Kohler 8 HP rebuild - ?

[Mattc8832]

We tore down the 8hp kohler last night. I seen that it is .020 over piston so it had been bored. It is low on compression. I noticed a a lot of carbon build up on the piston could that be a sign of a lot of oil burning due to needing rings. Question can the rings that came with the OEM rebuild kit work on a .020 piston? I'm going to reuse the piston just clean it off - I'm putting a new rist pin and rod on the oil piston. The piston looks to be in good shape.


thanks

 

[jel1988]

What did the spark plug look like? It should tell you if you are burning oil.

 

[eddie48]

As I recall, the rings are larger on the .020 over piston. You can also be getting oil through the valve guides. Is this a cast iron engine? It's been too many years since I rebuilt one to be sure, but I think that if you put a bare ring down into the cylinder (with the piston removed) the gap between the ends of the ring should be about .100" If much more, you need new rings.