4231 Engine

[Raw Dodge]

I've had 2 of the 4231 liquid cooled units. Loved the first one at near 900 trouble free hours and nearly 400 on the 2nd unit with no engine problems and only normal maintenance. Good to know that they are better liked than the Steiner Kohler engine.

Don't forget the steiners have earned there keep,theses machines have been absolutely pounded and come back for more...and both kohler s have well over 4000 trouble free hours,I'm freshening the older one this week,first time it's had a valve cover off since new 13 yrs and 5000 hrs ago..it didnt fail it just got to where it was burning oil...pulling it past the rings which have lost there tension from overheating.

 

[BKBrown]

I wasn't putting down the Kohler engines, all the Kohler engines I have had or seen have been great.
It is my understanding that one can expect 10,000 or more hours from the 4231 Liquid Cooled engine
if properly maintained.
I do wish the Hydraulics were set to a little more pressure and the exhaust was a little more quiet, but nothing is perfect !
I believe the Steiner family continues to attempt to make the Ventrac a better machine that will equal or surpass the
newer Steiner brand tractor. :thumbsup: My Ventrac is impressive to everyone who looks at it and watches it work ! :thumbsup:

 

[Raw Dodge]

I wasn't putting down the Kohler engines, all the Kohler engines I have had or seen have been great.
It is my understanding that one can expect 10,000 or more hours from the 4231 Liquid Cooled engine
if properly maintained.
I do wish the Hydraulics were set to a little more pressure and the exhaust was a little more quiet, but nothing is perfect !
I believe the Steiner family continues to attempt to make the Ventrac a better machine that will equal or surpass the
newer Steiner brand tractor. :thumbsup: My Ventrac is impressive to everyone who looks at it and watches it work ! :thumbsup:

You can turn up the charge pump on the ventrac using thin shims,and a 2000 psi pressure guage,you can make them out of an aluminum can and a standard hole puncher,it's the perfect size,or you can pay 10.00 for there shim kit which contains a few shims,i did that on my steiners and it helped,the ventracs have the advantage of having a splined gear/ shaft so they wont sheer the pin like a steiner will if you turn the charge pump past 1400 psi...if you have worn squash plates in the pump or either front or rear hydraulic motor,turning up the charge pressure won't do anything to help once the machine warms up,as the charge pump won't be able to attain relief pressure anyway due to the internal leaks from the worn squash plates...
As for comparing kohler/ Vanguard.. The vanguard 3 lc is an entirely different beast ,probably more in line with the kubota lc options on the steiners. When we initially bought the steiner it was a 5 year lease,and the liquid cooled options were much more expensive and only 1 horsepower more....it didnt make sense to lease the LC,when it was going back...or so we thought,we liked it so much 5 years later, we bought out the lease... I'm a huge fan of all the briggs vanguards ..especially the big block v twins and 3LC. If I could find a clean used 850 D I'd put it in one of my steiners,they are a great engine,along with the 950/954G.i wish Briggs would have used the EFI version of these engines instead of phasing them out due to emissions compliance...

 

[BKBrown]

OK -- Thanks !