Kohler Engine Life

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onetotaltoolman

Forum Newbie
Ok - inherited a laser z with our property purchase. That's the good news. The bad? It has 1,500 hours on it. Replaced all worn parts, which was fine because, of course, it was thrown in with the property. It has a Kohler command CH-740 engine. The thing runs fine, but it's leaking oil from everywhere. I see a factory seal kit is about 190 bucks. A new replacement engine is around 3,000. i plan on running a compression test in the next couple of weeks. Even if the compression checks out, i wonder how much additiona llife i think i can get from the engine. Obviously, if the previous owner changed the oil often, it stands to run for a while. So, just checking to see if anyone else has run this engine over , say, 2000 hours. If so, then it's probably worth it to buy the seal kit and see how much longer this engine will last. Thnx for the input! toollman
 
Google AI answers as follows

Poor maintenance 800 - 1200 hours
Average Commercial use - 1500 to 2000 hours
Exceptional care maintained like new 3000 - 4500 hours

because oem parts usually work the best and even those can be inferior to a part made pre-covid, and the high cost of those parts, be sure to look the whole mower over carefully from wheels to bushings, transmissions, frame for cracks, etc.. The total cost to restore things these days can easily go over what it costs to replace it.
 
sgkent said:
Google AI answers as follows

Poor maintenance 800 - 1200 hours
Average Commercial use - 1500 to 2000 hours
Exceptional care maintained like new 3000 - 4500 hours

because oem parts usually work the best and even those can be inferior to a part made pre-covid, and the high cost of those parts, be sure to look the whole mower over carefully from wheels to bushings, transmissions, frame for cracks, etc.. The total cost to restore things these days can easily go over what it costs to replace it.
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With regular maintenance and not running it low on oil, around 2000 hours. You are reaching the end of the engine’s life most likely without rebuilding it or replacing. Keep an eye on the oil and top off as needed. Kohler Command is a great engine.
 
Tiger Small Engine said:
With regular maintenance and not running it low on oil, around 2000 hours. You are reaching the end of the engine’s life most likely without rebuilding it or replacing. Keep an eye on the oil and top off as needed. Kohler Command is a great engine.
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I have seen Kohler Command engines go as many as 8,000 and still running. He ran mobile 1 oil in it.
 
hlw49 said:
I have seen Kohler Command engines go as many as 8,000 and still running. He ran mobile 1 oil in it.
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Unheard of that kind of hours. I have never heard of any small engine going over 1/2 that amount of hours. I am not saying it isn’t true, just that it is an exceptionally long amount of hours.
 
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Tiger Small Engine said:
Unheard of that kind of hours. I have never heard of any small engine going over 1/2 that amount of hours. I am not saying it isn’t true, just that it is and exceptionally long amount of hours.
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Yes I would agree. But if it is a lie he is the one who told it to me. I do know it is on an old Dixie Chopper and he mowesd the lawn at Vol State Community college and a 5 Acre lot for Eaton Corporation.
 
I learned in this forum that one should do a "cylinder leak down test" to get a better idea of the engines cylinder health. I bought a test kit from Harbor
Freight for cheap. You'll need 120 psi compressed air for the tester. I would establish the health of the rings and cylinder wear before tearing into a rebuild.
OEM parts pricing has gone up significantly. If you have healthily cylinder pressure....I'd buy rags before spending rebuilding or repowering bucks.

Changing for leaks for areas like crankshaft seals are not so easy. Cover seals are much easier
and relatively inexpensive to complete.
 
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