Well,

Add another to the list.
Sears GT5000
Kohler CV730 Type 0017

Mine was getting hot and started spewing oil out from somewhere behind the carb. I had no clue what I would be getting into and tore it apart tonight. Looked like it may have been coming from the breather gasket but nothing definite. Mine would blow a puff of smoke after sitting for a while as well, but it was not using oil. The only reason I discovered there was a leak was because I was in a spot where I was going down hill and it was dripping on the muffler and smoking. It was not smoking out the exhaust.

I see what might be slight seepage where the head and crankcase meet, but oil has a habit of pulling into cracks like that so I am not sure the source. All I know is it would still start and run, I was just seeing oil running out from somewhere behind the carb. Any theories??

Whatever happened was pretty quick, but the engine did not really lose power..

 

Is the oil level overfilled? Is the oil gassy smeling? I'm not sure I understand the problem....it's leaking externally? Smoke is coming out the exhaust or no? Have you cranked it up to see where the oil is coming from?

 

AZ,

Bad or broken ring causing excessive blowby pressure which then pushes out crankcase oil? I actually had a Buick car do the same thing. Loaded up the entire air cleaner with oil.

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Just noticed post over 1 month old.

 

Hi Cheese,

Well, let me explain it a bit better. I was mowing on a hot 94 degree day and the engine felt like it was getting hotter than normal, so I would pull it into the shade and blow off the engine and deck and let it cool. It was full of oil (not overfilled) from the recently used full service kit. I continued to mow and it felt hot again and I started noticing smoke off the front when I went down hill only, so I pulled in again and proceeded to check things out. I blew everything off and checked the oil. There was none on the stick. I added oil up to the full line and started the engine. I looked around the motor and found oil pouring from somewhere behind the carb, only with the engine running. So I quit of course...

The only reason I found the oil leak was because when I went down hill, the leaking oil would fall on the muffler. It was not losing power or smoking from the exhaust, just the oil dripping on the muffler keyed me to it..

Now, leading up to this event, I have been having the same experiences mentioned here. When I would first start it up after a week or so, it would blow out a big puff of smoke, but that was it. It has been doing that for two years and every small engine I ever had did that so I was not concerned.

I am no mechanic, (well shade-tree only) so the first stupid thing I did was wash everything off. So now I am trying to figure out where the leak came from. There was a lot of gunk on the governor rod that comes out of the crank case and a lot of build-up on the left side of the breather cover above it.

I see signs of seepage on the #1 head gasket, but no gaping holes or anything..

I have the carb off now, so no cranking, but I was afraid to do that anyways. Or will the battery turn it enough to pressurize the oil system? Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

I think I'd install the carb but not the air cleaner box. Then with the engine full of oil, crank it up and run it at a lower speed to see where the oil is coming from, then shut it off as soon as you see it. I would think it would be easy to see. If it's blowing out the breather tube, I'd get prepared to replace both head gaskets and install the revision kit from kohler if your engine doesn't have the updated head bolts.

 

the oil spewing on to your muffler is probably the breather gasket. Kohler got some bad breather gaskets a few years ago. The breather is a plate that sits right between the the cylinders behind the carburetor on a vertical engine. It has 4 bolts that hold it on. This is most likely the point of highest oil pressure, so if it leaks, it can spew. As for your smoke on start up, a few years ago Kohlers supplier for pistons made a decision to supply the same pistons for vertical application as they use for horizontal applications. This caused smoke on start up. Long story short, it is just oil seeping into the cumbustion chamber while it sits. You'll get the smoke on start up, but it will burn off and be fine after it warms up. It is not hurting the engine in any way. i would check that breather gasket for the leak. if you have one of the bad gaskets, you will see the difference once you see the new one.

 

Seems as though this is a very common problem. I purchased a Sears DYT4000 in 2003 and started having the smoking problem this year.

Displacement: 725 cc
Model: CV730s
sn: 3317116001

After reading this forum and others around the WEB, I ordered the gaskets for both sides from OPEengines.com

PN:24841003
Does anyone know if this is the updated pn for the corrected bolts?

 

I don't believe they even make or sell the old bolts anymore, so if your kit comes with bolts, they should be the right ones.

 

The closest thing to the number you asked about is 24 841 03-S cylinder head gasket kit. All CV730’s use this kit. This kit does not come with bolts. It does come with nuts and washers as well as gasket.

Service Bulletin SB245 issued 12/97 for all Command engines. When installing or reinstalling cylinder heads on aluminum block engines, new head bolts should always be used. The head bolts have a phosphate and oil coating to prevent rust, but recent testing indicates that the coating also affects torque retention. Most of the coating wears off the threads when the bolt is installed and torqued. If you replace the head without replacing the bolts repeat head gasket failure is likely because the bolts will not hold torque.

 

just got gave a cub with 18 kolher it smokes bad white ,oil is in the carb ,runs ok smokes bad can see oil coming out rubber hose at carb. havent checked compresion yet what should it bethANKS CHRIS

 

Probably rings or head gaskets...or gas in the oil.

 

how can i tel lif rings or head gasket would it do that with to much oil

 

Yes, too much oil will do this... your oil level is overfull? To see if it's rings or gaskets, you pretty much have to pull the head and see.

 

Hey guys, it's all about timing. Kohler engines are known to backfire after shutting down when running for a while. They do this because their is a build up of red hot carbon in the cylinders that combust the residual gases after the ignition system is shutdown forcing the cylinders to change direction abruptly. The flywheel on top, want to keep going in the same direction, so it sheers the flywheel key between the flywheel and shaft. This altars the ignition timing relationship to cylinder position and starts a chain reaction. Smoke blowing out the carb, excessive oil loss, rough running engine, etc..... Pull the flywheel and replace the woodruff key. It should be a 3/16" x 5/8". This should solve all your issues.

 

One more thing. To keep the engine from backfiring, put in in low idle for a minute before shutting down. This allows the engine to cool down first. Therefore, not hot enough to allow combustion.

 

One last thing...the backfiring will also cause you to blow cylinder gaskets. You might see some smoke coming from that area. A little loss in compression, a little loss in power. You should have them replaced.

 

I also have a Husqvarna 2548 that Smokes so bad it seems that its gonna blow up ? don't mow with it anymore cause of fear of damaging motor.
Kohler should be made to replace these motors mine has around 640hr on it but it has smoked for 500hrs of them 640 hrs . And also mentioned in another post ? Mine also moves when it is in Neutral ? besides other issues with hydro like not wanting to disengage especially in Reverse. Kohler saying they never heard of these issues they are full of B.S. ! I can find many posts of people have same problems with the Kohler Command engines /Hydro / Ect...

 

Why is it smoking? A head gasket is easy to change. The neutral creep is just an adjustment of the linkage. Sometimes it gets a bit out of adjustment due to wear, snagging the shifter on bushes or limbs, etc... What do you mean by the hydro not wanting to disengage? You mean the clutch not wanting to disengage?

 

Iam working on a Courage right now that the oil leaks out from under top cover. The bolts have come loose and or were not tightened down or lock tight instaled. The blocks are even cracking in the front right under the coil area and near rightside camshaft, should the be happening?? I guess not!! I am changing out the top cover gasket to save my butt from a come back. I was told Kohler named this engine Courage because it takes "Courage to own one".
But 640 HRS is a lot of Hours on any engine,,,,,

 

The courage seems to be better than I thought it would be. So far, I have yet to see one with badly worn out rings, bad camshaft, or a thrown rod. i haven't seen a cracked block... are you sure you aren't seeing lines from the casting?

 

I haven't seen a cracked block myself, but one of my customers has a zero turn and it had a 19 hp courage on it and he said it was cracked and another shop did the work and they put a Briggs engine on it. If in the event I thought the block was cracked I would have taken the top off to make sure it wasn't a casting line.

 

I have a 25 HP Kohler Command twin that smoked, used a slight bit of oil & fouled one of the plugs about every 30-60 mins. Ended up being a $3 valve guide seal. This beast runs fabulous & has rocked along the last 5 years since I replaced that seal without a hiccup. It is on a Scotts 2554S that came with some property we bought in 2007. Not sure how old the mower was, maybe a couple of years before we bought the place. I clean the air filter & prefilter regularly & change it once a year along with the oil. I use the bigger premium Kohler oil filter & synthetic oil since this is an air cooled engine. Synthetic hold up much better in high temperature situations.

TexasFire

 

I don't think this is a "new" problem with Kohlers, I've got a 2000 Struck Magnatrac dozer with a CH25 spec#68523 engine. Bought it used with about 325hrs currently, compression of 95 on left side and 115 on right. Started "using" oil and fouling spark plugs....not burning oil, but seems to be blowing oil out the crankcase breather. Has excessive pressure at oil filler on valve cover (left side of motor)....sounds like the head gasket is the culprit AND that this problem has been around for a while. Anybody run across instructions for changing the head gaskets for these V-twins??

 

Hello 4stranger,


You can inter your engine info here and download the complete service manual, This will cover every aspect of your engine;

Kohler Engines: Owners and Service Manuals: Manuals and Maintenance


Good Luck

 

Well, I believe I have the same problem, but I think its just the breather gasket as someone mentioned, (Bill Rodmen). I checked the plugs, the right side is richer then the left. It runs fine and starts right up, but I have oil leaking down the right side cyl and seems to be hitting the exhaust, so it is smoking quite a bit once it starts running. What is the breather gasket that was mentioned and where is it located? Thanks...

 

What no one has an answer for me?

 

This is a very old thread that you are posting this with. What is the model and spec number of your engine. Somebody will get to ya. Have you checked a leaking valve cover first?? Gotta go after the easy stuff first.

 

I don't know what engine you have, but I don't think you even have a breather gasket.

 

Anybody have any experience or run across a link on someone who successfully swapped out their CH25 for a comparable Honda?? Thanks