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18 hp kohler motor


JJ MARSHALL

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anyone ever own or had any experience with a 7018 simplicity with a 18 hp kohler. single cyl. cast iron .over head valve engine? all replys will be appreciate. did this come from the factory like this ? JJ
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yes, they came from the factory like that. They are rare birds though....even the kohler website didn't list the owners or parts manual for the massive 18hp single cylinder, just the 18hp twin. I eventually found a repair manual for it through a Bolens site i was part of, but for the life of me i cannot remember the link, sorry. I replaced a 12hp wisconsin with the kohler....with the roto-tiller attahment and snowblower i NEVER had to go above 1/3 throttle. Them 18hp kohler twins have some SERIOUS grunt to em! Hope this helps some
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the 18hp single cylinder kohler is the K-361 Believe it or not, i took a peek in my manuals and i still have the service and repair manual for it! If you need any information, feel free to shoot me an e-mail or whatnot and i'll help as much as i can. If you're after a copy of the manual, i can help there too.....
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I pull a 718 (with a 3-speed instead of a hydro). I got the manual for it from Kohler. Part# TP-1288. You may want manual TP-2379 to go with it. It is the manual for the K engine singles a little more detail than the K-361 only manual. The lower end is the same as a K-341. Parts are all available. The top end is different (overhead valve train). The rocker arms and assemblies are no longer available. Valves and valves seats may be still available. Good powerful engine (but loud). They had problems as a working engine. The head fins (few with the overhead assembly) would plug, head would overheat and drop a valve seat. Keep the head fins clean and the engine is good forever. Note: if anyone has a muffler assembly from a 718 or 7018 to sell I am interested.
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Fantastic torque and power. Mine ran circles around any other 18 horse twin engine that I have. They're pretty fussy as to keeping the cooling system clean, particularly the cylinder head. If they overheat they'll drop valve seats and valve guides. A few tractor puller friends say they are super engines for pulling tractors, but call them "time bombs" on a "working tractor". I had an offer of over $800 for the engine out of my 7018. That was a no brainer for me, so the engine went down the road and the tractor was repowered with an 18 horse Briggs V-twin. Pat
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Classic Kohler manuals can be found using the following link: http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinecatalog/classic_engine.jsp?clseng=145160&clsfam=K-Series For the 18HP K361 only the service manual is available. It's TP1288, the manual MikeES mentioned above.
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I just sold an A-C 718H with the Kohler 18hp single cylinder in it on E-Bay a couple of weeks ago. Kind of sorry I got rid of it. It went for $270.
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My brother-in-law had one of those engines in an Economy tractor. He dropped two valve seats on different occasions. After becoming thoroughly discusted with this problem, he took the engine to an automotive machine shop, and they installed screw-in valve seats, instead of the press in units. He never had any more problems with the valves after that. That tractor was used for about four years after being fixed, till the flood hit and the tractor, and shed it was in, took a ride down the river. He never found it after that. That was the second time that tractor had been washed away. The factory engine had been a 14 Hp Kohler, which was busted in the first flood. That first time it only went a mile down river, before it landed on the bank. Hopefully someone got some good tractor parts from that second flood.
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My Dad has 2 of the 18 hp economys the one he bought from his brother in 1978 and sometime in the mid 80s it dropped a valve seat which held open the valve it hit the piston and bent the rod parts back then were over $300 to fix it has been fine since, the other he bought as a parts tractor but it turned out the tractor is nearly new and also dropped a valve seat its still sitting complete in the shed. economy went to a briggs 16 hp i think to replace the kohler the had so much problems with them
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