engine rebuild

[colbyeast 8]

Looking for someone in the Northeast (New England area) that can look at my Kohler Magnum 14 ( over 2000hrs

)had rebuilt about 2 years ago (very little hours after rebuild)it's now blowing white smoke and going through oil, (checked breather :ok; cylinder has carbon build up no wear on cylinder wall) Could it be rings gone?Also needs carb work (throttle linkage very loose) Thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

rings or the valve guides

 

 

[Retired Wrencher 5,430]

Colby if you like and have the $$$ you can go to a dealer. Meaning where they did sell wheel horse. There is one in Amherst Ma that does good work ask for Tim. Also, there is a dealership section here to look up. Hope this helps.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Retierd Wrencher

[squonk 40,975]

Make sure gas isn't getting into your oil.

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,131]

Can you take any video of the carb linkage?

 

Are you looking to do the engine work yourself or have a shop do it?

 

I have one here in Southern Maine I trust. Not sure if they get into internal engine repairs. 

 

[953 nut 54,947]

16 minutes ago, squonk said:

Make sure gas isn't getting into your oil.

 

 

As Mike said, a small leak in the fuel pump diaphragm can allow gas into the crank case and dilute it. Change the oil using 30 weight and fix up a gravity feed fuel tank directly to the carb. as a test. If the smoke clears up you need to replace/rebuild the pump.

[colbyeast 8]

Looking for a shop to do the work . Anyone have suggestions ? Who would you trust ? Bought tractor new many years ago  want it to run for many years to come. 

[ebinmaine 67,131]

Rick n Ray's is in Buxton Maine. 

About an hour and 20 to 30 minutes from you. 

 

Chuck there, is the fella who got me into Horses. 

 

 

IIFF they'll do the work I'd bring it there.  Period.  

 

Tell them Eric Banks sent you.

 

They may curse me out

 

but they'll be THE BEST recommendation I could possibly give.  

[pacer 3,165]

From your description I dont think you have a major problem (rod loose, grenade gears, broke cam, etc) so valve guides, broken ring/s, similar shud get you back going -- cause the engine is still running with only the smoke prob and, hopefully, a relatively easy fix.

[colbyeast 8]

Here are some pictures of carburetor.  Could this be my problem? Exhaust  has rich smell of gas. Would you reccomend  one of those from isave website?Video to follow. 

[squonk 40,975]

I would rebuild that carb before I even considered a new one. Have you checked your oil for gas yet?

[ebinmaine 67,131]

8 minutes ago, squonk said:

I would rebuild that carb before I even considered a new one. Have you checked your oil for gas yet?

 

I'm not a fan of the new aftermarket carburetors. Had four.

 

None were any good.

 

 

I mean that literally. I'm not trying to be negative. I actually had zero out of four that went well for me.

I do realize lots of us have used them on smaller engines and had good luck. Just wasn't me.

 

 

32 minutes ago, colbyeast said:

Video to follow

That's going to be the important part.

 

Take a look at this video and see if your carburetor is worn at the bottom AND top?

 

 

 

 

 

[colbyeast 8]

 it is wore both at the top and bottom. Was told by dealer that it couldn't be rebuilt 

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

2 minutes ago, colbyeast said:

told by dealer that it couldn't be rebuilt

 

Oh HORSE POOP!

 

Any good mechanic can ream and install bushings on the shafts.  IF THEY WANTED TO.

 

He's just saying that HE doesn't want, or know how to, install the bushings.

 

[ebinmaine 67,131]

19 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

Oh HORSE POOP!

 

Any good mechanic can ream and install bushings on the shafts.  IF THEY WANTED TO.

 

He's just saying that HE doesn't want, or know how to, install the bushings.

 

 

I'll second that.  

 

I can install bushings on the top. The bottom ones I don't have the machinery to do.

As far as getting another carburetor...

In all seriousness I would spend 10 times the money on an older one all day every day.

You can get a hold of Lincoln at A to Z Tractor in Pennsylvania and he may have one down there.

 

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

6 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

I'll second that.  

 

I can install bushings on the top. The bottom ones I don't have the machinery to do.

As far as getting another carburetor...

In all seriousness I would spend 10 times the money on an older one all day every day.

You can get a hold of Lincoln at A to Z Tractor in Pennsylvania and he may have one down there.

 

 

Yeah, this one is a real mess!

 

 

I might...repeat... MIGHT consider drilling through and installing the bottom bushing from the bottom, and then closing the hole with a welch plug.

 

I have little doubt that the SHAFT on that carb is worn out also and that installing new bushings would be pointless unless you replaced the shaft also.

 

 

[Snoopy11 5,714]

@Jeff-C175 and @ebinmaine... you guys each give me 40 lashes if you think this is a dumb comment.

 

BUT... what about...for the bottom hole, buying a little bushing... cutting a slit in the side, so that it fits around the shaft... and pressing it down into the hole?

 

Not like this... but you get my idea... I hope...

 

 

Maybe even split bronze bearings...

 

 

Some'in like 'at...

 

Don

Edited January 24, 2022 by Snoopy11

[ebinmaine 67,131]

9 minutes ago, Snoopy11 said:

Some'in like 'at...

I can see your idea in principle but I don't know enough about machine work to understand how to do it. 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

have little doubt that the SHAFT on that carb is worn out also and that installing new bushings would be pointless unless you replaced the shaft also.

 

 

That is most likely true but it's important to remember that the shaft is made out of a much harder material. 

 

I have had some older Kohler carbs with the top that was just garbage and the shaft was okay after the washers were installed. But I've never had one with the top AND bottom worn out like this and tried to fix it.

[rmaynard 15,393]

When the top bushing is worn and you have a lot of slop, the engine will run lean because it is pulling air in alongside the shaft. Lean burn won't make smoke, but it will make the engine hotter. The hole at the bottom where the shaft sits does not have to be air tight because there is nowhere to pull air from. So, when I have a sloppy bottom hole (hold the comments), I make a shim from shim-stock just thick enough to keep the shaft centered. It won't come out because the butterfly plate will keep it in place. Also I have found that throttle shafts are pretty easy to find. 50% of used carbs that you find for sale at shows and on eBay have decent shafts.

[Snoopy11 5,714]

Just now, rmaynard said:

a sloppy bottom hole

 

3 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

hold the comments

Okay... but...

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

shim from shim-stock

Yep, basically what I am thinking...

 

Don

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

1 hour ago, Snoopy11 said:

buying a little bushing... cutting a slit in the side, so that it fits around the shaft... and pressing it down into the hole?

 

I think that would certainly work.  The hardest part would be drilling out the bottom hole.

 

You could go through with a long bit from the top, but what if the bottome needed to be drilled LARGER than the top?  In that case you would have two choices,  drill the top as large as you need to drill the bottom and fit larger bushings.  or, drill a pilot through from the top so the two bores were aligned and then drill up from the bottom.  I'l have to look again to be certain, but as I recall, these carbs have a round flat spot on the bottom where the bottom shaft fits into a 'pocket' of sorts.  Then you could easily mill a recess on the bottom to fit a welch plug.

 

But yeah, a split bushing on the bottom would be fine, I'm sure, because it doesn't need to 'seal' anything, and there is zero real load to speak of.  You could probably press a split bushing in with your finger.  But if you did drill up from the bottom, you could also easily install a solid bushing too.

 

[edit:  might not be able to do that.  The hole would be right close to where the bowl seats, at least on this one:    ]

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Jeff-C175

[Snoopy11 5,714]

6 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

I think that would certainly work.  The hardest part would be drilling out the bottom hole.

 

You could go through with a long bit from the top, but what if the bottome needed to be drilled LARGER than the top?  In that case you would have two choices,  drill the top as large as you need to drill the bottom and fit larger bushings.  or, drill a pilot through from the top so the two bores were aligned and then drill up from the bottom.  I'l have to look again to be certain, but as I recall, these carbs have a round flat spot on the bottom where the bottom shaft fits into a 'pocket' of sorts.  Then you could easily mill a recess on the bottom to fit a welch plug.

 

But yeah, a split bushing on the bottom would be fine, I'm sure, because it doesn't need to 'seal' anything, and there is zero real load to speak of.  You could probably press a split bushing in with your finger.  But if you did drill up from the bottom, you could also easily install a solid bushing too.

 

I guess it just goes to show... it can be done... you just have to "want" to do it...

 

Don

[Wheelhorse#1 1,642]

Doesn’t hurt to try fixing it.But

I would stay away from aftermarket carbs.I bought one and it wouldn’t adjust properly out of the box.

If you can’t repair buy a original used one…A To Z tractor good place to start.

[oliver2-44 9,624]

There is a guy that does the machine work to rebuild Kohler carbs. Go to: carbrescue.com

Ive spoke with him and he pulls all the Welch plugs and cleans passages that don’t normally get cleaned

Edited February 11, 2022 by oliver2-44

[colbyeast 8]

Replacement carburetor coming from AZ tractor.  Pics of valves and piston after light cleaning