Odd Issue with Kohler Courage 23

[Z7What]

She purring like she never has before. It’s always had a very slight slight miss when cold. While troubleshooting the woodruff key and water in the fuel issue I saw a spark coming from one of the plug boots. Now that everything is fixed she’s running better than ever. Thanks guys!!!

 

[Rivets]

Thank you for sharing what you found. Most guys don’t do that.

 

[jviews12]

thanks for being honest about the dirty watery fuel.

 

[poncho144]

Yeah, dat wuz my first thought, glad ya checked fuel but how inna hell didja git water in it?
I've had flat stale gas before but never in 80 plus years found h20 in any...

 

[sastark]

I have a 2006 Cub Cadet LT1050 with a Kohler Courage 23 with 350hrs. Two weeks ago i performed my annual maintenance. I changed the air filter, fuel filter, installed new correctly gapped plugs, change the oil and oil filter and sharpened the blades. After performing this work i cut my lawn and it ran great, like it always has.

This week i went to cut my lawn again. I started the mower, drove it out of my garage and when i engaged the blades the engine stumbled and quickly killed. Now i cant get it to start again. It will spin over but will not start.

I have confirmed the following
*Oil level is where it should be.
*Pulse pump is working.
*Fuel is getting to the carb.
*The fuel solenoid on the bottom of the carb bowl is working correctly.
*It does have spark.
*30amp fuse on harness is good.
*The PTO solenoid is working.
*Checked valve clearance (all were @ .005).
*Compression Test = 168# and 170#

Anybody ever come across something like this before or have any other ideas on what to look for?

Thanks Wayne

Had a problem with the JD Gator - it would turn over (cold) start and run for a while then it would inexplicably cough a couple times and die. Then I couldn't get it running again. This went on for a year or so. Had it in to the shop - they couldn't see what it was. This time, I sent it back and said it was doing the same thing (all this after checkup, tuneup and new battery). Turned out there was something caught in the carburetor. The John Deere place has a machine that cleans carburetors fully. Much cheaper than buying a new one, they tell me. Haven't got it back yet, but we are all feeling confident that that was the problem.

 

[Z7What]

Yeah, dat wuz my first thought, glad ya checked fuel but how inna hell didja git water in it?
I've had flat stale gas before but never in 80 plus years found h20 in any...

I have zero clue how water got in the tank. The mower is always garage kept and the tank I use to fill it also fills all my other equipment and 4wheelers and they are running fine.

 

[TobyU]

I have a 2006 Cub Cadet LT1050 with a Kohler Courage 23 with 350hrs. Two weeks ago i performed my annual maintenance. I changed the air filter, fuel filter, installed new correctly gapped plugs, change the oil and oil filter and sharpened the blades. After performing this work i cut my lawn and it ran great, like it always has.

This week i went to cut my lawn again. I started the mower, drove it out of my garage and when i engaged the blades the engine stumbled and quickly killed. Now i cant get it to start again. It will spin over but will not start.

I have confirmed the following
*Oil level is where it should be.
*Pulse pump is working.
*Fuel is getting to the carb.
*The fuel solenoid on the bottom of the carb bowl is working correctly.
*It does have spark.
*30amp fuse on harness is good.
*The PTO solenoid is working.
*Checked valve clearance (all were @ .005).
*Compression Test = 168# and 170#

Anybody ever come across something like this before or have any other ideas on what to look for?

Thanks Wayne

Keys usually don't shear on riding mowers and especially not on Kohler engines because they use a steel key from the factory unlike Briggs that uses an aluminum one.

I most likely culprit for them shearing would be a flaky seat switch causing the ignition to kick on and off on bombs or if you're leaning over etc unless someone was tickling the ignition key turn it off and back on.
Other than that the only other thing would be a severely under torqued flywheel.

 

[Z7What]

Keys usually don't shear on riding mowers and especially not on Kohler engines because they use a steel key from the factory unlike Briggs that uses an aluminum one.

I most likely culprit for them shearing would be a flaky seat switch causing the ignition to kick on and off on bombs or if you're leaning over etc unless someone was tickling the ignition key turn it off and back on.
Other than that the only other thing would be a severely under torqued flywheel.

The fly wheel bolt was tight. My only guess is that the sudden load when engaging the PTO is what caused it.

It was a cheap and easy fix and because of this issue, while troubleshooting I found the spark plug boot had a small crack that has caused a very slight miss when cold for the last 7yrs I’ve owned it. It now runs better than it ever has.

I bought the Cub and a JD 8.75ft/lb self propelled walk behind from a neighbor 7yrs ago for $300. I personally think the Cub makes a better cut than my buddies $10K SCAG.

 

[TobyU]

The fly wheel bolt was tight. My only guess is that the sudden load when engaging the PTO is what caused it.

It was a cheap and easy fix and because of this issue, while troubleshooting I found the spark plug boot had a small crack that has caused a very slight miss when cold for the last 7yrs I’ve owned it. It now runs better than it ever has.

I bought the Cub and a JD 8.75ft/lb self propelled walk behind from a neighbor 7yrs ago for $300. I personally think the Cub makes a better cut than my buddies $10K SCAG.

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View attachment 68764

It's just VERY rare for a Kohler or Honda to shear a key.

 

[ILENGINE]

It's just VERY rare for a Kohler or Honda to shear a key.

Just rare for break flywheel keys on any engine used on a rider due to the belt drive acts as a shock absorber preventing the suddent stop that kills the keys.