little.

   The 2nd picture shows the shaft and gear in place.  The shaft sits into the block on the left...if something is stuck in there (and it does not take much), that could be the issue.  You would have to take the engine apart in this case.  May be able to move it around enough in the 1st picture. 

[stevasaurus 23,277]

I had the same problem when I rebuilt this engine.  I must have taken it apart 3 times.  See the red in the pictures, that is grease that I bought in a spray can,  I sprayed some into where the left hand side of the shaft goes into the block, and it was enough to stiffen the shaft when I put the rest together.  Sprayed carb clean in the block hole and that did it.  The other thing, is that washer on the shaft.  Before I figured out the grease thingy, I tried a thin washer on the outside...keeping the nut a little farther out.  It worked, but I knew it wasn't right.  I did not need the extra washer before the re-build.  That is when I went inside and found the grease.  If this engine has been sitting, something could have dried out in there...it does not take much.  This shaft is near the top of the engine and probably does not get tons of oil. 

 

Nigel....does the shaft feel good when you just snug it and it tightens up after torquing ?  That is what I had. 

Edited February 22, 2017 by stevasaurus

[nigel 150]

Right thanks for all your help I will try carb or brake cleaner first and let you know whether it solves the problem, just a note, I have not had this engine apart but it has been standing since before it was imported from the USA quite a few years ago, but like Ian says it starts and runs with no smoke if you work the governer by hand

[stevasaurus 23,277]

They are easy to take apart.  It might be the right thing to do.  I know you can get the gaskets...not much to that.  Might just need a good cleaning. 

 

[Stigian 1,234]

Thanks for all the help and diagrams guy's, much appreciated

 

Hhhmmm, so if the shaft won't free up with some cleaner of some sort then it's crack the engine open time...

Is it possible to get to the governor gubbins without having to take the engine apart?  I feel some very small hands may be needed

[pfrederi 18,667]

The governor internals are the next to last thing removed during an engine tear down and the second thing installed when you reassemble ..per Kohler Manual

[stevasaurus 23,277]

If you take off the brass nut, you might be able to snake in the small straw on a can of carb cleaner into where the shaft gets into the block. 

[diesel cowboy 263]

I dug out an older paper copy of the parts book for the K91.  Here's the pics of the gov. linkage and the internal parts.  It appears that the K91 has a completely different setup to the bigger engines.  I've never worked on one of these but the stiffness might be  on the internal parts hooked to the cam parts listed as A B C and D and part D is refered to as a flyball retainer and if those parts are rusty/sticky it could make it hard to move.        Hope this helps.                   Stewart

[R. L. Addison 299]

Before tear-down check the brass nut the shaft goes through. If it is not free on the shaft, maybe it has a small burr or possibly over-tightened and collapsed enough to keep it from being free. Just a thought, but i have seen this type of thing happen. Once had a much more experienced journeyman tell me "watch the little things, they can kill you" when on a job.