Engine My DGT 6000 Craftsman rider

[Hitman]

Hello out there in mower land , Hitman here ,I have the DGT 6000 mower with a Kohler 27 HP engine ! When I went to sears I told the salesmen I wanted the largest engine , the largest deck ! What I left with was a DGT 6000 w/ 27 HP , and a 54 inch deck . It was not what I was expecting the power was not there , after a little while it started smoking from one cylinder , I suspect a ring problem , does anyone agree with me on this diagnostic ! Since then I have been nursing it along these past years , I also did a lot of research On rebuilding the kohler for around a $100 with a kit from Sears . I also did research on engine replacement ,what I came with is to do both ! I went to Northern and purchased a Honda 660 cc commercial engine which I will swap out this spring . I will then rebuild the Kohler and install it in a older Craftsmen I have !. I look forward to chatting with you all should I have any problems or questions I might need help with ! Thanks & Hope to hear from you all soon

 

[reynoldston]

If it was mine before I spent my money I would what to know what is wrong with the Kohler. Also lots of luck to rebuild a engine for 100 dollars because I have no idea what kit that would be.

 

[bertsmobile1]

If it was mine before I spent my money I would what to know what is wrong with the Kohler. Also lots of luck to rebuild a engine for 100 dollars because I have no idea what kit that would be.

For $ 100 you would get a genuine Kohler routine maitanance service pack, you know filters, plugs & oil

Hit man suffers from a similar problem to a lot of my customers.
The inability to distinguish between maintanance & repair coupled with a politeness that prevents then taking something back for a warranttee repair.

If it always felt low powered with 27Hp Kohler then good chance it has been running on one cylinder from day one.


Back to Hitman.
Which Honda 660 did you buy ? There are a lot of engines of that size.
The engine will be a lot easier to diagnose in the mower.
Once out all you can do is look & measure and for that you do need a reasonable technical ability, which I fear you do not have, let alone the tools.

The most common cause of smokey engnes is a blown head gasket, this accounts for better then 1/2 of them
Then comes guides and last by a long way is rings.

You confirm the rings by doing a wet & dry compression test each side on a hot engine.
If it passes then You confirm the head gaskets by checking the engine venting, blowing a lot of oil from the breather = trouble
You confirm both sides are running by ;-
1) checking for a spark on each side
2) feeling the exhaust headder pipe each side for similar emperature.

Good luck with a rebuild kit. Rings ofr Kohlers are $ 40 to $ 60 a side & you have 2 sides then $ 20 for each head gasket and $ 15 for the closure plate gasket we are getting near $ 200

 

[motoman]

Hitman, Please update us on the failure mode. I think your model is currently on sale at Sears site? There is constant question here about Kohler vs Briggs.

 

[reynoldston]

For $ 100 you would get a genuine Kohler routine maitanance service pack, you know filters, plugs & oil

.

.

I have a HS50 Tecumseh single cylinder in my shop for a ring job in a wood splitter. Parts and labor, the customer is looking at 250 + dollars. They want 65 dollars for just the new rings alone. Now that is a lot less engine then your 27 HP Kohler. I do agree with bertsmoble as to running only on one cylinder because that Kohler engine shouldn't be lacking in power in such a small mower.