[oleboy]

All was good with my 71, 140H3 until last weekend. It seems to have developed a bad oil leak from somewhere under the flywheel shroud. I'm not sure what to expect when I pull the engine this weekend. Has anyone else experienced the same problem? What will I be up against for possible repairs or replacement?

Dom

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

I would say you popped the front crankshaft seal. You can get the service manual free from Kohler's web site. You should take a look at the crankcase breather and make sure all is well there and it's not plugged while you have it apart.

Tom

 

[oleboy]

I think I found the right manual at the Kohler website. Kohler_Engines_Service_Manual_Single_Cylinder_tp_2379. I'll have a read before pulling the engine.

First I'll be needing some longer grade 8 bolts for the flywheel puller.

Thanks Tom
Dom

Looking at the free service manual, the images clarity make things a guess. I found an original on eBay for a fair price.

 

[oleboy]

I got the engine pulled after work today and got it de-greased. What a mess. It had to be leaking for a LONG time before it finally REALLY let go to make it obvious. The inside of the shroud was packed 1/2" thick!!
Tomorrow after work, hopefully I'll get the flywheel off.

 

[sreynolds]

I have a K301 I recently purchased "rebuilt" from another WFM guru and it is literally blowing oil out any orfice the engine has.

All of a sudden too; no warning.

Runs great and plenty 'o power. The talk on this site and in the Deere and/or Kohler manual is the breather assy but that was a waste of time. I had that apart five times..even replaced it and there is nothing wrong with any of that. I guess that it broke a ring...but there is no smoke.

If you have a ton of hours on said engine then maybe time to replace more than the oil seal.

 

[oleboy]

I'm not sure the hours on this K321. It does have the STD piston so it appears to be never punched. My removing the head showed a little carbon build-up on the head and valves, but not bad, and easily removed. The cylinder had a slight ridge of carbon at the top also.

Looking at the engine while running, the area of the breather was weeping oil. I'd put a wrench to it, but it seemed tight. There were no other signs of oil blow-by anywhere on the motor but around the flywheel. My (fingers crossed) guess is the rear main seal is the culprit.

Last night it was really bugging me. I went out to the shop and put the puller on the flywheel in attempt to take it off. No such luck. I "just" bought a brand new Lisle 44500 puller, and when I started tightening things up, the center threads pulled right out of the fingered star! So it's off to get a replacement.

 

[tomd999]

Dom,

The pullers work best when you snug it down well and give the center "bolt" a LIGHT TAP with a small hammer. The taper bond should break at that point. If not, tighten a little more and tap it again just a little harder. Remember, your hitting the crankshaft so don't wail on it.

BTW, the rear seal is the one on the PTO side, the front seal is the one under the flywheel.

Tom

 

[oleboy]

Front, rear, I knew that. Sort of!! Thanks for straightening me out.

I got a new puller and put it in place, then put the air wrench to it. BAM, it popped right off with no trouble. Once I got it out of the way, the problem was evident why it was puking oil so badly. One of the bolts holding the bearing plate was backed out to the point it was hitting the back of the flywheel. So much so that the head of the bolt was worn half away. The other three bolts were just finger tight.

I took the bearing plate off and the shim gaskets are in good shape. Re-usable? So I'll check out the crankshaft seal and go from there.

Here's a picture of the bearing plate/bolt. http://1drv.ms/1qZAKII

 

[oleboy]

Now comes the question if I should install new bearing plate gaskets. Probably should for piece of mind and also why chance using the old.

Something else comes to mind. Should I use RTV silicone in this area?

 

[73deereh3]

Hey Dom,

Just went through the same thing on my 73 140. All the bolts holding bearing plate on were loose. I took the gaskets/shims off cleaned everything real good and put a little RTV on all the surfaces(not too much) put it all back together and no leaks with the original gaskets!!! Good Luck With It!

 

[oleboy]

Hey Andrew, were your bearing plate gaskets also soaked with oil? They'd had to of been if you had the same situation as I do. That's the debate I'm currently having whether or not to get new gaskets. The engine is leak free aside from that. And the front main seal is in good shape.

All in all my gut feeling is to replace the gaskets and the front seal. I also think I should replace the exhaust valve.
I've considered just buying a .010 over master rebuild kit for down the road.

Thanks
Dom

 

[denniscary]

I just looked at the box it came in, says right on it small engine warehouse dunkirk in 800 321 6725. I called before I ordered and ask about it. The guy I talked with said that was a stock photo and the honda adapter for the 400 came with three holes for the honda and four for the jd part.

You can clearly see three hole for the engine and four for the driveshaft

 

[denniscary]

Sorry guys the previous comment got posted on the wrong thread

 

[73deereh3]

Hey Dom,

Yea my gaskets were soaked up pretty good so i just cleaned them up the best I could with a rag and re installed them. Got about 10 or so hours on it sense them and she hasn't leaked a drop.

I'm considering a rebuild myself....or re-power.The old Kohler in it now it already punched .30 over but I think that was years ago and its burning oil now.

 

[oleboy]

After my posting above I forgot to mention, there was always oil leaking from the breather. The vent in the center. I'm not sure it was ever tightened down on the stud enough.

As much as I didn't want too, I took the breather apart to have a look. It all looked real good inside. Where the breather slides on to get tightened into place there's a piece of silicone tubing. It appeared in good shape, but maybe a little short to seal effectively. I might cut a new piece of tubing just a little longer and see if that stops the oil ooze. Short of the breather to block gasket and the silicone tube being good there's no reason it should leak from there at all.

As for your engine, you might consider getting it sleeved depending on your personal repower wants. The Vanguards are a nice way to go. But the drop-in kits are outrageously priced considering what it consists of. If I went that way I'd fabricate the extras myself.

 

[sybesma07]

I did one earlier this summer. Bought the tractor and was leaking bad on the back side. So I first filled it up with oil and made sure it ran good before taking it out. Everything did work and ran nice. So I pulled it and took the back pulley and plates off etc and ended up just being my oil pan gasket. So put everything back together. NOW for the problem I had. You have to shim that back plate just right and make sure the crank has a little movement back and forth. If it doesn't move. You have it shimmed to much. Well I did all that and had a friend bring a shim tester and had it shimmed to about 10-12 ten thousands. I think that's what it is. Anyways. Put the motor back in and started it up and the piston started knocking and making a nasty noise until the piston rod broke. So can't stress enough to get it shimmed up right and straight.

 

[david_a_calkins]

Kalin .shiming to much is not the problem ,shiming too little is the problem .crank clearance is .003 to .020 is where you want to be .hope this helps.David

 

[sybesma07]

Yeah I had it shim at .012 and yeah have to have play. Used all 3 shims that came in the kit. If you can't move the crank shaft back and forth it's not good. All I was saying is make sure you know about the shim part and not just put them on thinking they are a gasket. It's a mistake a lot of people make. Should have been more detailed in my words.

 

[oleboy]

All the input to my problem is appreciated guys. Having books are great. Knowledgeable folks assisting along the way is priceless, considering this is all new to me.

Late yesterday I bolted the engine in the tractor. Not thinking, I installed it as finished. Well, it is, but not tested. I hope I don't have to take it back out.

One of the tabs on the neutral-safety switch broke off while reconnecting the wire, so I held it there so it would start. Problem is, there's no spark. I know it's my doing from re-wiring. The wire that comes from the stator with the 3-prong plug, the single yellow wire (leg of the "T" plug) is not hooked up and I'm not sure where it goes now. I looked at the wiring diagram, but I'm not the best when it comes to understanding electrics.

 

[oleboy]

Back out to the shop today to hopefully button things up. Looking over the wiring schematics finally made sense and I got things hooked up. She fired right up.

After running it briefly I noticed the tractor was shaking more than before. It appeared to be the drive line. I loosened the motor mount bolts, the clutch bolts, and the drive line bolts where the shaft connects to the transaxle pump, and then started tightening things from the back, forward. This (to me) made sense to alleviate the wobble. Once I got the clutch reconnected I adjusted the motor a bit and dialed it in to eliminate that wobble. My way may not have been as the more knowledgeable would have done it, but it worked.