Opinions on k301 vs k321
 

I was wondering what people's opinions on the additional 2 horsepower of the k321 is? I have a 1971 129 that is in fairly good shape but I have always wanted to own a 149 as my main garden tractor. Well now I am getting closer and closer to my 129 being a 149 after adding hydraulic lift off my 1450 parts tractor and while I don't have original lights on this machine I did install some LED lights front and rear so now all I'm basically lacking is the k321 engine. My question here is that extra 2 horsepower really that noticable over the 12hp k301. I have been keeping my eye out for a donor 321 but haven't came up with anything very close in my area. Just wondering if it's even worth spending the money on and swapping the engine out if it's not all that noticable or if you guys think it's a night and day difference over the 12 horse. Thank you for any opinions or comments on this.

All depends on how much money you want to blow.
The last 321 I opened up with the intent on an overhaul had a cracked block!!
It's really a crap shoot buying a used engine without a teardown and inspection.
After bead blasting it looked like this.

Thank you for your opinion! I know what you're saying about taking a big risk buying used engines. I don't mind spending some money on the right thing but also don't want to throw money at something that's worse off than what I already have and my k301 does have good compression yet and doesn't smoke. All I've done to this engine so far was replace the governor gear and clean the carburetor. Maybe the power difference between the two engines isn't that great to make it worth it?

What he said...

If it ain't broke, don't fix it and you have already replaced the governor so you know what the rest of it looks like.

Don't need a lot of power to mow grass unless you let it get too long.

Moldboard plowing, & other ground engaging uses are a different story but my QL1000 and 1200 hold their own in both those applications within reason.

I had plans to put a sleeve hitch and ag tires on this tractor in the future and do some plowing with it so I guess that leads me to one more question. Can a 12 horse and the hydro transmission stand up to the ground engaging work and hold it's own or should I really be looking for a gear driven machine for doing that type of work? Once again, thank you for all your help on this topic.

I have plowed with both.
My gear drive Cubs have tendency to jump out of 2nd gear though so are a PITA sometimes in a big field.
My 882 is a joy to plow with though.

Glad to know the hydros are tough enough to hold up to some ground engaging work and that 882 with a plow must be a beast! As for now I won't be doing any big field plowing but do hope to one day get it all set up and take it to one of the garden tractor plow days along with my brother and his 149.

I have a 169 with the bigger (13fin) version of the K341, I plow with it, I have never had the throttle even 1/2 way when plowing. I also have a JD212 with the K301. I have pulled my 3k lb trailer around and the only thing that has mattered in all of these cases is traction. Nothing else matters. If you are going to cut high grass then you have to go slow. If you are going to pull heavy loads then you have to have the traction and take it slow. The K301 is a fantastic engine. I cant think of an application where the K341 gets the job done and a K301 cant do it with 4/3 the time. When am I ever throttling my K341 to get the power to do a job ? I dont expect to ever be in that situation.

Thinking about this, I've got my 106 with k241 10hp, I use it for pulling heavy loads. Just like stated above, it has no power issues, only traction. Even though it's a smaller engine I've never even come remotely close to stalling it out.

I think you can keep the K301 and use it without issue :ThumbsUp:

If bragging rights is what you are after, look for and restore a 169 or a 126 and trick them out with all the available options.

Both are very limited production GT's units as is the 800

Sounds like my best option is finding a good set of ag tires for tractions and possibly another set of weights. I use it to cut some grass around the field and a couple other places I don't want to take my newer Scag zero turn and you're right about just having to take it slower and take my time in the taller stuff, especially with the design of those old mower decks compared to today's.

Thank you for your opinion! I have a 105 that I used to plow snow with and you're right about that k241 and once I have it rebuilt it should have plenty of power since that 54 year old engine is starting to get tired. It was my great grandfather's personal tractor since new and as far as I know the engine has gone untouched so it's overdo for a rebuild at this point. Lots of blow by on that engine but my k301 on the other hand is running good so I'll leave things alone and just focus on fixing the last little oil leak I have left on it and that 129 should be completely leak free finally.

I think my wallet better just stick with this 129 lol. My plan has been to keep adding options to this tractor since the only 2 169's I've seen listed for sale are more than I want to pay and never see any 126's or the 800's for sale.

I agree. :beerchug:
My 100 moved that heavy snow plow snow, that is soft, and all balled up wet slushy mess.
I put it in second gear, full throttle, with a 10 foot run and had no problem moving it off the street, and into my yard a few feet.
I didn't get my wheel weights on yet, so I spun more than I would have liked (hard on the chains)
I was impressed with it, since I'm used to the power of my 2182, but that little 100 with the K241 worked great for the snow plow fun. :biggrin2: