Engineer42
Platinum Member
K series Kohlers are good engines. Today's gasoline isn't good for sitting in carburetors. If the deck and rest of the mower is decent, I'd rebuild it.
I have a K engine I've been on the fence about rebuilding, but not sure if the welder it supports is worth it.
I just got a Craftsman M100 mower running. Cousin's husband gave it to me. Crankcase was waaay too full of oil, maybe some bad gas in it, it did not smell bad. Anyway the carburetor is about 98% plastic, no adjustments, just a small bubble to depress 3 times to start it. Drained and changed the oil, put some good ole Castrol GTX 20-50 in it. Started on the 4th pull and burned out the old oil that was in the cylinder and exhaust port. Stopped smoking after a minute or 2 and good to go.
Glad you got rain, and safe travels.
Happy Anniversary you 2 !!! I hope for many more.
Thanks for sharing.
My hair got real shaggy if I tried to grow it past my neck. Sticking out from under my motorcycle helmet, it would curl up and get split ends...
Now, I actually have a true "red neck" from mowing this afternoon.
Bill, sorry about y'all's kitty. hope the trike works out for you, don't forget to put clothes on when you go to town.
I just made tuna fish salad with boiled eggs.....Everyone is about to kill me for smelling up the house. It sure smells bad, but tastes great. I put sweet relish instead of dill pickles. I like sweet and dill relish, just happened to have the sweet in the fridge.
Almost too hot to do anything. I'm having to watch myself from over heating. Fixing the push mower got me hot. Just not enough breeze flowing through the barn. Heat index getting up to 106F and higher. Temp is 98F
My 1/2 ton SUV was pulsing as you come to a stop. Not pulsing in the pedal, or the steering, but just in the seat of the pants while coming to a stop. My experience is that it is usually the front rotors, so I ordered new drilled and slotted front rotors and pads and installed them. Sounds easy, but the heat was brutal. Had my son helping. Took a trip to Canyon Lake and quickly found out the front rotors did NOT fix it. Also found out that even after coming to a stop, when you took off, you could feel the pulsing slightly while accelerating. Ordered new rear drilled and slotted rotors, and caliper rebuild seal kits for the back. Jacked up the whole vehicle. Took off the front wheels again, this time to sand the faces of where the rotor and wheel bearing mate (Just to make sure the front rotors were running true). Then pulled off the rear wheels and took off the calipers and rotors. Rebuilt the rear calipers. Caliper rebuild was straight forward, the old seals get hot and old and they become almost brittle, not supple. So the pistons can stick. 120psi air from my rubber tipped blow gun shot them out. Pistons are phenolic. Did I mention it was hot and humid??? Oh and the mosquitos....( I believe mosquitoes were stowaways on the Arc). I went ahead and used my really old cheapy vacuum hand pump to pull about a cup of old brake fluid thru each side while I'm in there... Emergency brake shoes looked good. I even put new Jounce Bump Stops in the rear above the axle. Put everything back together and bled the rears and took it for a drive to break in the new pads and rotors. Multiple times braking from about 55 to 15mph. At least 15 or so times. Brakes are working great and NO PULSING!!! I'm calling that a win. Parts were about $300. I told my wife that a shop would have charged us at least $1200. It took me about 6-8 hours total at my slow heat reduced pace. Even with my Milwaukee impact and ratchet.
View attachment 884786
View attachment 884787
rear emergency brake shoes
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Front rotors, I remembered they are directional, and had to change sides after this pic.
View attachment 884789
Rear rotors, with anything I could find to temporarily attach 2 wheel nuts so I could bleed and test them prior to putting on the wheels.
You can just barely see the new white bump stop in the back ground. Old bump stops were rotten and just turned to powder if you squeezed them.
Don, I know scorpions can fit through a credit card sized crack. After checking the normal places outside around the house last night with my black light, my wife saw a baby running across the kitchen floor. Arghh.
GREAT PICS Y'all! Thanks for sharing.
Ken, I have a professor friend teaching engineering at SUNY college. It is supposedly a good college. (But we all know the one I work at is the best!)If they are going to pay off student loans, I'm quitting and going back into the classroom.
Prayers for our team, our nation, Ukraine and Israel. Peace in the world. Times are looking bad around the world. Problems that go back hundreds, and some that go back millenniums.
Kyle,
Most of my emergency projects always show up what seems to be the hottest days of the year. Last major in August was front axle bearings on youngest son’s half ton Chevy pu. Never done that project before and what should have been a half day took all day due to the heat. Left side was bad, figured right wasn’t far behind so did that as well. Along with new stabilizer bushings. Two weeks later his fuel pump started leaking. Removed the bed (easier than dropping full tank of gas), and swapped the pump out ( fitting on pump rotted out). Two days later he stumbled upon a newer (2018)crew cab and traded in the one (2011)just repaired! I could skinned him.
M CDT post 194,651 :
