Kohler Command 25hp burning oil

Bleach

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I've ordered new valve stem seals for now. I don't have a leak down tester. I've never felt I needed one. Could I have a bad head gasket with a 180 psi?
 

Bleach

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A few weeks ago I replaced the seals. It seemed to have slightly cured the oil burning problem for a few hours. It was still burning some oil the last time I mowed but not so bad as to foul the plug. Yesterday it was back to burning oil bad enough to foul the right plug to where it started sputtering. I have a feeling there's more than it needing new seals. I'm thinking the head needs rebuilding or even the rings are bad on that side. The tractor itself is pretty worn out. The steering is so sloppy that I'm turning the wheel a 1/4 turn each direction to go straight and the frame has cracks on both sides near where the rear of the engine mounts. I probably need another buy another mower than to waste any more money and time on it. I'm disappointed the engine is needing so much work at just over 600 hours. I'm not buying another machine with a Kohler nor a Craftsman (or whoever builds these things) if I can help it. I just don't what to buy next. I don't want some else's headache and I need something durable to handle mowing around 3 acres of lawn with bumpy terrain.
 

cpurvis

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I'm not a fan of Kohler, Briggs or any other vertical shaft air cooled engine, but don't make a decision when you are pissed. 600 hours doesn't sound like a lot but without knowing the history of those 600 hours, you really can't make a judgment as to whether the oil problem comes from bad design, faulty materials, or failure to perform required maintenance.

At this point, you have nothing to lose by performing a general autopsy (take off the heads) and you just might find the problem is something that's inexpensive and easy to fix. If it is, great. If not, just throw the pieces in a basket and take the whole shebang to the Floral Hills Lawnmower Cemetery (aka, junkyard).

edit: Oops, I see that you've owned it since the 100 hour mark. So you DO know the maintenance history...
 

reynoldston

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Before you spend a lot of time and money on this engine why not try a heavier weight oil?
 

Bleach

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I'm not a fan of Kohler, Briggs or any other vertical shaft air cooled engine, but don't make a decision when you are pissed. 600 hours doesn't sound like a lot but without knowing the history of those 600 hours, you really can't make a judgment as to whether the oil problem comes from bad design, faulty materials, or failure to perform required maintenance.

At this point, you have nothing to lose by performing a general autopsy (take off the heads) and you just might find the problem is something that's inexpensive and easy to fix. If it is, great. If not, just throw the pieces in a basket and take the whole shebang to the Floral Hills Lawnmower Cemetery (aka, junkyard).

edit: Oops, I see that you've owned it since the 100 hour mark. So you DO know the maintenance history...

I've given it good maintenance so that shouldn't have been an issue. I don't really feel like tearing it down that far as it still runs. I don't want to be without a mower right now. I would if it were at the end of the growing season. I was thinking of using heavier oil like 40wt or adding something like STP.
If the heavier oil helps it enough to just keep the fouling down I'll be able to wait long enough that I might consider tearing in to it but then there's the issue of the worn out steering components. I could always weld the cracks so that's not too big a job.
 

Bleach

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Oh BTW, I'm not really pissed with it, just disappointed. I'm just faced with the reality that I probably should get something else. I got this thing free when I bought my house nearly 20 years ago. The previous owner probably didn't maintain it right as it was burning oil then at somewhere around 100 hours. I changed the valve stem seals then and they lasted another 400 or so hours. I changed them again, same side and they didn't last very long at all this time around. I have a feeling the valves and/or the guides might be the problem now. The valve stems didn't look damaged but I didn't have them out to mic them or really closely examine them. I could take the head somewhere and have it checked out or rebuilt but I don't know of any shops that work on small engines that I can trust in my area.
 

reynoldston

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If you are going to do a complete overhaul its not cheap unless you have a machine set up in your shop. It sounds to me like you have a 20 + year old mower that's getting worn out. You might find a better used mower cheaper then putting a lot of labor and money into that one. I also find when I get the older mowers into my shop it gets hard to find parts.
 

Bleach

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I haven't had a problem finding parts after I figured a better way to cross reference the applications. My biggest issue is the down time if I were to tear into this thing majorly. It probably is time to move on. I've been looking to see what's out there. There lots of Craftsmans and Kohler powered machines that I wouldn't consider anymore. There are John Deeres but the prices seem inflated in my area compared to other parts of the state.
 

bertsmobile1

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Yes it is all about greed & ignorance
Greed = I want everything but I don't want to pay a fair price for it
Ignorance = I have no idea how these things work so I will buy the cheapest so I won't get ripped off.

Thus mowers are made to the cheapest possible price and no one gives a tinkers cures about quality.
Manufactures that take pride in building high quality mowers have all gone broke because people won't pay a fair price for their products.

Most of the repairs I do are from strait out neglect.
I don't check my cars oil every trip so why should I check my mowers oil ?

You may have had a simple problem like a broken oil scraper ring.
However running it like that for so long you will have damaged the bore effectively making the engine scrap.

I used to run a fleet of motorcycles.
They got monthly services, including a compression test.
A loss of compression of 10% was time for new rings.
Plugs did not foul till the compression loss was nearer 50% by which time it was a rebore + pistons & rings.

I will not argue about vertical shaft engines, they are just barely good enough to do the job required.
However so few people would pay the extra for a horizontal shaft engine they have been dropped by all but top shelf commercial models
 

Bleach

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Bert your advice is spot on. I would pay a fair price for a good piece of equipment if it were offered. For some reason I can't figure, It's hard to find a fair price on anything(not just lawn equipment) used, good or bad, in the Portland metro area. I always find reasonable prices on things outside my usual traveling distance. I never buy big ticket items like vehicles new because I can't afford them. I wouldn't buy a lawn tractor for that same reason. I'm kind of happy I've made this thing last as long as I did. It would have been scrap long ago if I didn't try to take care of it. I was hoping I could keep it going without throwing a lot of money into it. I probably would if the steering wasn't so bad and the frame wasn't cracked in two places.
My understanding is, tractors like I have in that price range, were built better then they were just a few years later. I have a feeling comparably priced mowers, adjusted for inflation, are no better now.

BTW, I check my oil before every mow. If I didn't the engine would have been toast long time ago. It's compression is still more than I would have expected. If it has a broken oil ring I would probably need rebuild the whole engine anyway and I rather just get another mower and be that much ahead. My hydro drive is probably the next thing to go as it gets sluggish after a few hours of running.
 
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