kohler k321 rebuild

[stevei46 0]

I would like you guys opinion, my dad bought a orange tractor not a simplicity but a power king he is up to 8 of them. it is a nice tractor but the kohler broke the rod, other than a .010 bore job and the same off the crank, its pretty good shape. we can pick up a complete stens rebuild kit on ebay including the gaskets, rod, piston, rings and valvesand a tune up kit for about $100 + shipping jacks has the factory parts just the gasket and seal set, piston, rings and wrist pin and a rod these will run about $200 + shipping. the guy at the local machine shop says the quality of the stens stuff is not very good and won't hold up for very many hours of use, and wants us to use the factory parts. what are you guys experence with stens parts quality? dad is not sure if he wants to keep it and use it for mowing or put in the cheaper parts and just sell it

[olcowhand 0]

I use Stens kits & have great results from them. It's more in the care most of the time. But I've seen some of the cheaper stuff blow with low hours too. Operator's fault?? Not sure, but mine have/are still giving great service. I have used at least 4 kits, some Stens, some Primeline kits. Nair a problem so far.

[wilm169 1]

The problem with some of the after market kits is, they use the rod from the lower HP engines instead of the 16 HP rods.

[Chris727 1,849]

I'm having a k341 rebuilt now, I was going to use stens but the machinist said he has had problems with stens and refuses to use them, he recommended prime line. I used prime line rings when I overhauled the B-110, they are holding up fine but I've only put about 5 hrs on it since I put them in a year ago. Another thing he mentioned is the aftermarked gaskets are junk compared to original. The factory head gaskets have a ring around the cylinder hole and the aftermarket do not, thus they blow out a lot faster.

[PeppyDan 3]

When my dad have his kohler rebuilt a few years ago the engine builder would not warranty the engine if aftermarket parts were used because he had tried them in his own mower and the engine lasted less than a year before needing rebuilt again. Dan

[olcowhand 0]

I looked up what I bought & the 3 engines I still have & use... I rebuilt these 3 with all "Primeline" parts. One rebuilt 4 years ago, but not much time on engine, one other rebuilt last Fall & mowed all season with it. The other rebuilt 2 years ago & gets moderate use. All running good, but I may just be lucky!

[stevei46 0]

My dad is still up in the air at what he wants to do. in the mean time i'm going to try and locate the primeline brand of parts thanks guys for all the input

[olcowhand 0]

Throw this ebay number in ebay search window, 7761770863. This is a 321 kit from the guy in Crestwood, Ky that I get my Primeline kits from. Good guy to deal with too.