Is the Kohler Courage really that bad?

[alienball]

I recently purchased a 5 year old Ariens Zero Turn with a 23 hp Kohler Courage engine. Runs great, other than it burns the grass if i sit too long in one spot. Seller claimed it had about 150 hrs. Should I be worried? The Kohlers don't seem to get much love on this board. Thanks

 

[Rivets]

The courage engine does not have a good rep with the servicing tech on this forum, because we see to many of them in our shops. Just like any engine, you can have a lemon once in awhile. It seem to many of us there a too many lemons in this engine basket.

 

[ILENGINE]

The problem with the courage is it seems like the bugs never get worked out. Fix the cracking block problem, then they have camshaft problems, Fix the camshaft problem, then it was water running into the starter and causing corrosion. Fix the starter issue, and then it was leaking valve cover gaskets. It is a ongoing wicked stepchild.

 

[alienball]

Which Kohlers were the worst?

 

[Rivets]

In today's market Courage

 

[Ric]

I recently purchased a 5 year old Ariens Zero Turn with a 23 hp Kohler Courage engine. Runs great, other than it burns the grass if i sit too long in one spot. Seller claimed it had about 150 hrs. Should I be worried? The Kohlers don't seem to get much love on this board. Thanks

The Kohler Courage in my opinion is a good engine and there's nothing wrong with the courage if you maintain it the way it needs to be maintained. I've run three different courage motors in the last seven years in a lawn-care business (hundreds of hours) and never have had a problem with any of the three.

 

[reynoldston]

When you have cracked engine cases on engines with very few hours it has nothing with as to how well a engine been maintained. This seems to be the problim on the Kohler courage engine. I really don't know what you need to do prevent this from happening. Maybe its the way it is operated, low RPMs??? maybe someone has a better idea.

 

[Ric]

When you have cracked engine cases on engines with very few hours it has nothing with as to how well a engine been maintained. This seems to be the problim on the Kohler courage engine. I really don't know what you need to do prevent this from happening. Maybe its the way it is operated, low RPMs??? maybe someone has a better idea.

What the problems are is that people don't know kohler engines. It doesn't make sense that you would have these problems with engines going bad and have other people have the same engines and have nothing going wrong.

 

[reynoldston]

OK this is all well and good but just what is there to know? I think that what I was asking. There just has to be a reason manufacture? poor owner operation? I know one person has no trouble and the next doses WHY

 

[Ric]

OK this is all well and good but just what is there to know? I think that what I was asking. There just has to be a reason manufacture? poor owner operation? I know one person has no trouble and the next doses WHY

I have a few questions? You said When you have cracked engine cases on engines with very few hours it has nothing with as to how well a engine been maintained. Was this your engine and did you buy it new?