1985 K17 Kohler loss of power on #1 Cylinder

[reynoldston]

Go to TDC on each cylinder and check with a feeler gage. I sent the specs earlier. If they are tight you will have to remove heads and valves. When very carefully grind the valve stem ends till you get the proper clearance. I say be careful because its very easy to grind too much.

 

[Vintage Mowers]

Thanks again ,and yes I did check them at TDC and I could not get a feeler gauge in there, I got the spec but I couldn't even get a lesser feeler gauge in them. Yeah I will have to carefully grind. I will wait till I got a little more time so I don't get in a hurry.

 

[reynoldston]

Thanks again ,and yes I did check them at TDC and I could not get a feeler gauge in there, I got the spec but I couldn't even get a lesser feeler gauge in them. Yeah I will have to carefully grind. I will wait till I got a little more time so I don't get in a hurry.

Grind them to the low number because you can soon grind too much. Been there and done that. You can get by a little on the loose side if you do grind too much.

 

[Vintage Mowers]

Grind them to the low number because you can soon grind too much. Been there and done that. You can get by a little on the loose side if you do grind too much.

Sounds Good and I was thinking the same thing when I get to low number just stop don't push it Thanks Again...

 

[cashman]

If there is a big difference in compression between the two cylinders, definitely look at the valves first. The Kohler KT 17, 19, and 21 engines used a valve rotator on the exhaust valve springs and if they stick, they may not allow the exhaust valve to close completely. A leak down test is your best option with out tearing everything apart. Another thing that hasn't been mentioned here is that the KT engines and all Kohler engines with a battery ignition system for that matter, need to have the ignition timed using a timing light. The ignition timing won't have anything to do with compression in the cylinders so you must address that issue first. One more thing that can cause a cylinder not to fire is the spark plug lead from the coil to the spark plug that is burned or broken inside the insulation. Just relaying some of my experiences with the Kohler twin cylinders back in the day!

 

[Vintage Mowers]

If there is a big difference in compression between the two cylinders, definitely look at the valves first. The Kohler KT 17, 19, and 21 engines used a valve rotator on the exhaust valve springs and if they stick, they may not allow the exhaust valve to close completely. A leak down test is your best option with out tearing everything apart. Another thing that hasn't been mentioned here is that the KT engines and all Kohler engines with a battery ignition system for that matter, need to have the ignition timed using a timing light. The ignition timing won't have anything to do with compression in the cylinders so you must address that issue first. One more thing that can cause a cylinder not to fire is the spark plug lead from the coil to the spark plug that is burned or broken inside the insulation. Just relaying some of my experiences with the Kohler twin cylinders back in the day!

I did try a different plug wire and yes we did try to time it with light but the way it was running may have to do it again.. But appeared right. The valves on the # 1 cylinder seem to have no Clearance at all... what is this rotator you spoke of? Regardless of that there should be the right clearance in the valves correct. # 2 Cylinder intake is in spec and exhaust is a little tight. Thanks for the input...

 

[Vintage Mowers]

Grind them to the low number because you can soon grind too much. Been there and done that. You can get by a little on the loose side if you do grind too much.

UPDATE!!! I ground them the best I could with what I had to work with and kept them at the minimal on number 1 and I touched up the exhaust on # 2 intake was in spec on 2... Seems to be running great now... it appeared they did the number 2 cylinder but not the number 1... anyways so far its running great... Thanks Again... never had that happen before with a machine shop.