Kohler Pro 18 hp Model cv4925 very hard to turn over


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Old 09-24-14, 06:33 PM
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Kohler Pro 18 hp Model cv4925 very hard to turn over

I acquired a Craftsman LTX 1000 with a Kohler Pro 18 hp Model cv4925. The previous owner said it just died in the middle of a cut this summer and he could never get it to start back up. I cleaned the plug and charged the battery. On its own will just barely move a little. Jump it from the car and it will turn over very slowly. Can just barely turn the motor using both hands. Take the plug out and it will turn over faster. The oil in it looks good. It has spark. Cant get it to fire up. Any thoughts would be awesome. Thanks
 
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Old 09-24-14, 07:05 PM
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Is it full of oil? How hard is it to turn by hand with the plugs out? I tend to think maybe it ran low on oil and seized a bearing. You mentioned cleaning the plugs... were they caked up pretty badly?
 
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Old 09-24-14, 07:22 PM
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Just went out and double checked. The oil is below the add mark(cant believe I didn't notice that). Its showing about a quarter inch on the stick. With the cover off I have to grab the the plastic fins on both sides and pull really hard even with the plug out. The plug wasn't caked up at all. It may have been cleaned by the previous owner. If it is a seized bearing then i guess I'll have some more questions, like is it even fixable.
 
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Old 09-24-14, 07:36 PM
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Drain the oil, fill with type F automatic transmission fluid, turn it backward for about 50 revs, then crank it forward with the plug out for a while(don't burn up the starter), let it set overnight, drain the ATF fill with oil and your good to go. Have a good one. Geo
 
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Old 09-24-14, 08:01 PM
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Thanks for the info. I'll do that tomorrow and keep you updated.
 
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Old 09-25-14, 10:36 AM
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While a seized bearing can sometimes be freed back up, there is usually metal transfer and galling that will cause it to wear out very quickly once it is started up. If you get it freed up and started, be aware of knocking noises and watch for oil leaking from the crank seal(s). If you're lucky, it might not happen.
 
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Old 09-26-14, 08:34 AM
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Seems I'm not to lucky. Did the fix, thought if may work because it did get much looser. Sprayed a little starter fluid in the carb and it fired then died. Choked it and fired it up again, ran for about 5 seconds and died. Tried to crank it over again but is back to being so tight that i can just barely turn it by hand with the plug out. Is there any thing else I could try? I'm thinking that I may completely disassemble it to see how hard it is to fix. Just for fun of course. May end up in the scrap pile.
 
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Old 09-26-14, 10:10 AM
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Not much you can do other than take it apart and fix it. Once they seize, they rarely run long afterwards.
 
 

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