# what to do?



## rbig (Sep 5, 2004)

Just got word my Kohler K-532 in my JD400 mower has a broken con rod. 

Does this mandate an engine pull to fix---or is it a drop the pan and pull the piston fix? Probably have to drop the crank too.

What are the current replacement engines for the K-532, and what's a good source for them?


----------



## Michael (Sep 16, 2003)

If the connecting rod is broke, The engine has to be pulled because the heads the crank and everything has to come off for a rebuild IF the engine is rebuildable (which I kind of doubt) The best place is start to check the various online sources for a new engine Jack Small engine and see the price of a new engine. I'm not to such what would be the best prices would be but also check locally around places like the dealer and a small engine repair places and see if they can beat any internet prices (remember teh independent small mom and pop places also)


----------



## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

It's a WHOLE lot easier to work on the motor if you pull it. Kohler still supports this motor with parts and it is rebuildable, depending on what you find the cylinders look like when you pull the pistons.


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

What is the latest on the engine repair. Is she salvageable?


----------



## rbig (Sep 5, 2004)

Well, the God's smiled, and seems like I made out like a bandit here.

I was totally committed to doing and engine conversion, based on the JD mech's diagnosis. It was noted, though, that his diagnosis was without actually going into the engine.

Assuming I had a broken con rod, and that others have said this is somewhat problematical with that model Kohler, I wanted to know how much the shop would charge to repair it, knowing that to give me an estimate, they would have to pull the engine and go into it. I said sure, go ahead, because I needed the engine out anyway, even I changed to a different one.

Well, the mech went ahead and pulled the engine. When he got in it, lo and behold if the trouble wasn't just a wingnut that had somehow (this one is beyond me) gotten from the holdown shaft on my air breather into a valve, and was wedging it open. 

Nothing really drastic at all. 

What's interesting is I've had other twins I've had around get screws from the carb or air breather plate down to the valves, and am not unfamiliar with the symptoms. Just pull the head, get the little rascal out, put new gaskets down, and button it up. 

In my Kohler situation, I can't even begin to explain how a wingnut from outside the path got inside the air path. That's a good one. 

I also can't explain why the engine wouldn't start back up again when I tried. Usually, the twins run OK on one cylinder, they just don't make power. 

And, if there's a valve wedged open, you'll typically get a lot of popping and blowing of gas back out through the carb throat.

So, since this one was running along fine and just wheezed and died, shouldn't it start back up again on one cylinder???? But, it didn't; just no fire at all in either cylinder. 

So anyway, everythings fine, and my hoopy runs along as good as ever, and I didn't have to foot the bill for an engine conversion, so had enough saved from that worst case scenario to get some good sauce to ease me through the Xmas holidays.


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Glad things worked out and you did not have to mortgage the house to fix your tractor.


----------



## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Glad to hear your Deere is running good. Back-in-the-day, when I was working at a Deere dealership, I pulled the head off a customer's machine, only to find a midget ignition wrench stuck under a valve, holding it open. I still don't know if it left the factory that way, or the owner was fiddling about and got it stuck (took me quite a while to get it out). The tractor started and ran (it was a single cylinder Kohler), but had no power at all. I don't even know how old the machine was at the time, but would have found it hard to believe that the customer would have been happy with the poor performance for very long.


----------

