Machining a Kohler K301

[Braeden P]

I'm in the middle of a " green " project at the moment !

You mean…one of those…John deeres??? How could you!!!

 

[mmcmdl]

You mean…one of those…John deeres??? How could you!!!

I had a weak moment and felt sorry for the poor thing . Plus , I have to use up quite a few cans of JD green and yellow down the basement .

 

[Karl_T]

It was until a few years ago, you can find a few 0.040” over but not nearly as many as the 0.030”.

Do you happen to know where to order a 0.040" over

 

[Braeden P]

Do you happen to know where to order a 0.040" over

Here’s one on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/3841278851...dFQY9L57tTgCbdD935SNvhWsW9QhoQ-xoCqjkQAvD_BwE

Here’s another on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/1443566390...c36Qz4H8zEvBsQlyADSs5NiJBl_vo_WBoCLFUQAvD_BwE

This one has a rod, valves and gaskets https://www.ebay.com/itm/1848525424...rRaSZ_56L8AfLVQ5ZmwQrAf3edJppY3RoCRVAQAvD_BwE

Read them all carefully they might not be as advertised, had that happen to me before.

 

[Karl_T]

This one has a rod, valves and gaskets https://www.ebay.com/itm/1848525424...rRaSZ_56L8AfLVQ5ZmwQrAf3edJppY3RoCRVAQAvD_BwE

Read them all carefully they might not be as advertised, had that happen to me before.

YEP, the last offer has the piston labeled 0.010 over

 

[intrepid]

I've done this same job MANY times. I thought 0.030" over was the biggest oversize piston available.

My Kohler engines were on Gravely commercial power units. They used the K301S engine. It had a special end on the crankshaft. When the bore got more than 0.030 over, I'd buy a Kohler engine used from anything and swap cranks shafts. These often had to be rebored. Not that big a deal if you were swapping cranks anyway.

I have often wondered about the Kohler K series engine blocks. So are you saying all the K series blocks are the same? The cranks are all interchangeable with any other series K block? If this is the case, is it just the crank and piston which changes the HP rating? Cam and valve size? Been wondering this for years.

 

[Karl_T]

I can only speak to my experience. Gravely had the Kohler factory build them engines with a gear welded to the business end of the crankshaft. They were called K301S. You could buy them through gravely at gold plated pricing. OR swap crankshafts.

 

[John O]

I can only speak to my experience. Gravely had the Kohler factory build them engines with a gear welded to the business end of the crankshaft. They were called K301S. You could buy them through gravely at gold plated pricing. OR swap crankshafts.

Gears were not welded on, the length of the crank was longer. When I swapped mine for a Predator I had to lengthen the PTO side

 

[intrepid]

Thanks guys. So doing some additional research it appears the K241, K301, and the K321 all used the same block and head. The larger 16hp K341 uses a slightly different block and head. Of course the internals of each would be different. This is good information for me because I need to rebuild a K301 from my gravely that broke a rod and balance gears or find another one. By the way for those interested I also found a K301 from a Gravely walk behind has a different crank length than that of the K301 from a Gravely riding tractor. (Blocks would be the same)