Kohler K181S is over-revving......governor or something else?

Volvoman

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  • / Kohler K181S is over-revving......governor or something else?
Wheel Horse C-81 has a Kohler K181S that over revs. I have set the governor shaft as recommended by loosening and pulling governor arm away from carburetor and blocking it while rotating the governor shaft counterclockwise, then re-tightening the clamp holding the govern arm to the governor shaft. The engine still over revs wildly after this has been done. I next loosen the brass nut and rotate the ring clockwise that is attached to the throttle cable in an attempt to contain the over revving. Still no apparent improvement. The governor shaft rotates within prescribed limits, which tells me the tab is present and doing what it should, but does this all mean nothing if there is an issue with a broken or perhaps missing governor gear? The previous owner stated that he had “disconnected” someting from the governor, but didn’t say whether it was internal or external. Is there a way to tell whether nor not something is amiss internally without doing a complete teardown of the engine? I presume the engine will run without a functional governor gear, or is that presumption incorrect? Or, am I missing the problem altogether, and there is something else that could be causing this over-revving problem?

Vvm
 

EngineMan

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  • / Kohler K181S is over-revving......governor or something else?
First of all can you take and upload a photo of the governor so that we may see what is missing..! you say that "The previous owner stated that he had “disconnected” something from the governor," in your post I didn't see you mention anything about the governor spring, so question, is there still one on it..? and to answer your question about running it without a working governor is a No, No, unless you want to kill it, that engine should be set at 3600RPM Max.
 

Volvoman

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  • / Kohler K181S is over-revving......governor or something else?
Yes, the external governor spring is in place. There is nothing missing externally, and the governor shaft only rotates part of one rotation, indicating that the internal stop tab is in place. My concern is that the p/o may have removed the governor gear altogether. Is it possible to tell if this is the case without having to tear down the motor to see if it is missing or not? If not, is there another way to know whether or not the governor gear is missing or somehow disengaged?
 

Volvoman

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  • / Kohler K181S is over-revving......governor or something else?
One little thing I neglected to mention........the p/o was using the tractor in pulling contests. Over revving was intentional, but I don’t know exactly what he decommissioned or removed from the engine to achieve his purpose.
 

EngineMan

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  • / Kohler K181S is over-revving......governor or something else?
Yes, the external governor spring is in place. There is nothing missing externally, and the governor shaft only rotates part of one rotation, indicating that the internal stop tab is in place. My concern is that the p/o may have removed the governor gear altogether. Is it possible to tell if this is the case without having to tear down the motor to see if it is missing or not? If not, is there another way to know whether or not the governor gear is missing or somehow disengaged?

When running does it move the throttle leaver any movement at all..? it should try and close the throttle..! and you should be able to see the tip of the governor lever move from side to side within say about one inch. if not then may have to take apart the engine and have a look.
 

Volvoman

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  • / Kohler K181S is over-revving......governor or something else?
Not that I can detect. On slow idle, it is okay, but just nudge the throttle just a little and we’re off to the races, like right NOW. Governor lever pegs to wide open and stays there. Have to shut it down immediately or it will rev to the moon and beyond. I’m very suspicious that when I tear it down there will be no plastic governor gear in it. I’m thinking the p/o didn’t want to give me the whole story about what he actually had done to the engine. Looks like a good winter project, to tear it down and do a complete rebuild.

Vvm
 
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