edbeek
10-05-2011, 08:32 PM
Wondering if anyone might be able to give me a new clue regarding an old Kohler K141 side valve motor on a Howard 350 Rotavator.
It had been in storage for quite a while until I got it.
I've been working on it in spare time for quite a while now, and could never get it to rev up properly, and when it did it would be intermittent.
I've now got it to the stage where it will start first pull, and work perfectly for about 10-15 minutes. It will rev up and down with the throttle, and the governor works fine when I put it under load.
Thinking I've got it fixed, I idle it down and then it doesn't want to rev up again. Pull the throttle on and the governor opens right up and the motor wants to stall(gearbox & tiller disengaged). Close the throttle and it will idle perfectly. If I sneak on the throttle very slowly, I can sometimes get it to rev up fully, but the engine hunts on the governor. The more I try after this, the less the engine wants to do anything.
Come back tomorrow, and I'm sure it will run perfectly again for a short time.
So I'm thinking something is going wrong as the engine heats up.
It doesn't seem to be overheating. I've had the cowls off and cleaned out the fins, and there is a good breeze off the flywheel that doesn't feel too hot.
I've put new points, condenser and plug in.
Had the carby off and cleaned countless times.
Adjusted the float level.
Cleaned out the fuel tank and gauze strainer.
Doesn't blow smoke when it's running good.
Same symptoms with air cleaner on or off.
Plug stays nice and clean when it's running good, but sooty after it starts coughing.
My thoughts now are that maybe it has an intermittent leaky head gasket(when it warms up) or maybe a valve problem as the engine warms up.
I'm pretty sure I have all the normal problems covered due to it running nicely for 10-15 mins, so hoping for other ideas before I do more major surgery on it.
It had been in storage for quite a while until I got it.
I've been working on it in spare time for quite a while now, and could never get it to rev up properly, and when it did it would be intermittent.
I've now got it to the stage where it will start first pull, and work perfectly for about 10-15 minutes. It will rev up and down with the throttle, and the governor works fine when I put it under load.
Thinking I've got it fixed, I idle it down and then it doesn't want to rev up again. Pull the throttle on and the governor opens right up and the motor wants to stall(gearbox & tiller disengaged). Close the throttle and it will idle perfectly. If I sneak on the throttle very slowly, I can sometimes get it to rev up fully, but the engine hunts on the governor. The more I try after this, the less the engine wants to do anything.
Come back tomorrow, and I'm sure it will run perfectly again for a short time.
So I'm thinking something is going wrong as the engine heats up.
It doesn't seem to be overheating. I've had the cowls off and cleaned out the fins, and there is a good breeze off the flywheel that doesn't feel too hot.
I've put new points, condenser and plug in.
Had the carby off and cleaned countless times.
Adjusted the float level.
Cleaned out the fuel tank and gauze strainer.
Doesn't blow smoke when it's running good.
Same symptoms with air cleaner on or off.
Plug stays nice and clean when it's running good, but sooty after it starts coughing.
My thoughts now are that maybe it has an intermittent leaky head gasket(when it warms up) or maybe a valve problem as the engine warms up.
I'm pretty sure I have all the normal problems covered due to it running nicely for 10-15 mins, so hoping for other ideas before I do more major surgery on it.