1541 governor issue

[ol'George]

Where the gov shaft is attached to the linkage, the bolt could be loose,
allowing it to slip.

[finsruskw]

Drain the oil and look for parts lying in the pan.
Believe me , this will need attended to RIGHT AWAY or you will be looking at a disaster.
This from an 1872 I picked up this spring.
there were a about million tiny pieces of governor sucked up against the oil pick up screen.
One of the rod cap pieces was missing the nut.

[weedhopr]

I checked the governor adjustment, and found all screws tight, and governor still correctly adjusted. Started it up, and all was normal. 1000 rpm at idle, 3590 at full throttle. I hooked up my trailer, and while loading wood, the rpm suddenly increased. I throttled back all the way, and it was still at 2800 rpm.
I parked the trailer, and put the tractor back in the garage. I checked the linkage again when it was hot, and noticed the governor arm was lifted up. I found out there is about 1/4" vertical play in the rod.
What needs to be done to correct this issue?

[weedhopr]

I just removed the oil fill tube, and looked inside the engine. The governor gear looked ok at first. I put a pick down the hole, and found the governor gear is flopping around, loose on the shaft.
Can the gear be replaced without complete teardown of the engine, or do I need to completely disassemble it? The teardown procedure in the manual has almost everything taken apart, then the cam shaft and gear, and then the governor. I'm not against tearing it all apart if I need to, but if it can be replaced without tearing the whole engine apart.....

[ol'George]

First do some more checking.
As far as the up/down movement of the gov shaft, some have little, some have 1/4".
If your gov clamp on linkage is set as far down as it goes and the little brass washer is still on the gov shaft, the movement is less.
than 1/4"
As far as the gear "flopping around" on the stub shaft, make sure you are not
seeing justr the counter weights, as they throw-out caused by centrifugal force.
If the gear is indeed very loose on the shaft, it needs replaced.
Be advised they are not a "tight fit" but should not be flopping either.
Also the stub shaft the gov rides on is NLA and I haven't checked on the gov lately but they pop up on ebay NOS.
If the gear is indeed bad, the engine comes out and the cases split then everything is simple to get at.
No easy sneaky trick to get at it.
The service manual in indeed imperative to follow on dis, as well as assembly!!
No big deal for those of us who have done one or many, but somewhat intimidating for the first timer.
I/we will walk you through the questions that pop up.
Remember to use sealer where directed but less is always better, as there are some small passages that can get blocked.
You will want to replace the crank seals, and mark the cam plug as to it's orientation in the block as it is "staked" and will remain leak less if reinstalled in the clock position as it originally left the factory, it only takes a scribe mark before removal.
You will also check the flywheel magnets to see they are still glued to the flywheel.
yada yada yada.

[weedhopr]

I got my engine out, and disassembled. The only damage is the worn hole in the governor gear. Pistons don't show any signs of wear, and cylinders both look good. I ordered an overhaul kit with gaskets, seals, piston rings. Also ordered a new governor gear.
When I disassembled the engine, everything except the heads, intake, exhaust, and valve covers was sealed with black RTV, not gaskets. The overhaul kit includes gaskets for the crankcase halves, front crankcase cover, and cylinder base gaskets as well. I was looking thru the assembly instruction in the manual tonight, and they say to use RTV, no mention of gaskets.
Should I use the gaskets that come in the kit, or should I use RTV? apparently someone previously to my buying the tractor had it apart, as they got carried away with the RTV. There was LOTS of squeeze out, especially on the front cover. There were 2 chunks about 1/2" around, and 1/4" thick laying at the bottom, behind the front cover. (when the RTV comes in a 6 oz tube, it's wasteful not to use it all )
thanks,
Mike
PS, I have a lot of engine rebuilding experience. I've been working as an aircraft mechanic since 1984.

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by weedhopr

I got my engine out, and disassembled. The only damage is the worn hole in the governor gear. Pistons don't show any signs of wear, and cylinders both look good. I ordered an overhaul kit with gaskets, seals, piston rings. Also ordered a new governor gear.
When I disassembled the engine, everything except the heads, intake, exhaust, and valve covers was sealed with black RTV, not gaskets. The overhaul kit includes gaskets for the crankcase halves, front crankcase cover, and cylinder base gaskets as well. I was looking thru the assembly instruction in the manual tonight, and they say to use RTV, no mention of gaskets.
Should I use the gaskets that come in the kit, or should I use RTV? apparently someone previously to my buying the tractor had it apart, as they got carried away with the RTV. There was LOTS of squeeze out, especially on the front cover. There were 2 chunks about 1/2" around, and 1/4" thick laying at the bottom, behind the front cover. (when the RTV comes in a 6 oz tube, it's wasteful not to use it all )
thanks,
Mike
PS, I have a lot of engine rebuilding experience. I've been working as an aircraft mechanic since 1984.

You got a generic kit, the magnum uses RTV.
I prefer to use yamabond or hondabond sealant.
I hope you kept your lifters in the bore they came came out of otherwise you might have to grind the valve stems to get correct clearance, but being this is not yer first rodeo you prolly know that.
put a dab of sealant around the case mating surfaces in the through bolt area as mentioned in the manual.-----easily overlooked.
what ever you use for sealant, surfaces have to be CLEAN/dry.(I use lacquer thinner)
No gaskets under cyl's to block, or front cover unless it is low numbered block.
Check for plugged oil passages with air hose because of excessive RTV sealant used.(also suction from filter to pump)
make sure no excessive sealant plugs the oil drain back hole/slot in the pto seal area
I use my finger applying the Yamabond SPARINGLY
You want a 1 coat application like spray paint not snot gobbered like you found.
you can apply sealant to both mating surfaces, but again, I can't stress sparingly too much.
later engines used *30 intake seats older *45 angle.
use a new o ring on the cam plug.
Don't put your intake umbrella valve seals on till you have the valve clearance set then do them before slipping the springs on.
The clearance is slightly different for the *30 seats.
it is all in the manual.
You could pin the gov stub as the service bulletin says, but if it has not walked out by now, it is not going to.
Mike your rod/main journals check for taper/ out of round.
Deglaze your cyl's and measure your taper prolly find it is .002 worn.
hopefully not scored, measure piston skirt for wear as well as check for erosion above top ring on thrust side..
RETORQUE head bolts after initial run in, say 10-15 minutes WFO throttle
that is imperative! if you don't, you WILL be replacing the head gaskets again. ( this is not written in the service manual)
Resurface the heads on a surface plate using wet/dry paper or a flat piece of glass using figure #8 pattern
they will be warped slightly.
if you question something, ask,---- much easier to do right than do over.
Check your oil pump plastic drive gear and it's pin also pin in oil pump rotor.
hopefully you can put your inner and outer rotor for the oil pump back the way it came out by observing the witness marks worn on them.
when putting the pto cover on, don't forget the pressure relief spring and check ball.
Also a small dab of grease in the crank oil seals insures a good first time environment on start up.
-------- Kohler OEM seals come prelubed.
Nothing wrong with putting the flywheel end crank seal on while laying the crank in the crankcase half.
you can post pix's of area's of concern if you have any.
That will keep you busy for a while.

[weedhopr]

What's supposed to hold the governor gear in place?
I got my replacement governor gear yesterday, Got as far as putting the case and front cover on, got the first cylinder installed.
I went to the garage this morning to finish putting it together, and saw the governor gear laying in the bottom of the crank case
The governor shaft is correctly installed, with the paddle over the pin in the governor gear, and the cross pin is installed.
Does the governor arm need to be installed on the shaft at this time so the paddle holds pressure against the gear? The manual don't say to.
I'm following the steps in the M18 manual.
This is really frustrating. I need to undo much of what I accomplished yesterday.
thanks much,
Mike Schweim