1811 seized up, SAD DAY
 

Wife went down to the shed to get the mower to mow the yard. Its been sitting since the hurricane came through MD a couples weeks ago. It started and went 40 ft then stalled on her, she came and got me. I started it and it went another 10 feet then shuddered real hard and seized up. Checked the oil (after the fact) NONE. I feel like such a dummy. I love that machine. it didnt leak or have a blow-by.

Any suggestions on repair, reconditioned/new engine ?


Eric

Eric that is bad news!

Sorry to hear of your trouble. It's never a good time to lose a motor. I got my rebuilt longblock from these folks.
http://kustomsmallengine.com/KOHLER-...-NEW-ROD21.htm

Sorry to hear that. You'll get it going again.

Sorry to hear that.

pressure gage can help
 

I'm sorry to hear about your problem. We have all been there in one form or another. I installed a pressure gage early this year and it is a vivid reminder of how the engine's life blood is doing. I guess the idiot light might help but It only takes about thre pounds to close the switch and that is not much oil. If you are so inclined you can see how my installation went on this forum's history. I used the Hour meter hole for the pressure gage and the oil filter area for the hour meter since it is not really a must read gage in the first place and when you change your oil you can note the time then. I opted for the mechanical gage and it was a pretty simple job. I tried to use an electric gage at first but ran into a host of issues one being that most auto senders are for specific cars and will not work as an aux gage for our tractors. The sad thing is that the new senders so not even mention whether they are positive or negative ground or the range they are designed for. I guess if you are buying it for a specific car then you don't need to know that stuff.

I also like having an oil pressure gauge to look at. I don't know much about the insides of these engines but hopefully maybe it's rebuildable.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/s...ges640x427.jpg

ok Stupid question
What happened when you put oil in it and tryed to free it up?
If the crank is ok maybe it is just the pistons or better yet just one piston.
put oil in the cyl's through the sp plug hole & rock the flywheel.
Might just free up then you can get a handle on how much damage is done.
if it frees, runs, and no knock, it is just the piston/cyls.
lets us know then we can go from there,as far as options.

I've heard of putting MMO in the cylinders to help free it up.

That is a heartbreaker. :bash2:

If it were mine I would not even try running it again without taking it apart and seeing what's going on. If you ran it out of oil, there is no question that it is damaged, and you cannot repair it by simply freeing it up and pouring oil into the cylinders. If anything you will do further damage if you manage to get it to run at this point.

In my experience, the rod will seize to the crank, or be thrown through the case, before the piston will seize. I have had three or four KT-17 engines blown up from lack of oil...one melted the rods to the crank, the others threw them through the case.

There is no point for any more speculation...open it up and see what you find. Having said that though, my guess is going to be one rod welded itself to the crank, so at a minimum you are looking at two new rods. You can remove the melted aluminum from the crank if it wasn't too bad (probably won't be since it sounds like it didn't go far before seizing) and get by with a gasket set and new rods, but once again, my speculation doesn't do much good...you'll have to see what else got damaged, if anything.

I hope you've learned the lesson that you need to check the oil before each use...

1811 seized-up
 

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I know my way around most small engines especially chain saws but I can honestly say that I have never cracked one of these open.

I did put a socket & ratchet on the main pulley in the front of the engine and was able to get half a turn one direction and almost a full turn the other. I know there is internal damage. I'd like to get another 1811 that is running and use both to build a nice healthy one and keep the other for parts. Either way Ill have to take the engine out of this one.

Any and all suggestions on what other models would have the same 18hp kohler magnum that would bolt up would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Eric

I just sold a Magnum to an old cogger in WV....Look up on Craigslist for Martinsburg WV...came out of an 1811 also.....

Thanks for the info. If I knew for sure that it would drop right in and run I'd probably grab it if I could

Eric

Vern just sold it last week ! I really need to catch a break, the leafs are starting

Eric

Isnt an 1811 an 1811???