Kohler 26 hp Needs help.

Wirespider01

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Hello everyone.

I have a craftsman dys 450 54" cut with a 26 kohler.. It was my workhorse.

I really keep up on the maintenance of this machine. In fact last year I put a lot of money into by buying a new deck, blades and so on. The deck wasn't too bad I just like to practice preventative maintenance. It's has over 300 hours on it. Oil is changed once a season along with plugs and so on.

This year I had to rebuild the carburetor (I ran it empty at the end of the season last year but I forgot to drain the carb from the bottom). After doing so it didn't start up so I hit it with starting fluid. It started up. Btw, I'm not sure if it was the ether exploding or what but I heard a good knock when I hit it with ether.

Right away I notice while it's still sitting in the garage it seems too have lost some power. The rpms are not all there. I recheck the fuel solenoid and a few other things and the carb was good. I take it outside start going down a incline and it starts blowing white smoke and it was missing. I get to level ground and it clears out. I never had the engine tilted while working on it so I'm thinking breather. I take it back in the garage and pull the breather hose and baffle and it seems good.

So I start it again. This time it blows white smoke when I start it. I go out into my front yard that is level and it blows smoke so bad it smothers the engine and shuts it off. I get off and walk around to the front of the mower and it looks like there's fresh oil around the exhaust. So I let it sit for a few hours. I come back out to start it to see if I can find the source of the oil leak and it takes forever to start. When it does I can't move 10 feet because there so much oil smoke I can't see. I go around to the front again and where I was trying to start it the exhausts blew oil all over my grass. I was done for the day. A couple days later I go back at it. I notice the time it sat there, oil has ran out the exhaust.

I'm really thinking that the ether blew a head gasket or worse.

What do you all think? I got a new zero turn mower but I would like to get my workhorse running again. It's a really good strong 2008 Kohler when it runs. I have no troubles tearing the block down, it's just that im not exactly sure of how far I need to tear it down. I'm sure the crank is good.


Thank you again.
 

ILENGINE

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How about posting the model number from the tag on the blower housing of the engine itself. Craftsman liked to over state the horsepower on their mowers, and was sued for lying. The 26 hp engine is normally an EFI engine. I suspect you have the CV25 and it has done what it was famous for and that was blowing head gaskets.
 

ILENGINE

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Could be blown head gasket, but I would also check the oil level and make sure it doesn't smell like gas.
 

Wirespider01

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Ok not sure how I deleted my own post but here‘s the info.

There isn't much, if any, oil showing on the dipstick. Smelled the stick and it has a gas smell. The crankcase smells like the gas tank. My Engine definitely has gas in it.

Does this mean I'm back to square one and my carburetor still has problems?

Also, what would that gas do to my engine the few short times I had it running?
 

ILENGINE

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The gas thins the oil and reduces the lube properties. You could have cylinder damage or other bearing issues. Not too many areas that will allow gas into the crankcase. Leaking carb, or leaking fuel pump into the pulse line.
 

Wirespider01

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Thanks for everything ILENGINE!

I guess I have a fall project now.

Take care...
 
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