107 engine: what happened? Should I run it? Or swap it?

[Cubcadet_107]

Originally Posted by Ambush

If you plan to swap it, you have to pull it anyway. Why not pull it apart and check/clean everything? Might be just as easy to fix the original instead putting time and money into the donor.

I don't need to put much of anything into the donor except the external parts. The money would be needed on the original engine. Even if nothing is wrong, I would still prefer to get it rebuilt properly, unlike whoever last rebuilt it did.

I still cannot believe that they would install the wrong size piston! I should've taken a picture of all the slop it has. I know they wear from side to side, but the slop is all the way around the whole piston! And it's an even gap all the way around too. The piston is stamped 'std', and my guess is that the bore is actually .010" oversize.

Then again, based on the quality I've found elsewhere on the engine, this mistake isn't surprising to me. Keep in mind this engine has misc. washers all over the place, the reed valve was installed backwards, and the points plunger is a section of what appears to be a drill bit

I hope my reasoning makes sense, there's more issues than just the possible metal in the oil. I want to keep this tractor going for shows this year, and swapping the engine for one that I know is in good shape, seems like the best way to go.

[Cubcadet_107]

Ok, so I took a step back and thought about this for a bit. Thank you all for the info and ideas, that's why I love this site.

So I think I have a pretty good game plan. I need to:

1. Finish the k321 for the 147 and remove it from the workbench

2. Purchase a gasket and seal set, because either way I'll need it

3. Pull the k241, bring it to the workbench, pop off the pan and disconnect the rod, inspect everything internally for any damage

4. Decide if it's useable or if it needs a rebuild

5. Either reassemble it with new gaskets and seals, then reinstall it, or, put the k301 together with new gaskets and seals and install it. Then rebuild the k241.


So before I take any action toward swapping the k301 in, I will dismantle the k241 and check to see what the crankcase looks like. If it looks good I'll put it back together and run it. If I spot a clear issue, then I'll swap stuff over to the k301. The k301 would remain in the 107 until any issues with the k241 are fixed. I'll have to get to work tomorrow, won't know what the exact plan is til I open the engine up, so I will get to it.

[green407]

Originally Posted by Cubcadet_107

That's an interesting suggestion, but to me it sounds like it might do more damage to the engine than good? Would hydrostatic fluid be a good supplement for transmission fluid, and does it matter the age of diesel fuel? I know we've got a can of diesel laying around but it has to be a couple years old at this point.

The mix of transmission fluid and and diesel is that, transmission fluid is designed to stick to high speed moving parts, and both have detergents to clean. And like I said, only 10 - 15 minutes, and not over 1/2 throttle. Basically let it idle.

[green407]

Originally Posted by Cubcadet_107

That's an interesting theory. But here's the state of the engine. At this point there is no oil in the crankcase. It had moisture getting into it. The rings are not stuck, however the piston is about .010" too small all the way around for the bore (poor rebuild quality I assume) and there is definite blowby out the crankcase vent when the engine is running because of this.

My question would be, where on earth would the metal shavings even be coming from?? And also, they don't seem to be magnetic based on my testing, so I don't think a magnet sheet would work well.

In my experience the only non-ferrous material in the crankcase is aluminum, so those shaving are either connecting rod or piston. Now if you had water in the crankcase then you might have some rust on the bottom end of the sleeve.

[Cubcadet_107]

Ok folks, I'm sorry for the delay in this update. I've been very busy over the past 2 weeks and haven't had much time to do anything with my Cubs other than mowing the lawn with my 106 a few times. But I'm back to finally update this, so here goes nothing.

So I thought the whole thing over for quite a while, and I have a game plan now for this project. After much consideration, I decided that even if there's nothing wrong with the con rod or crankshaft, I'm still going to swap the 12 in so I can get the 10 rebuilt. My reasoning here is that even if there's nothing wrong with the crankshaft or rod, there's still 3 other issues that need to be addressed and can only be properly addressed with a complete teardown.

The issues are:

-Massive piston slop because of a poor rebuild in the past

-moisture problem, water builds up in the crankcase (none of my other Kohlers do this)

-governor still does not seem to work right despite numerous adjustments


The governor might be fixable without a teardown but the other 2 aren't, especially not the piston slop. I'd rather have it be a good, solid engine that I can guarantee will last a very long time, than an okay engine that needs to be run constantly to avoid water buildup in the crankcase, as well as no clue how long it'll last running with such large piston slop.

Tomorrow is my day off, so I will waste no time at all pulling the k241 and getting the k301 installed. Gonna completely strip the 241 of shrouds, exhaust, fuel system, starter, and head, and move it to the k301 so that there's no obvious sign that its a different engine. Unfortunately there's not much I can do about the oil dipstick, which is located on the cam gear cover instead of the top of the crankcase.

The k301 came out of my parts tractor, and I guess it ran a few years ago when the machine was driven back into the weeds behind the property and parked to await further attention, but that attention never came. Hopefully it should be good enough to run the 107, which doesn't require too much since I don't really work the tractor. Hopefully the governor will be much better on the k301 too.

Well, wish me luck, I'll be updating from here on in my 'Tearing further into the 107' thread