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Hello all, I have a Craftsman Pro Series 7800 small lawn tractor that I bought on close-out last year...long story short, the Kohler engine blew--just blew at 1/2 throttle spewing oil form the bottom and subsequently siezed. I detest anything Kohler and should've known better, but that's besides the point. I want to drop in a decent Briggs engine. Can anyone shed ideas on maybe which one? the Kohler was a a 20 HP 7000 Elite Series. Thanks in advance for any input! This looks like a great forum!

Firstly the warranty on the engine is carried by the manufacturer.
So it does not matter how you bought the mower it is covered by Kohler unless it was bought directly from Kohler at a knock down price because there was not warranty ( includes auctions )

Most mower engines interchange ,
They have the same mounting centers so the mower companies can offer different engines.
You have to measure the shaft diameter & length
Any engine with the same shaft dimensions will bolt up .

Be careful when installing a different brand engine. Problems you will find are how do I hook up the wiring and you need need to get a new muffler and figure how to install it.

Thanks for the responses, guys! First off, I DID contact Sears, they, in so many words told me they don't warranty "close -out" items. Great! Thanks Sears, I'll never buy anything from you again, even after doing so for nearly 60 years!.
Secondly, I DID contact Kohler and they were actually worse than Sears as far as not wanting to know you. I spoke with one rep who wanted some additional info/pictures which I promptly sent. ZERO response from her after 2 weeks. Decided to follow-up and no one had heard of her (the rep) nor was there any record of me calling, reporting etc, EVEN though I had a ticket # which they claim wasn't valid. Incredible. Kohler by far has the absolute worst customer service I have ever experienced.
So I'm left to my own devices here, and figured I'd bite the bullet and re-install another motor. As far as the wiring goes, yes--that is a concern of mine as to which replacement motor I should buy. It cannpot be that hard, but if I hit a wall, I may just decide to part this tractor out. What a shame...I actually liked how it drove, the tight steering etc.

I would give Kohler a follow up call. The outcome may be the same, but I’ve never had a problem like that when I’ve dealt with their customer relations people. If you do get the run around again, ask to speak with someone in the “engine division “ or “public relations “

Rivets said:

I would give Kohler a follow up call. The outcome may be the same, but I’ve never had a problem like that when I’ve dealt with their customer relations people. If you do get the run around again, ask to speak with someone in the “engine division “ or “public relations “

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Call Kohler again. If Kohler loses JUST ONE customer because of someone reading this, it will be a terrible business move for them.

Basically, that's how I got Doughboy to send out a warranty pool liner after my 2-month-old liner was leaking at its seams. Doughboy wanted to blame me, blame the liner installer (who installed the original liner that lasted 15 years), blame global warming, blame global cooling, etc.

The motor pictured has only 6 hours on it? Looks like it went through a flood after a hurricane tore down the garage that caught on fire.

Never really looked at the picture. Just because you don’t take care of your equipment, doesn’t mean that the manufacturer has a right to avoid you if there was a problem with their product. That being said, the OP is going to have a tough time convincing anyone that the problem is the sole responsibility of Kohler. Something tells me that the unit may have been low on oil and not setup properly, which is the responsibility on the OP, as Sears does not do setups. It might be a case of, “Who do I blame for this?” Wouldn’t you like to see pictures of the rest of the unit to get a better idea of what might have happened?

Point in question.
Just finished the "should be warranty" kawasaki FS651 V
The owner had 2 weeks of warranty left & wanted to claim excessive oil use & blowing smoke as a warranty claim .
When I pulled the heads off the bores were glass smooth nearly everywhere and there was obvious dust inside the inlet tract.
He has been using a bagger on the Time Cutter and the fine dust that leaves the bags got sucked into the engine .
This was despite regular oil & filter changes but would still have been considered "owner neglect"

Do you think we are getting the whole story? Wouldn’t be the first time someone has tried to use this forum to further help them justify their problems. Will be interesting what we hear back.

Rivets said:

Do you think we are getting the whole story? Wouldn’t be the first time someone has tried to use this forum to further help them justify their problems. Will be interesting what we hear back.

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Judging from the look of the cover with a snail trail through the dust , no
But it is not for me to judge, just read what is written & proffer any advice that can be of benefit to the poster.
Having done the on line Kohler certification course & a couple of Kawasaki tech updates I am getting a lot better at picking up misuse & abuse.
With the above mentioned TimeCutter, the air filter should have been changed twice a season for the past 2 years of drought

Follow up to some of the posts here....that motor DOES have 8 hours on it...I had it stored in my carport over the winter with a "weatherproof" cover on it. Step by step story on how this occured...Gassed unit up, brought to full. Checked oil as I ALWAYS check oil on any gas equipment before running. Oil level was fine (full) and color good--which is should've been given the low hours on it. Anyway, proceeded to cut lawn, took maybe 45 mins or less and started to drive back to my storage area at maybe 1/2 speed, mower deck not engaged. About 25 feet from the storage area, I smelled fresh oil. Motor was running fine, no smoke. I looked down from where I was sitting to see if I could see anything and yup! the area near the oil filter (left side of engine looking down from the seated position) was spewing fresh oil! I immediately reched over to the key to shut down and it seized at that moment. Totally locked up! If I'd shut it down a nanasecond earlier, I probably could've saved it, but who knows? Maybe my question should be where and why was that oil pouring out? I have not removed the engine, but it is obviously on the bottom, under/near the oil filter area. I DID remove the oil filter to see if there were any cracks near that area, but there are none. Complete & total mystery and I really don't want to even look at this machine again if only maybe to replace that POS that is in it now.

Thank you.
Sounds like the filter has come loose in which case it will come under the catagory of abuse .
You should have a standard 1" x 3-5/32" crank but measure it just to be on the safe side
right now
Smal Engine Suppliers have a stack of commercial Briggs with the bigger & better air filters on then for 1/2 price
Small Engine Warehouse have a stack of Vanguards also very cheap.
Be careful if you pop for the Vanguard as that front facing air filter is hard to change on a tractor style mower and might even foul on the hood.

Whichever one you go for as Rivets mentioned you will have to do some rewiring because Kohler & Briggs use different plugs
You will also need a new muffler which may or may not bolt right on thus requiring a bit of cutting & welding.
The muffler is part of the mower, not the engine which is why some are $ 50 while others are $ 150

If you want to go for an even cheaper engine, watch the descriptions as they are decieving
Spin on oil filter = splash lube with a pump that filter the oil in the sump
Pressure fed crank = pressure feed to con rod & splash to upper bush
Full Pressure feed = pressure feed to all 3 journals on the crank

You need a 9 amp alternator ( or higher )

If the Kohler had a piggy back solenoid on the starter you will need a remote solenoid

Not so fast on the abuse claim. If this was a new mower with a new engine with only 8 hours that filter would of been factory installed. Kohler has issues with filters coming loose a few years ago, but would be hard to prove now with everything that has happened since. I have had several Kohler engines come into the shop this past year where the filter could be removed with one finger, and in two cases it was leaking it was so loose.

Some of those engines I had changed oil on last year and know for a fact that the filter were hand tightened and I mean two hand cranked on tight. So would be 3/4 to 1 turn past gasket contact.

bertsmobile1 said:

Point in question.
Just finished the "should be warranty" kawasaki FS651 V
The owner had 2 weeks of warranty left & wanted to claim excessive oil use & blowing smoke as a warranty claim .
When I pulled the heads off the bores were glass smooth nearly everywhere and there was obvious dust inside the inlet tract.
He has been using a bagger on the Time Cutter and the fine dust that leaves the bags got sucked into the engine .
This was despite regular oil & filter changes but would still have been considered "owner neglect"

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That's why I passed on the ZTR's. Air intake way to close to dust created by bagging my ton of leaves

gotomow said:

That's why I passed on the ZTR's. Air intake way to close to dust created by bagging my ton of leaves

Click to expand...

A very wise move unless you fit the Donaldson type twin canister air filter.

ILENGINE said:

Not so fast on the abuse claim. If this was a new mower with a new engine with only 8 hours that filter would of been factory installed. Kohler has issues with filters coming loose a few years ago, but would be hard to prove now with everything that has happened since. I have had several Kohler engines come into the shop this past year where the filter could be removed with one finger, and in two cases it was leaking it was so loose.

Some of those engines I had changed oil on last year and know for a fact that the filter were hand tightened and I mean two hand cranked on tight. So would be 3/4 to 1 turn past gasket contact.

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As you stated, hard to prove where a filter loosened off and another reason for buying off a dealer where a loose filter before the first service would be either a factory or dealer neglegance issue
When bought from a big box then it is beholden on the purchaser to do a full predelivery check on the mower before use.
Have been down that path before & the enf result was that if the makes has included the predeliver check list with the mower then it is the responsibility of the owner to carry out those checks before use

The easiest fix would be just install a replacment Kohler 20 hp. (Its a good engine and will last just as long as z briggs given proper care and maintenance).

Heres a good Kohler for 7 bill's. (Think about it).

Thanks for that link...I've got to think hard about this....I absolutely HATE the idea of putting anything Kohler back in this tractor, but I actually like the tractor...it's nimble, very comfortable, etc (not to mention NEW), so I may have to bite the bullet on this and do a drop-in replacement. Believe me, if this was a Briggs drop-in, I would not hesitate for 700.00...but a Kohler, hmmm.

Hey man. try here, http://www.smallenginewarehouse.com/
you'll have to click on the repower old equip., select either Craftsman and use the model number of the mower, or Kohler in the dropdown menu. They may have something that will fit.

Maybe this: