Craftsman GT5000 plus 25 hp Kohler

[Howard Weeks]

Recently acquired this mower which had been parked for several years. Would not start and run.

*Changed oil and spark plugs.
*Drained all the old gas, flushed out the tank and replaced all the gas lines + pump to carb.
*Cleaned carb and installed Kohler rebuild kit.
*Good blue spark on both cylinders.
*Compression to 150 lbs on both cylinders.

Starts immediately with small amount of gas poured into carb intake. Sometimes will run good for 20 - 30 minutes and then goes to running on one cylinder. Other times, it will only run on one cylinder with full choke.

This points me to a carb problem so I have pulled it and checked passages many times. All appear to be clear. The carb is a Japanese Seki (spelling?. Pump appears to be delivering a good stream of fuel to carb.

I have repaired carbs of all sorts for most of my life and never failed to get one going - but this one has me ready to yell "uncle"!

It is an OHV engine and I have not pulled a head as of yet. Not sure why I would. I have not pulled the muffler to make sure it is open.

Should I just replace the carb with a new one or am I missing something obvious with this thing?

Any comment or help appreciated!

Howard in GA

 

[rustyj14]

If it belonged to me---I"d jerk that engine out, and install a Briggs & Stratton!
I"ve had several Kohler engines, that made good boat anchors. And i have one waiting to be junked, now. JMHO: Rusty Jones

 

[Anonymous-0]

Pull the plugs and look at them. If it's a carb problem the plugs should show it. I'm betting you will find unburned fuel on the dead cylinder side. I'd recheck the spark right after it dies. I think your coil is toasted.

 

[D beatty]

That engine will have a coil for each cylinder so see which cylinder it is not firing on.Check and see if there is rust on flywheel magnets. If I am not mistaken that engine has a charcoal breather filter and they do plug.

 

[rrobert]

Remove both valve covers and make sure all 4 rocker arms are moving.

I think a coil is toast too.

 

[Howard Weeks]

Folks,

I appreciate the ideas on this one. I will check all of them out and report back in a day or so.

I have pulled the plugs several times and they were always dry - not wet as in a flood condition. To add to the coil idea, I have noticed that the cylinder doing the missing is always the left one.

Not sure the mower is worth a new engine but I have considered it.

Thanks!

Howard in GA

 

[JohnDY]

The Kohlers I have had or have have outlasted any Briggs I've owned. Had a 20hp that spent more time at the dealers than I used it. Wish they would have offered the 27 Kohler when I bought my Prestige, only offered the Briggs at that time.

 

[rrobert]

The larger Briggs engines have an issue with vanishing push rods. Somehow the pushrods end up inside the engine case thru a small oil drain passage.

A rocker arm off a pushrod will give you compression but lack power.

Might be as simple as putting rocker arm back on and adjusting. Many Kohlers are hydraulic lifters tho.

 

[BAnNC]

Had same mower, Kohler decided to self destruct. Rod broke and destroyed the cylinder. Now another mower, loss of compression, probably worn cylinder, rings and piston. Yes, oil gets checked EVERY time it is used and changed well before the recommended time. Not really impressed with Kohler at this moment.

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 14:21:56 05/11/13) The larger Briggs engines have an issue with vanishing push rods. Somehow the pushrods end up inside the engine case thru a small oil drain passage.

A rocker arm off a pushrod will give you compression but lack power.

Might be as simple as putting rocker arm back on and adjusting. Many Kohlers are hydraulic lifters tho.

Boy, it's nice to know someone else had this issue too.....and sad! Vanished rods, bent rods, rods just off, rods mashed into curves. I've had them all. Lousy design IMO.

 

[D beatty]

There is a lot of back and forth about which is better Briggs or Kohler. The life you get out of a engine has a lot to do with how good you maintain it and if you beat the hell out of it. I have both Briggs and Kohler in my garden tractor and have had no major problems.I change every 10 hours on non oil filtered engine and 20 + hours on filtered engines( use 15-40 Rotella in all engines from day one).I take every tractor and blow dirt and dust off it after every time I mow. My oldest tractor is 26 years old with over 1600 hours and never been wrenched and newest one is 13 years old with 610 hours on it.

 

[Phillip Tibbetts]

I have a wood splitter with a Kohler engine on it and it is identical to the HF engine! Is Kohler made in China now? Seems like everything else is.

 

[T.R.K.]

I think you still have a fuel delivery problem.
If your choke is working, you should not have to prime it to start.
Have you confirmed your fuel solenoid is working? I understand that was the issue in one of the other posts tonight.
When it acts up, have you tried running it on a fuel source other than the mower's tank. I had one once that had a leaf in the pickup tube. It ran fine for 45 minutes before it started starving for fuel.

 

[Phil B.]

Eleven year old thread.