# Post fpr another friend KOHLER SMOKE ON START UP



## SAM SAMSRAM (Apr 20, 2004)

New post for a friend that has no PC.About a Kohler 25 hp on a GT5000.
:dazed:  hmmmmm 
>>> SMOKE ON START UP GT 5000 KOHLER 25Hp TRACTOR?<<<<<<
Rick has a newer GT 5000 with about 45 hours. He has changed the oil/filter ( 30 wt oil). Said when he start's the tractor sometime gets a lot of blue /some white SMOKE. Sometime start's with NO SMOKE, but other times lot of smoke. Anyone out there have this problem????????????
:money: :duh: :duh: frown


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

HI Sam.. no big deal my 20 hp does it from time to time.... my 16 hp kohler used to do it.. mine spits out a few gusts of smoke from time to time but goes away.. his is not smoking all the time is it? 
i think it has to do with not being heated up to normal temp when shut down the last time.. or maybe if its at an tilt when shut down.. ive heard lots of sensible reasons.. 

does his backfire at shut down? my kohler will do that from time to time too... lets my neighbors know im done cutting....


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

He might want to try some SAE 40 oil. Might not smoke as much. My suspicion is that as he puts more time on the engine; the smoking will subside as the engine gets fully broken in. I run SAE 40 in my 13.5 hp Subaru Robin engine with good results.


----------



## guest2 (Dec 27, 2003)

Is he starting it at full throttle and not too much choke like the manual states? It could be gas.


----------



## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

This is a condition on virtually *ALL* larger twin Kohlers that have the cylinders positioned horizontally....there is nothing wrong with his tractor nor are there any remedies......*it's the nature of the beast*


----------



## Michael (Sep 16, 2003)

And my thought on this is it might possibly be is how humid it was on shut down. White smoke usually means water. My Briggs and Stratton 20 HP engine also does it once in a great while. 

What I think it is is the higher the humidity when it shuts down, that as it cools off water is condensing in the muffler and the next time you fire her up it has all that condensed water in the muffler and you get that big old smoke cloud. Now this only my idea of what it is and it sort of scared me also the first time my tractor did it but I also noticed that it only lasted a few seconds and was burning clean so I kind of chalked it up to maybe high humidity.


----------



## guest2 (Dec 27, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Argee _
> *This is a condition on virtually ALL larger twin Kohlers that have the cylinders positioned horizontally....there is nothing wrong with his tractor nor are there any remedies......it's the nature of the beast *


Is there anything all that different with the 22 hp kohler command pro v twin in my craftsman GT and the newer 25 hp in the GT5000? I thought they were the same basic design? Mine doesn't smoke or backfire. If I forget, and pull the choke on a warm engine, I'll get a puff of black smoke but that's just gas.


----------



## aegt5000 (Feb 22, 2004)

Are you sure it’s blue smoke ?
The 25hp Kohler on my GT5000 tends to richen up when idling.
He might just be burning off this gas when he starts up.


----------



## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

Here's what I've learned from various *afficiondos* on the subject...they range from backyard mechanics to small engine rebuilders and up to and including the big dog.....Kohler.

The pistons lie horizontally as opposed to vertically...The rings on the pistons rotate as the engine runs...if you stop the engine and the split part of the ring happens to be on the bottom, it is going to have oil setting on and around it and will allow a minuscle trace of oil by it when the engine is started the next time...thus causing blue or what some say is white smoke...Not being an engineer, I have to buy into to this theory...I imagine the heat of the pistons and cylinder walls plays into it in someway with contraction and expansion.....whatever...

The down and dirty of it is....a lot of people who own this configuration have the same problem...it is a non threatening annoyance and, I am told, will not cause the engine any harm...My 23HP Kohler GT3000 did it as well as my 25HP Kohler GT5000 does it....I've put a lot of hours on them and haven't had any engine problems...Why some people never have a problem is beyond me...maybe they stop the engine at the right spot


----------



## guest2 (Dec 27, 2003)

Argee
What type and where are your mufflers? Mine has a long tube muffler mounted on the r/s forward of the foot rest. I wonder if the exhaust location makes a difference?


----------



## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by sixchows _
> *Argee
> What type and where are your mufflers? Mine has a long tube muffler mounted on the r/s forward of the foot rest. I wonder if the exhaust location makes a difference? *


Muffler is located in the front of the unit where it lays horizontally.


----------



## craftsman-man (Mar 21, 2004)

i have a 17 hp kohler on my gravely. almost every time i start it i get white smoke too. depending on the weather it smokes for a while until it warms up. the engine has 1700 hours on it right now. it was bought new in 1987 by a dpw who gave it to me last year. it had a hard life i think, so i don't expect anything different than what i got.


----------



## Topdj (Jun 9, 2004)

Im running mobile 1 and practice warm ups and cool downs
No smoke yet and Im at 16hours. broke in on dino oil though


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

i like the smoke...
i like to consider it a natural fogger to fog the chipmunks out of my shed...


----------

