Newer Kohler Courage engines

packfan

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I'm looking at buying a 2014 Cub LTX1040 that has an SV590 engine with a manufacture date of September 2013. I've always read horror stories on these engines, but while looking at those complaints on various sources I noticed it seems the majority of complaints about bad gaskets, loose bolts and oil leaks are prior to 2010. I talked to my mower guy (who has been servicing mowers and small tractors for 25 years) for advice and he said most of the problems he sees are with the older Courage engines and that he doesn't see those problems with the newer ones any more frequently than any other engine. Is that the experience that you guys have seen with them? Are the Courage engines in the last 6 or 7 years better built than when the line was first introduced?
 

ILENGINE

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Kohler had some growing pains with that engine in the beginning, but seemed to get the bugs worked out in the last few years before retiring that engine. there are now building what looks like a similar engine but is totally different on the inside.
 

packfan

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Well, after ILengine's comment and also calling 3 more service centers from various places there seems to be a consensus that after about 2012 Kohler put better gaskets in these engines and did a better job of properly torquing bolts as well as made recommendations to manufacturers as to muffler placement that made them much more reliable. So I bought the Cub today. Now it does have an issue with the governor searching at full throttle with no load. When mowing, the searching stops and it smooths out. It will also stop if choked slightly, so I'm thinking a good carb cleaning is in order. I do however have one question before I dig into it.

In the picture below there is a small part that I circled in green. One side has a hose going to the carb. The other side is supposed to go to the gas tank. On mine, the previous owner bypassed that part and attached a hose going directly from the gas tank to the carb. It appears to be a simple coupler but is it more than that? Is it a valve of some kind? If so, would bypassing that little part have anything to do with the searching behavior?

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ILENGINE

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That fitting is for the vapor recovery system due to EPA requirements. I should hook to the back side of the rear air filter housing, and if used the other end will either hook to the top of the fuel tank at a special valve type fitting, or go to a charcoal canister for fuel vapor recovery.
 

packfan

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That fitting is for the vapor recovery system due to EPA requirements. I should hook to the back side of the rear air filter housing, and if used the other end will either hook to the top of the fuel tank at a special valve type fitting, or go to a charcoal canister for fuel vapor recovery.

Yes but it has been bypassed with single hose hooked directly from the air cleaner to the black disc on top of the tank. That wouldn't be a contributor to the searching behavior though, correct?
 

ILENGINE

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I suspect your issue is more related to something in one of the small passages of the carb.
 

packfan

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Cleaning took care of most of it. It now stabilizes much quicker but still hunts a little when first started. I might run a bit of injector cleaner next time I fill up the tank and maybe that'll get rid of any residue I might have missed.
 

ILENGINE

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Hunting on first start and then smoothing out is normal, since the carb jets are calibrated for a warm engine but are too lean for a cold start.
 

jtbjr

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These kohler courage pro engines do not have valve cover gaskets. The recommendation and from the factory is to use black silicon sealant. To me this is a terrible idea! Kohler recommends adjusting the valves at every 100 hours. Changing a gasket and it not leaking is simple. The black silicon starts leaking and is hard to remove the valve cover. I started making my own gaskets and have no problem. Why change the old tried and true gaskets?
 
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