K321 Smokestack

Texas Blues · #1 09-03-2016, 08:07 PM

Geeze man, it's no wonder this 1450 was blowing so much smoke! Hard to tell from the the pictures, but there was standing fresh oil on top of the piston when I pulled the head off. The PO said it needed to be rebuilt, he was not kidding lol. I did clean off the piston top to see if there was a STD mark or otherwise, but there was nothing more than some 6 digit number stamped in it. I will get to tearing it down tomorrow. If the motor has been bored in the past, (I doubt it has) should there be a mark somewhere on the rod/piston/block? This will be my first K series motor to rebuild, should prove to be a hoot! Thanks, TB

bocephus1991 · #2 09-03-2016, 11:37 PM

Reminds me of my k301 I rebuilt! I'd say it's standard bore keep us posted!

twoton · #3 09-04-2016, 07:01 PM

Looks like you're gettin' right into it TB

Had a couple of thoughts;

-check the camshaft end play as part of your tear down procedure;

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...317#post388317

..that way if you need a new shim you can order it now instead of latter and end up waiting another 2 weeks for it to come in like I am..

-Seems like most of the guys get there rebuild kits from this guy;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kohler-K321-...item9763394291

That's the kit I got, but you might need a different kit if you need new valves..

-The same guy will sell you a new governor gear if you need one but you can get a much better price on one here;

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/jac...ohler/a235743s

-Check your governor shaft and bushing. They are cheap money to replace and as they are the first items to install in your reassembly it would be a shame to have to tear into it latter to replace.

Governor shaft bushing (part # 23576)
Governor shaft (part # KH-A-235256-S)

- Still haven't gotten on opinion on this;

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...413#post388413

Sometimes I stream 99.5 The Wolf out of Dallas but that's kinda just like my local chick country station. Any thoughts?

Texas Blues · #4 09-04-2016, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twoton

Looks like you're gettin' right into it TB

Had a couple of thoughts;

-check the camshaft end play as part of your tear down procedure;

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...317#post388317

..that way if you need a new shim you can order it now instead of latter and end up waiting another 2 weeks for it to come in like I am..

-Seems like most of the guys get there rebuild kits from this guy;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kohler-K321-...item9763394291

That's the kit I got, but you might need a different kit if you need new valves..

-The same guy will sell you a new governor gear if you like but you can get a much better price on one here;

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/jac...ohler/a235743s

-Check your governor shaft and bushing. They are cheap money to replace and as they are the first items to install in your reassembly it would be a shame to have to tear into it latter to replace.

Governor shaft bushing (part # 23576)
Governor shaft (part # KH-A-235256-S)

- Still haven't gotten on opinion on this;

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...413#post388413

Sometimes I stream 99.5 The Wolf out of Dallas but that's kinda just like my local chick country station. Any thoughts?

Thanks twoton. A lot of good info there. I will take the time and absorb it. TB

J-Mech · #5 09-04-2016, 07:33 PM

You should always replace the valves in a rebuild. At least the exhaust valve, but for the price I just do both. Unless it's a K161/181. The intake isn't available aftermarket, and Kohler ones are not cheap!!

Governor gear, I'm on the fence. Normally I don't unless it looks bad or I know the engine got real hot. Figure the old Kohler one is better than the new ones. Probably cheap plastic on the new ones.

Texas Blues · #6 09-04-2016, 07:55 PM

Got it apart some today. I am glad I had an impact screw driver set to get those flywheel screen screws, and stator screws out, those were some tight screws! Got the flywheel off with no problems.

The service manual says to use a puller on the bearing plate, but the only bolt holes are the very small bolts that hold the stator on. Surely they don't mean for you to use those bolt holes for your puller do they? The pic in the manual shows bolts in the holes with the puller, but seem bigger in the drawing compared to whats really there. Any advice on removing the bearing plate would be appreciated.

The rod journal on the crank seems to be in good shape as did the rod itself. The piston as you can see in the pics has wear in the side that faces the valves, like I have seen in a lot of pictures of others who are rebuilding the k series.

The cylinder is shiny from a distance, but when you look close you can see the vertical scores. There does not seem to be much of a lip at the top of the cylinder except the side facing the valves. Once I get it measured for roundness I will know more.

Here a some pics so far, if you see anything I should know please feel free to say so. Thanks! TB

Texas Blues · #7 09-04-2016, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Mech

You should always replace the valves in a rebuild. At least the exhaust valve, but for the price I just do both. Unless it's a K161/181. The intake isn't available aftermarket, and Kohler ones are not cheap!!

Governor gear, I'm on the fence. Normally I don't unless it looks bad or I know the engine got real hot. Figure the old Kohler one is better than the new ones. Probably cheap plastic on the new ones.

Thanks mech. I agree the old plastic on the gov is probably better than a china made one. I will inspect it when I get it out.

New valves were what I had in mind, I will check those out as well. Thanks TB

J-Mech · #8 09-04-2016, 10:41 PM

Honestly, I don't think it was wore out, but you already had it out and I figured you'd have it tore down before you read anything anyway.

Looks to me like the head gasket was either blown or the bolts weren't tight. Probably could have cleaned it up and put a new gasket on it and it would have been fine.

On the bearing plate; remove the bolts and just take a rubber mallet and hit is easily to the rear. It is aluminum, so don't get carried away. They usually come loose easy enough, but do be careful, it has to come off the bearing/ crank evenly. The bearing may stay in the housing, or it may stay on the crank. I prefer to see it stay in the housing.

So far, in all your pics, I just see normal wear.... and it's not even that bad. Probably going to be cheap to rebuild.

On another note, it looks like it was ingesting dirt. Check the air filter housing and carb for "leaks".

Texas Blues · #9 09-05-2016, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twoton

Looks like you're gettin' right into it TB

Had a couple of thoughts;

-check the camshaft end play as part of your tear down procedure;

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...317#post388317

..that way if you need a new shim you can order it now instead of latter and end up waiting another 2 weeks for it to come in like I am..

-Seems like most of the guys get there rebuild kits from this guy;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kohler-K321-...item9763394291

That's the kit I got, but you might need a different kit if you need new valves..

-The same guy will sell you a new governor gear if you need one but you can get a much better price on one here;

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/jac...ohler/a235743s

-Check your governor shaft and bushing. They are cheap money to replace and as they are the first items to install in your reassembly it would be a shame to have to tear into it latter to replace.

Governor shaft bushing (part # 23576)
Governor shaft (part # KH-A-235256-S)

- Still haven't gotten on opinion on this;

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...413#post388413

Sometimes I stream 99.5 The Wolf out of Dallas but that's kinda just like my local chick country station. Any thoughts?

Got to checking the cam end play this morning, .014 is a snug fit. I saw that spec was .005 to .010. Might explain the knocks it had.

Texas Blues · #10 09-05-2016, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Honestly, I don't think it was wore out, but you already had it out and I figured you'd have it tore down before you read anything anyway.

Looks to me like the head gasket was either blown or the bolts weren't tight. Probably could have cleaned it up and put a new gasket on it and it would have been fine.

On the bearing plate; remove the bolts and just take a rubber mallet and hit is easily to the rear. It is aluminum, so don't get carried away. They usually come loose easy enough, but do be careful, it has to come off the bearing/ crank evenly. The bearing may stay in the housing, or it may stay on the crank. I prefer to see it stay in the housing.

So far, in all your pics, I just see normal wear.... and it's not even that bad. Probably going to be cheap to rebuild.

On another note, it looks like it was ingesting dirt. Check the air filter housing and carb for "leaks".

Thanks jmech for the bearing plate tip. I ended up doing what you suggested, but also turned the motor flywheel side down (supported by a couple of 4x4 blocks so the crank was not touching the bench). This and the tapping, it came right up. Earlier I had the motor sitting in the upright position, and I suppose the weight of the shaft was making it more difficult than it needed to be. TB