I have a five year old Z400 with a 48" deck that is woefully underpowered with an 18HP Kohler. The Z400 is the estate mower - a step up from the home model and slightly down from the commercial Z500s. I would like a bigger engine and see that a 23 HP Kohler two cylinder can be had for less than $800 over the internet. The commercial version of the same engine is about $1600. If you add the muffler, it looks like a straight replace. Has anyone done an engine replacement themselves and if so would you recommend it to a guy with lots of car engine experience? Are there any special tools that you would recommend? Would you recommend a different engine?
A 30 percent increase in HP should be very noticeable...
keep the blades sharp and it will not overload the drive mechanism on the deck...
With reasonable mechanical skills and automotive tools you will have no problems with an engine swap... Good Luck, and post more about your re-power project... :smile:KennyV
