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Soveriegn Kohler 18 OHC v-twin Why so many repla


SmilinSam

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I've been meaning to ask this for a while. I have run across quite a few newer Soveriegn tractors( Agco & Massey too) that have had these Kohler 18 OHC v-twins replaced by the factory. Whats the story on this? I have a 99' Massey 2818 and the warranty runs out this coming July, should I be concerned?????????????? Sam
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Sam, We have a number of these engines out and have had only one failure. I wouldn't worry. One thing with this engine, keep the air cleaner clean. The cooling fan blows air up in the air cleaner and seems to bring a lot of grass with it. I love this engine and this is what we use in our Simplicity 7100/900AC repower packages. If your dealer is any good and you have a failure after warranty, the ball is in his court to see if any help is available for you. He should analyze the failure and if it is not caused by neglect or misuse,and is a legitimate defect,he should contact the rep for the manufacturer. We have helped a number of people with problems with their equipment when it is out of warranty. If we have a problem and feel the customer is entitled to some help, we call and explain the situation. We have never been turned down on something we strongly felt was unfair to the customer. LET ME MAKE ONE THING CLEAR! We try very hard to be FAIR. We don't try to screw the manufacturer on warranty when the failure is a result of misuse or neglect, even if the unit is in warranty. By the same token we do not want the manufacturer to screw our customers if they are entitled to help even after warranty has run out. We have very good credibility with all of our vendors and we have even on two occasions gotten help on a 4 year old engine, because of the circumstances. When you buy your tractor, the level of care that a dealer has for taking care of his customers may be worth more than a few bucks saved by going for the last buck. I am not implying that any dealers are bad, but some more than others are willing to go the extra mile for you. If you have a LEGITIMATE special occasion, and if he says: I'll call my rep and see if I can get you some help, you have bought from the right dealer. In our case we don't try to be the cheapest dealer around, but we feel buying from us is worth a little more. I can't help it think there are many more dealers that that to try to be the same way. Al
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Very good points Al, Mark Waite is owner of University Lawn Equipment in Pontiac Mi. and a fellow member also. I know him personally and he states the same thing that you did. One point that he did make is that if someone lets the dealer take care and maintain their Simplicity tractor they stand an even better chance of getting results after the warrenty has expired in the customers favor. Also he states to alwasy use the engine manufactures oil filter-air filter ect. and if you aren't letting the dealer maintain your tractor then keep all receipts pertaining to the original equipment maintence parts such as oil and filters ect. I hope that I havn't stepped out of line on this one but just passing on what I was told when I took delivery on my new Broadmoor last fall. Thanks, >>->happyjack<-<<
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Here is my nickels worth. The CH18 "Command" engine has a pretty good reliability history. The TH18 "Triad" engine is the newer generation with the overhead cam. The local AC dealer has replaced most of these engines he has sold, (dropping sleeves >> overheating?). As previously stated both of these engine (OHV) have more critcal parts in the heads and cooling is very important. These OHV engines seem to have closer clearances on the cylinder fins, and few fins on the heads; they are very suseptable to plugging with grass and dirt and harder to get to to clean. Keep the engine cool and it will last. Mike S.
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I have no problems with my Massey dealer, he has already had mine in his shop twice. Once to correct power steering leaks and the second to move the steering hoses out of the Pulley clevis for the rear lift. He is likely to see it again before July to fix leaking valve covers, leaks in the transmission, and to investigate the gremlins in my carb. At about 120 hrs I should not be seeing these problems. I too keep everything clean and well maintained, though I did give up the Armor All a couple of years ago. I was mainly concerned whether or not there were serious design flaws in this relatively new engine design or if it was a series of small problems that go unoticed till its too late. Maybe we will get some more input................................................?
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glad some else has brought up the point on the 18 hp kohler.i am one of those people who is having my engine worked on at my new simplicity dealer with a problem with the engine.motor got gas in the crankcase and mixed with the oil.my simplicity dealer is great .they called me the week before last and told me the news of the fuelpump being bad causing the gas mixture into the crank case .now the pump is being replaced as is the valvecover ass.as it was leaking as was replaced last summer and now is replaced again.my dealer got on the phone with the rep from simplicity and he called me last week and told me they will make it right. my warranity goes out april 4 so i was very worried about this problem. i am very picky on my tractor as the aircleaner gets blowed out after each use and the whole tractor is always cleaned off with air and wiped off and the moter is always cleaned with armoral.my whole whole point is i dont misuse my tractor in any way and it has only 70 hrs if that on it as i mow only 1/2 acre and plow snow out of my driveway when we get snow.dont understand how so many of these tractors have engine problems.some might be misused but mine is not.i asked the simplicity rep this ? last week.thought maybe there was a defect in the engine and that is why they stopped making the soverign/agco918 and was told they used to sell 10000 a yr and didnt sell as many so they stopped production on my agco918.want to hear from more people if they have problems like i am having.glad i have a dealer that will work with me as i was told by rep if warranity goes out that simplicity will work with me which makes me fill better as i have $6000.00 in the tractor.i love the tractor just think the products need to be tested and checked more as i have had problems with my tractor from day one i brought it home.at least i have agco and simplicty dealers that will listen to me and not treat me like i dont know what i am talking about.smoke filled dealers shop like it did my garage with smoke because of a problem that makes no sense to me why it is happening.these engines have something in them that makes the problems occur and it needs to be addressed to kohler because i dont run my tractor hard and it is always cleaned after each use.please tell us what the problem is .gas in oil just dont mix and more people are coming forward with problems like mine.my agco918 is a 1999 model.is this a problem with 1999 models only because i have one and there are others that are having the same thing happen.please we need some input from dealers who might be able to help us out.my engine is getting fixed not replaced but i have seen other messages on here about 18 hp kohlers being replaced.what is the problem? any help would be appriated.thanks for any help you can give me on the problems with these engines.i worry about the problems because 1 engine going bad with others having same problem is something kohler needs to worry about .we dont pay $6000.00 for a tractor to have motor go bad for no reason.in my case it was caught in time but others arent so lucky.agco918
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In answer to some concerns of the Triad engine. Early to mid 97 production units did see some cylinder sleeves dropping. The tolerance between the sleeve and cylinders was changed and improved. I hear sparse complaints on the valve cover leakage issue. This is a new design engine but is out in large numbers in many differant applications. I don't hear many complaints since these issues were changed. I do agree with Al in an earlier reply that many distributors will help you out in any way if the problem is beleived to be manufacturing problems. One thing to make sure of on these engines is the cooling air inlets must stay open. Any air cooled engine this is true on as well. The Triad has excellent power and very quiet operation as a key feature of the engine. I wouldn't be concerned heavily with problems with this engine in the future.
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