Jump to content

Unofficial Home of Old Simplicity & Allis-Chalmers Garden Tractors

Kohler starter maintenance (lube?)


OrangeMetalGuy

Recommended Posts

My K341's starter seems to hang up and not retract the drive gear quick enough when I release the key... sounds like I need to lube it.

I looked in the engine and tractor owners manuals but could not find anything on this. Then I did a search here, but came up empty too.

So does anyone have the procedure for this maintenance item?

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remove the starter and clean the starter drive with brake cleaner until all the gum is off and it moves freely. Do NOT use oil on it as that collects dust and will cause it to stick again. I just clean mine and go. You could spray a dry lubricant on it like silicon spray if you want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always worked the starter gear forward and sprayed it down with carb cleaner, let it sit for a minute, then follow up with triflow with silocone. Works smooth after that. I would have to do that to the kt17 starter once every year or two with all the dirt and leaf crud. Funny, it only acts up when its cold and you least want to be playing outside!sm00

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I cleaned it and TriFlow'd it. (great stuff that is).

The plastic cover over the spring disintegrated, but I assume that's only there to keep dust out of that end.

It's still sounding wrong, with a high-pitched squeal right after the engine catches. Visually, it appears to be retracting fast enough (and when I had it on the bench it was certainly smooth).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could the gear itself be worn and slipping? Just a thought. Its hard not seeing it. Is the squeal electrical and maybe a bad connection? The starter is a high amp draw...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The gear teeth looked a little worn but not like they wouldn't be engaging all the way.

The sound is mechanical I'm pretty sure. Sounds like one of the old Mopar starters from the 70's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You may be on borrowed time... Are you sure the battery is good? A bad cell will cause issues as well. Been there, done that. Simpleton7016 just had a similar issue on a kohler.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...