unleaded gas in 1970 vintage K341

[Guest]

We haven't had leaded fuel available for I don't know how many years now and they have been running fine - you possibly may need one extra vavle overhaul in the engine's lifetime but not even that maybe. Does the EPA even allow the use of lead additive to be sold today? :)

[paull]

I was wondering, can the valves of an older (1970) K341s handle the no lead gas we use today? The motor runs nice now, but will it continue to without the lubricating quality of the lead?
Paul L.

[Al]

I agree with Jeff, However about 4 years ago we had an old Wheel Horse in that in 95-100 degree outdoor temps. When mowing under load after 15 mins or so, would detonate (PING) terribly. Nothing fixed it, until we machined about .020 out of the flat area in the combustion chamber. End of problem. This was at the time we were having a lot of trouble with boiling gas, and having to put heat shields on carbs. Since then gasoline in our area has improved and we have not seen much of this. If if runs OK and you don't have any problems with detonation you should be fine. There are a lot of them running on it. I belive Koh lowered the compression ratio in about 1974 on at least some spec numbers a little, when the gas was degraded, and I have never seen any problems with engines newer than this era. Just feed her gas and grass, and enjoy her. Good luck AL.

P.S. When we were having these problems, both Kohler and Briggs told us that these problems were not uncommon, but were spotty, due to variations in gas in local areas.

[Al]

Long before unleaded gas was commonly available Briggs recommened unleaded or white gas in their engines. The engines didn't need the lead and the lead lead to diposits building up in the carbs. My B12 has been run on unlead gas for most of it's life and still runs strong. A friend of mine puts alittle 2 cycle oil in his gas tank to oil the upper cylinder. Tim

[JBute]

Paul: I have been running several K-341 engines as well as Briggs and Onans on unleaded regular with 10% alcohol mixed in. In Minnesota this is about all that is available anymore. We call this fuel Ethanol. It works very well in these engines. As I run a lawn and garden service most of my engines get high hours. Have never done a valve job between major overhauls since using this product. Also no more carbon cleaning from cyl heads. The engines are as clean as neww when we major them. I am a true believer in this good fuel. Also it helps out the farmers a bit. Jim Bute