Engine in my 317?

The honda does sound nice!! The only down fall to it is you can't use the side plates, This is what small engine warehouse says and I'm not going to give up my side covers. They say the valve covers wont clear them
The engine in the tractor still runs great always starts and starts easy but I don't want to let it get to the point where it can't be rebuilt.

Hi Mike,
How much oil is your KT17 using? A compression check would help in making a judgement about the condition. It sounds like you could run the tractor for maybe another season, but check the oil frequently and keep it at the top of the dipstick mark.

You will probably hear a wide range of opinions about rebuilding a KT17. Those who had a new one fail in 1980 will have a different view than those of us who have had good luck rebuilding both series I and II. My view is that it is probably not cost effective to have a shop do a rebuild--the KT17 work is just too labor intensive. Buy a new something engine instead. On the other hand, if you have an engine not previously rebuilt and in reasonable condition, and you have the skills to do most of the work, go for a rebuild. In my experience a rebuilt series I will last as long as a rebuilt series II. A series II would have better resale value, and that is the main reason for preferring to do a series II. By the way, there is an urban legend about series I failure and mowing on hills. Both engines have the same oil pick-up and the same oil pump. The difference comes after the oil leaves the pump, and has nothing to do with engine angle.
Harold Goff

I was given a 317 with two blown up motors. First engine is a series 1, rod journal seized and broke the rod, rod section hit and cracked case, crank journal is trashed. This engine lubricates the rod journals by dripping oil on them from ports drilled in the camshaft which is probably why it is sensitive to oil level and engine position . Second engine is a series 2, looks like governor gear broke over revving the engine and one rod grenaded smashing up inside of case, this engine lubricates rod journals with pressurized oil from the main bearings via passages drilled in the crankshaft. Even after the blow up the rod journals on the series 2 crank look ok. The series 2 pressure lubrication of the rod journals looks like a better system to me. Thanks to wfm member Dan I got a good series 2 case so this is the engine I plan to rebuild. It looks like the parts will cost between $400 and $600, pistons, rings, rods, gaskets, etc. My next step is to have the crank, cam and cylinders checked by a machine shop before ordering anything. Replacement crank, cam and cylinders are real expensive so if these have to be replaced it will probably be cheaper to buy a repower Honda engine.

Vinnie--I hate to disagree with you on repairing th K-17's. I gave my Son a 317 about 7-8 years ago. At that time, it used a little oil but he ran it (watching the oil closely) up until last year, and he has a hilly 2 acre lawn. One night as he was finishing up his lawn, knowing the oil had gotten low, he blew the engine. He did some pretty major damage, and asked me if it was worth rebuilding, as he really didn't have the money to replace an engine. He took the engine to a machinist who told him that it was rebuildable for less than a repower, so needless to say, he rebuilt it. After the machine work, he did all the reassembly by himself, and is really happy with it. To make a long story short, he is real happy with the way it turned out. Don't know what all was damaged, but he redid it for around $1000 or maybe a little more. So, my final thought is, if you like the engine, and it just uses a little oil, I'd strongly consider rebuilding it, rather than a repower. Just my opinion! WILL in Lakota

Hello,

My Dad gave me his 317 last year with a series 1. It wasn't blown, but was smoking and finally was running so badly something had to be done. He chose to just give it to me instead of fixing or having it fixed. At the time I didn't know about this website and decided to rebuild it. Come to find out water had gotten in the fuel tank, fuel pump and carb and that was the reason it wouldn't run. Anyway, he bought it new and got ~22 years of good service. I figure I'll get another ~20 years out the rebuild and it cost me less than $500. I'm also in the process of rebuilding another KT17 series 1. This one was blown and it will cost me close to $1000 in the end to rebuild it. Honestly, if I knew it would cost close to $1000 to rebuild when I started I may not have rebuilt.

As for the series 1 versus series 2, I am an Engineer for an automotive supplier and my opinion is that the series 2 oiling system is superior to the series 1. "Dripping" oil on the rods cannot be as good as the pressurized delivery to the journals the series 2 has. That being said, many series 1 have lasted over 20 years and I believe if they are rebuilt well, and you keep them off hills for extended periods they will last another 20. I believe the hill thing is not related to the oil delivery. On a hill there is more of a tendency to have oil blow out the breather. If enough oil blows out either engine could blow. Check the oil level often!

A repower is very nice if money is no concern. But my opinion is you could rebuild the series 1 before it blows for a fraction of the cost to repower. After it blows it may cost more to rebuild than to repower.

Just my 2 cents,
Lynn

I think you need more research. I remember somewhere where the sidecover problem was minor and only involved reshaping of the lifting lugs.
I would look into that problem and go for the Honda.