# Kohlr Courage 26HP - life expectancy



## jrwpmw

I have about 500 hours on my Craftsmans GT6000 with the Kohlr Courage 26HP engine. It's about 3 years old and has been very well maintained. 

I can't find any statistics on this, but I'm wondering what 'normal' life expectancy of that engine is? Now, I know maintenance and a lot of factors play into that. But I was hoping to get 2000-3000 hours out of it (e.g. before some major engine breakdown or a rebuild is needed). 

However, I talked with a guy recently who works on small engines (including Kohlr's) and he said after 500 hours you are on borrowed time & getting 1000 hours out of that motor isn't likely. He said he has seen a few with 1000+ hours, but more often than not something goes before that.

Anyway, I would appreciate your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks in advance,


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## ftorleans1

Don't want to be the bearer of bad news however, The Courage engine will more than likely never even get close to 2000 hrs. If you take really good care with how hard you run it and how frequent you change the oil and use synthetic oil you may get another 500 to 700 hrs. but that will just about let it out.


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## Hoodoo Valley

Second that. Those air cooled engines never approach those kind of hours. If it were liquid cooled, it would be more likely. Just take care of it, keep the air fins cleared and keep that oil changed on the mark!


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## Country Boy

I've always told people that the Courage series is about a 1000-1500 hour engine if well maintained, and a Command series is a 2000-2500+ hour engine if well maintained. I know several Courage engines that are close to 1000 hours and are still running like new because the owners are strict about maintenance and keeping the engine clean so it stays cool. Others have blown up at 500 hours because they were covered in dirt and oil and the oil got changed once or twice in its lifetime. I know of several Command series engines that are over 2500 hours without any major work. My friend's father in law has 2700 hours on his and all we had to do was replace one ignition coil and one head due to a casting defect from new. The head was changed at 2500 hours when the original head gasket burned through.

There may be something wrong with an engine from new that shortens its life, but most of an engine's life expectancy is due to the maintenance and care that it receives. If you are the type that follows the manual's maintenance schedule to the letter and keeps your equipment clean, then your engine should last you a long time. Just don't be like some folks I've worked with that said "Well, it was making a weird noise for a while and then just shut off." Turns out "a while" was a few mowings. Could have saved the engine if they had gotten it taken care of right away.


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## jrwpmw

Thanks, had I known this I would not have purchased this tractor. They should have an estimated service life listed. I mean people seem to agree this is a 500-1000 hour motor. But they are being sold as lasting a lifetime if properly maintained; of course I didn't believe that but was thinking maybe 10 years and 2000 hours since I am very good about maintenance.

Of course lasting a lifetime could mean until the motor blows out taking you with it  

Thanks for you input! Another lesson in getting what you pay for!


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## Country Boy

You can get the better engines in mowers, but you'll pay $4000 plus to get it. A Command 25hp will set you back around $3000 alone. You'll notice how the price of garden tractors haven't kept up with inflation. A good garden tractor in the 70's set you back $2500. A modern garden tractor costs around the same but a dollar isn't worth anywhere near what it was back then.


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## bmaverick

The Kohler Mangum engines will hold up. I heard to avoid the Courage series too. 

FWIW, just keep that engine in good maintenance and check the oil level just before you fire it up.


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## wjjones

Well maintained 1500 hrs until rebuild..


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## GoofyLeo3

You guys must LIVE on your tractors. I put about 60hrs/yr on my grass-cutter mowing 5 acres & way less on my snow-blowing tractor. BOTH have spun in Mobil-1 5W-30 since their original oil was changed out @ 10hrs and BOTH are still flawless. I change the oil & filter every 100hrs. Grass cutter is a 3yr/old air-cooled Kohler twin & the blowing tractor is a 15yr/old liquid-cooled Kohler twin. At this rate, my KIDS will inherit my tractors with less than 1K/hrs on them.


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## wjjones

Mine is 10 years old it shows a little over 600 hrs on the meter but it still runs pretty smooth.


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## Bob Driver

Consensus around the room when I went to Kohler Certification School a few years ago was that the Courage was a 1,000 hour engine. Kohler says their average homeowner does 50 hours per year. 

Interesting to hear _"A Command 25hp will set you back around $3000 alone"_. The CV742 I ordered last week, showed up via UPS today. I pay wholesale and I'd really love to be selling it to my customer for $3,000 + the install labor.

Here's a link to a pretty good retail price on a CV742 @ $1,792 with free shipping and a 3-year warranty from Kohler. They're usually around $2,100 with shipping on-line. That's around a 50% mark-up on what a Kohler Dealer pays on their invoice from the Distributor

https://www.kohler-engine-parts.ope...hp-command-pro-747cc-schiller-bob-cat-p-52723


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## hass

Kohler 735sv in a craftsman mower. when starting engine smokes and drops oil onto frame. once runs apprx. 1 minute
clears up and runs great. Has new Carb and new plugs and fuel filter. Changed oil 2 months ago. Hard to start but once its going will work all day on my 6 acres . who can shead some light on the problem ?
Th


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## Bob Driver

hass said:


> Kohler 735sv in a craftsman mower. when starting engine smokes and drops oil onto frame. once runs apprx. 1 minute
> clears up and runs great. Has new Carb and new plugs and fuel filter. Changed oil 2 months ago. Hard to start but once its going will work all day on my 6 acres . who can shead some light on the problem ?
> Th


Usually eats starters and the pan bolts like to come loose (_*"drops oil onto frame. once runs apprx. 1 minute"*_). The crank bearings and piston rods are not nearly as stout as the Command Pro series, so they're prone to throw rods. Needs valves adjusted every 200 hours (*"Hard to start"*), Command Pro's have hydraulic lifters, no valve adjustment necessary. Don't adjust valves on a SV Kohler and by around 300 hours, ACL (automatic compression release) quits working right and starter begins to drag ("Eats starters"). Same size Kawasaki engine calls for valve adjustment at 300 hours and the ACL won't start screwing up until around 450 hours.

There are two o-rings right behind the oil filter mounting boss that pass oil from the filter into the upper block. They like to leak first when the pan bolts come loose because of the way the bolts are spaced and the oil is pressurized. Looks like the oil filter is leaking so guys will keep tightening the oil filter until the oil feed tube snaps off. The SV Series came out about the time when the Bright Idea Fairy told Kohler they could quit using pan gaskets, the CV740 Command Pro runs a pan gasket..... Doesn't leak and the pan bolts don't come loose as the aluminum block/pan expands and contracts from heat. Run a SV long enough with loose pan bolts and the pan warps

Never seen a SV Courage with more than 1,000 hours on it..... Personally own a CV Command Pro with 2,100 hours on it.


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## Potownguy

jrwpmw said:


> I have about 500 hours on my Craftsmans GT6000 with the Kohlr Courage 26HP engine. It's about 3 years old and has been very well maintained.
> 
> I can't find any statistics on this, but I'm wondering what 'normal' life expectancy of that engine is? Now, I know maitenance and a lot of factors play into that. But I was hoping to get 2000-3000 hours out of it (e.g. before some major engine breakdown or a rebuild is needed).
> 
> However, I talked with a guy recently who works on small engines (including Kohlr's) and he said after 500 hours you are on borrowed time & getting 1000 hours out of that motor isn't likely. He said he has seen a few with 1000+ hours, but more often than not something goes before that.
> 
> Anyway, I would appreciate your thougts and experiences.
> 
> Thanks in advance,


I have a DGS 6500 with a 26 h.p. Kohler Courage v twin.(SV 735)
I bought it in 2008, so it's 13 years old. As of today, I have 1326 hours on it. I use it to mow 2 acres of grass all summer, and blow snow with a Bercomac belt driven snow thrower all winter. The only problems I have had were the coils early on, which I switched out for the MDI coils. Today I had to adjust the electric clutch as the blades wouldn't engage if shut off, after heating up. Other than that, still running strong. (touch wood)
So don't let anyone tell you there is a limited life span on these engines. The owner and how much TLC he is willing to devote to his machine is the biggest factor affecting life span.


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## bmaverick

Potownguy said:


> I have a DGS 6500 with a 26 h.p. Kohler Courage v twin.(SV 735)
> I bought it in 2008, so it's 13 years old. As of today, I have 1326 hours on it. I use it to mow 2 acres of grass all summer, and blow snow with a Bercomac belt driven snow thrower all winter. The only problems I have had were the coils early on, which I switched out for the MDI coils. Today I had to adjust the electric clutch as the blades wouldn't engage if shut off, after heating up. Other than that, still running strong. (touch wood)
> So don't let anyone tell you there is a limited life span on these engines. The owner and how much TLC he is willing to devote to his machine is the biggest factor affecting life span.


I really glad you are getting high usage hours with the engine. Got any pointers on how you are running the engine or maintenance or oils used? Things like this sometimes play a big factor in long life. I know for one, just having the tires pumped up to the max PSI helps a great deal as the engine isn't working under such a big load.


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## Potownguy

bmaverick said:


> I really glad you are getting high usage hours with the engine. Got any pointers on how you are running the engine or maintenance or oils used? Things like this sometimes play a big factor in long life. I know for one, just having the tires pumped up to the max PSI helps a great deal as the engine isn't working under such a big load.


Sure. I use 5W30 oil in winter, and 10W30 oil in summer. I change the oil, the oil filter, the gas filter, the air filter and the plugs every spring and fall ( That would be approx every 50 hours.).I got rid of the ridiculous oil change setup Kohler had on the engine and screwed a 6 inch nipple into the block and put a cap on the end. No more messy oil changes. I grease the deck mandrels, the front axles and wheel bearings after every 3rd cut or so, and the steering pivot every spring and fall. I try not to let the grass get too long or wet before cutting but sometimes it is inevitable. I remove the deck, clean the cuttings out of it and dress the blades at the same time.(3 cuts or so.) I take the foot rests off every fall and tremclad the deck to minimize rust.With my last oil change this spring, I started using synthetic oil due to the age of the engine, and I added about a pint of slick 50 with the oil change. I get under my tractor with the hose and clean everything so built up grass and dirt don't allow rust to get a hold. I keep my tires inflated to the recommended pressures. As a point of interest, I am still on the original drive belt, but am considering changing it just because I don't want to do it in the winter. The belt is in good shape without cracks but is worn, and still drives the transmission without slippage.I will probably drop the transmission this fall and change the oil in it, and change the belt at the same time. I'm still on the original battery as well, but I have always kept a float charge on it to prolong it's life. Oh yeah... I did have to replace the muffler last year and reweld the mickey mouse heat shield that came with the Bercomac thrower. I wash and wax my tractor so that it still looks new even after 13 years. That's probably a lot more than most folks do, but the tractor was a big investment for me, so I'm willing to go the distance. TLC like I said.


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## SidecarFlip

Should be renamed 'Kohler Scourge'.....lol


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## Bob Driver

Potownguy said:


> I have a DGS 6500 with a 26 h.p. Kohler Courage v twin.(SV 735)
> I bought it in 2008, so it's 13 years old. As of today, I have 1326 hours on it. I use it to mow 2 acres of grass all summer, and blow snow with a Bercomac belt driven snow thrower all winter. The only problems I have had were the coils early on, which I switched out for the MDI coils. Today I had to adjust the electric clutch as the blades wouldn't engage if shut off, after heating up. Other than that, still running strong. (touch wood)
> So don't let anyone tell you there is a limited life span on these engines. The owner and how much TLC he is willing to devote to his machine is the biggest factor affecting life span.


Your "Courage" engine isn't the one that about bankrupted Kohler with warranty claims. It was the 15-18hp Twin-cam, "bucket" engines, with the V-shaped rocker covers. That's the one that gave the entire "Courage" line a bad reputation.

Every time you go to the Doctor they take your blood pressure. If it's 180/110, you've got problems. If you run a leak down test on a small engine and it reads 20%, you're on borrowed time also. 

1,300 hours is good, and so is 72 years old, but like a blood pressure of 130/94 @ age 72 ...... 1,300 hours/17% leak down tells you way more about life expectancy.


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## SidecarFlip

"So don't let anyone tell you there is a limited life span on these engines. The owner and how much TLC he is willing to devote to his machine is the biggest factor affecting life span.".....

That rings true with ANY internal combustion engine in a lawn mower or a diesel tractor, your car or pickup truck...anything. The exception would be a 2 stroke like a chainsaw or a weed whacker but so long as you use a quality, low ash premix oil and FRESH gasoline, preferrably non ethanol gas. All is good with them too.

You should not have to add any snake oil (like Slick 50) to modern oils. Not needed. Sticking to at least the recommended change interval for ALL lubricants is the best bet, even changing the sooner is better.

Oils (and filters, including that often forgot air filter) are the cheapest things you'll ever buy for any engine hands down.


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## asokasus

hass said:


> Kohler 735sv in a craftsman mower. when starting engine smokes and drops oil onto frame. once runs apprx. 1 minute
> clears up and runs great. Has new Carb and new plugs and fuel filter. Changed oil 2 months ago. Hard to start but once its going will work all day on my 6 acres . who can shead some light on the problem ?


i just fixed nearly identical symptoms on a 22 year old Kohler Command CV15S on a JD Lt155 by replacing the head gasket. while i was at it, did a major cleanup on engine and components ...


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## Bob Driver

asokasus said:


> i just fixed nearly identical symptoms on a 22 year old Kohler Command CV15S on a JD Lt155 by replacing the head gasket. while i was at it, did a major cleanup on engine and components ...


Huge difference between a Kohler "Command" and a Kohler "Courage" engine. Command is a commercial grade 2,000 hour engine.... Courage is a homeowner grade 1,000 hour engine. A new vertical V-twin replacement Command engine sells for around $2,000. You can shop around and find a vertical V-twin replacement Courage engine for less that $1,000. I call it that the "$1 an hour Kohler rule"...... Expect to spend a $1 an hour when you're buying a replacement engine, depending on how long you want the engine to last.


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