The cemetery assoc that I am an officer of had a 260K and when the Kohler Magnum 20 had some grief at 2,000 hours I suggested that a new machine was a good thing. In 2012 they bought a new Hustler X-ONE rear discharge. It had been suggested to repower the 260K, but I didn't feel comfortable as there were no direct repower engines suggested by any of the small engine suppliers. As with any repower, there are changes that have to be made to accommodate a new and different type engine. Sometimes repowers need to have a lot of research before they are done to ensure that the package will perform properly. The 251K and 260K are oddball machines in the way they are setup and require more in-depth research. As these machines have clutches for both the pump and mower engagement, I recall that the primary thing was that the engine perform as specified and more throttle was needed before engaging both the pumps and the deck. I am not a fan of Kohler Courage engines having seen too many fail, just my observation.
You can loosen each pump input/output hoses to check for metal contamination of the hydraulic drive system oil. You can also raise up the rear wheels and with the travel levers moved into movement positions, turn each pump by hand to determine the amount of force needed to turn the wheels. I think that I used an air ratchet to turn the pumps. I recall having had to replace the relays and do electrical checks over the years and eventually bypassed the seat switch as it was frequently problematic.
I didn't operate the old 260k much, just when it was broken, but did a lot of maintenance on it between 1995 and 2012.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:
