Small engine repair wisdom?

[IA Leo]

My JD214 is starting to use oil, about a cup per 5 hours hard work. The rest of the machine is still useable for a few years.
?1. Is the end near? I depend on it for snow blowing and mowing a 4 acre yard with a 47" deck and pulling a 60" self powered tow mower.
?2. Is an overhaul by locals as practical as dropping a new engine in? Another unit, a JD212 cost me $1500 for new Kohler about 3 years back.
?3. Can a 16HP be dropped in the same place as the 14HP now in there?

 

[wisbaker]

Those old Kohlers were great, if cared for they would run as long as a gas farm tractor but were pricy to rebuild. If you shop carefully you might be able to repower for the same or less dollars. Some of the new engines are really great, run on less fuel, have electronic ignition and don't need oil changes as often. I don't know if they run as long as the K series Kohlers and I am no longer in a position to observe There was a place in Indiana that offerred repower kits for some equipment and Sten(?) makes parts for Kohler,so their prices have come down a bit and they are still cheaper than Onan

 

[Anonymous-0]

Most of those engines use a little oil, and a cup of oil in 5 hours hard work is not that bad as these things go. On the other hand, if other people run the tractor who don't check the oil regularly you could have big problems.

You should be able to get that engine overhauled for around $300-$400, less if you do most of hte work. WeekendFreedomMachines website has threads on this.

Putting a newer repower engine in a 200-series is complicated by the slant cylinder design used on most newer engines.

You could use one of the single cylinder Kohler Kagnum engines like the Magnum 18.

A K341 engine from the same vintage of John Deere tractor will bolt right in.

 

[Jakes454]

Change the head gasket and it will stop using oil.

 

[Brian Jasper co. Ia]

Changing the head gasket will have absolutely no effect on oil consumption. Remove the head and look at the top of the piston. A piston with no carbon on it means it time for a rebuild. If you have some basic hand tools including a torque wrench, you can do the work yourself and save some real money. Take it apart and have the block bored for an oversize piston, the valves ground, and the crank reground. They don't build them like what you have anymore...

 

[Anonymous-0]

i think the place Wisbaker is talking about is Small Engine Warehouse located at Dunkirk,Indiana.

 

[IA Roy]

Hi Leo
The K321 in my Allis Chalmers was using about a pint per tank of gas. About 4 hours. A couple months ago it seized the rod on the crank and broke it and the piston. I priced non-Kohler parts and machine work to bore and grind the crank and the cost would have been about $300. I couldn't justify putting that much money in a $200 mower so I didn't do anything with it. The tractor had a 16 hp K341 in it that came apart when the governor quit governing. The next door neighbor gave me a similar tractor with the 321 and I swapped it out in a couple hours 6 or 7 years ago. It was a quite satisfactory transplant. I couldn't notice the power difference.
P.S. Even though it traveled in a cloud, it was my favorite mower. The other 2 were an old mechanical transmission 16 hp 48" Yazoo and a 682 Cub Cadet.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Your engine should be less than $500 to rebuild. If the rest of the tractor is in good shape, then rebuild it and be good for another 10-15 years. You can put a 16 HP right in there from a 216.

 

[WGM]

Remember to use genuine John Deere parts. Much better than Kohler parts.

 

[greygoat]

wgm is correct ! !
Anything that's "Green", and costs more, is sure
to be better!
Here's a tip!
NAPA auto parts has an "Outdoor Power Equipment"
catalog, that has a full "Kohler" section, and
they sell "Genuine Kohler" parts, and generic,
(NAPA branded) Kohler parts. And the catalog has
a great "Cross Reference" section, and good
pictures, Cross reference has "Crapsman" "Briggs"
"Tecumseh" and others.

 

[dunoon2]

try tractorsalesandparts.com they probably have what ya need.