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newly rebuilt kohler 16hp k341


csciara

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just had a k341 rebuilt 20 thousand over, new piston, rings and rod,valve job, crank journal tuned and polished

i have rotella 30 weight in it, i ran it 20 min then let it cool, i did this twice then i put the deck on and ran it lightly with the deck up for 25 min then i looked at the oil and it looked grey, so i drained it and it was dark grey so i pulled it and took it back to the place that rebuilt it and we took off the pan and everything looks good, the bore looks good with the cross hatch visible, the rod is tight but the bottom of the pan had alot of grey crap, it does not fell gritty and i put magnet it the oil i drained and nothing sticks, they told me it must be the rings breaking in so i should run it and change the oil every 20 min of running till it is clean,

does this sound normal

looking for advise

all kohler parts, the piston alone was $269 their cost

i paid $850 total for the rebuild

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there was no molly used

the oil im running does not say detergent anywhere

it is Shell Rotella T1 straight grade heavy duty diesel oil SAE 30

so would it be considered non detergent

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I would definitely change the oil again. Watch it very closely & be terrified.

It does not sound normal to me either.

I have never used non detergent oil & know nothing about it's advantages or disadvantages. I do know that there are far more opinions on oil that there is oil producers. Especially when you discuss 2 cycle engines.

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I have recently had a Kohlor bored .020 over. On receiving the block back there was a grey sledge all over the inside. Seeing this I took it back to the machine shop and ask what it was. He told me that they were using a soap based cleaner to wash out the grinding grit and it was soap residue. I brought it home and cleaned it with water then diesel fuel. The guy blamed it on the EPA requirement that he not use solvent.

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A running engine is the best "washing machine" there is to clean out the inside of the engine block. IMO use a detergent oil to keep the crap in suspension so it can be drained out of the engine at oil change time.

Almost every engine I've rebuilt had some "grey crap" in the oil. That is in fact the rings mating to the cylinder. At this point, run the engine as you normally would under normal load. You should be past the initial breakin period which is only about 20 to 30 minutes long. The breakin will continue for a while yet, but the critical time is past.

I may be speaking out of turn here but if you still have grey material in the oil at the next change the cylinder may have been honed with too course of a hone and is taking to long to break in. The course cross hatch is wearing the rings and the rings are wearing the cylinder. DON'T jump to conclusions though. It just may be an excess of "junk" left over from the machining process.

I run Chevron Delo 15W40 in all my air cooled engines and my water cooled motorcycle (Kawasaki ZRX 1200). I have yet to have an issue with this oil. 30,000 miles on the bike, 200 hours on a Briggs 20HP in my Toro Z-turn and 100+ hours on the rebuilt NHC Onan in my skid steer.

This is an article on engine breakin in. The same process I was taught way back in 1973 by my automotive repair instructor.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Ken

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well i have 3.5 hours on the motor and ive changed oil three times and the 4th oil change in the motor is still black and the old oil ive removed is all black so im taking it back to the place that rebuilt it, they say they will repair it and make it right

i should add that the tractor starts right up and has all kind of power it does seem to run hot but that is not new for this motor

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A had a 341 that I had completely rebuilt and it was a monster. Power like no other, ran great and strong. Until it got warmed up. Then it started to act like it was under a heavy load / seizing up. I dealt with this for only so long, and pulled it all apart. I checked specs, ring end gap, tappet clearances, etc. All dead nuts within specs for new, right in the middle. Tried everything, and eventually gave up. Sold the engine to another guy on here with the complete caveat. He ran it worked it and seemed to be ok. Until the Gremlin attacked him. Eventually he couldn't deal, the engine did seize or quit, and it ended up somewhere else.

We enver did figure it out, a great professional rebuild, and it just wouldn't run properly when warmed up. If I had paid for this (brother in law did this for me, but he is a detailed pro), I would have dumped it back in the hands of the rebuilder. And he would have been just plain ol' lost.

Good luck with your guys, hopefully they can get you straightened out. I wonder: How much of these instances are generated by aftermarket parts, as so many NOS are NLA.

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Had a 16hp Kohler that knocked after rebuild

was retaken apart twice

still knocked

swapped with someone

told him the whole story

He did not care

but after he could not get it to quit knocking

he wanted money back

I did not grant his wish

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  • 3 weeks later...

new update the engine started knocking so i pulled it and took it back to the rebuilder and now they are saying that they did nothing wrong and that the journal on the crank nust have been soft and it is out of round and they are telling me that the the rod is fine and that the aluminum of the rod heald up and the steel on the journal wore and the when it did it scored the piston he told me to find a crank and im in $850 already ..... i wont put a penny in it i feel i took to a pro builder, i did not put any limits on them and this is what i got

do i have a leg to stand on?

anybody been through something like this i would appreciate any help

or ideas of how to approach themid="size4">[/size=4]

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How did wear on the journal score the piston? Did you look at the engine apart?

Was the piston installed with the mark towards the flywheel? Was the rod cap installed with the match marks aligned and also towards the flywheel?

Either of these will cause excessive wear...the non-metallic grey sludge could be aluminum from the piston skirt.

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No matter the reason, they rebuilt it, professionally, charged you accordingly, and should stand behind it, no questions, no BS. The only thing I see as a potential question would be who supplied the parts? If you supplied aftermarket parts, then they may have a position. Otherwise, IMO they own it, and if they won't stand behind it, I would get on-line, in front of their store, in the local mall, everywhere and anywhere, and let everyone, including the entire free world, know about it.

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quote:Wonder if the connecting rod was installed backwards..... do not ask me why I suspect thisid="quote">
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I would agree. That to me is total BS from the rebuilder saying the "crank journal must have been soft". Without the oil hole in the rod facing the correct direction, then self-destruction happens pretty fast.

Just my 2 cents worth...

Tom (PK)

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TELL THE WORLD, doubt you'll get any satisfaction from them if they haven't yet probably won't. Good place to start is right here let your fellow members know so no one else gets burned by them. Just my $.02

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to answer a few questions, the builder replaced all parts with kohler parts that they obtained ( a rod, rings, a piston)they quoted me $700 I went to pick it up and they said $950 I told them we agreed on $700 and we settled at $850

I offered to settle for $500 back but they said they are looking for a crank to put in it

as far as anything in backwards I would not know as they took it apart when I was not there and if it was wrong they are not going to admit it

they say they are hearing that the 30w rotella oil I used should not be used in these engines??

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Tony,

At this juncture, I'd say you've been totally ripped off with this rebuilder "shop". And them saying you used the wrong oil in the engine. ANY current/modern engine oil way exceeds the API specs for an engine like this K341. IMHO, you'd been much better off doing the rebuild yourself.

Tom (PK)

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