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TH-18 OHC ENGINE RECALL??


roma3112

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Guys Has any of you ever heard of any type of recall associated wh the OHC kohler's. I vaguely rember somthing about valve covers or camshafts being recalled. Do any of you recall this? So far so good i have not had any problems but!! the machine has only like 40 hours on it, and it sounds to me like it is only a matter of when and not if somthing bad will happen. Kind of really would tic me off considering the 6,300 plus price tag!!!!!!!!!!
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John, As of now I have leaky valve covers, failed starter, metal shaving in oil and white smoke blow by with only 96 hrs. Kohler has taken the position they will ony replace the valve gaskets. I beleive there is a much bigger problem. As you said in my post, I live in Massachusetts, so I'll see what becomes of this. But as far as Kohler concerned, they will only replace the engine under warranty on complete engine failure. That is there offical view. And yes, I paid $6,800 for my 2000 Soveriegn too. I hope my problem can be resolved because, I am still a loyal simplicity user. Tim
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John & Tim It's been over a month since this issue was last discussed. > http://www.simpletractors.com/club2/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28532 Time is your enemy. Protect the record. Don't sit on your rights. If you can't or won't communicate with Kohler and other involved parties yourself, hire a lawyer. It may be money well spent.
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Sounds like Kohler didn't learn anything from the last lemon engine they put in garden tractors. According to my brother, who's been green since the mid 70's, that why JD went to Onans, Kokler wouldn't listen to complaints about thier engine.
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Yes, the KT-17 found in the second production run (around 1981-82) of the JD 317 was a nightmare. The KT-17 Series 2's (1983-92) were a big improvement. The problem with the original KT-17 was a very low oil pressure, it was at or less than 5 psi. So if you ran it on a good slope or sideways on a hill, you'd burn a cylinder up pretty quick. The KT-17 Series 2's had a much better pressurized lubrication system which made about 50-55 psi. The Onans can be found in the larger 300 series and all 400 series except the 430. I have never dealt with an Onan to offer an opinion on it.
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GUYS for those of you in my unfortunate position of having one of these "dog" kohler engines in your tractor i just wanted to pass along a phone # that may help. I called kohler yesterday and explained the problem(s) with my engine the man i spoke to was (scott) and his # is 1-920-459-1579. i explained to him that the engine was under warranty and that i was heving problems and was not having any satisfaction at my locak kohler rep. He took my info and started a case for me so the problems could be put on record. Supposedly this guy is one of 4 in that department, i will let you all know how i make out, anybody that is in a similar situation I would suggest calling and getting your problems on record before the warranty goes POOF.
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John & Tim, Keep working with Kohler and Simplicity. The OHC engine will fail due to some inherent design flaws. My engine had similar symptoms to Tim's engine. I had to eat the labor since my tractor was out of warranty but Kohler provided the engine and Simplicity provided the conversion kit. Both under warranty. My experience,
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My 98 Sovereign has the same engine. So far I have not had the extreme problems that some have had. Engine has approx 300 hrs. Other than a very slight valve cover leak on the fuel pump side,(which started recently) and some minor smoking at startup everything else seems ok. I have not noticed any metal filings in my oil. The only bigger complaint would be that it has always used a little oil, even from new. Strange thing is that it seems to be lessening as the engine has more hours. For those who are having major problems....don't wait as long as I did to try to do something. Kohler needs to realize that this engine, even though it won awards at the outset, is not as good as they think. Even the minor problems that I have had are unneccesary.
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Not to get off topic, but the JD 400 had a Kohler. Maybe it was just the KT-17 that Deere tried to avoid.
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