Approx cost to spray weld and grind 12hp Kohler K series

Bought an old Gravely commercial for a snowy weather project. Upon tearing down the motor (broken rod) it appears the crank has already been turned and rods are only available to .030" undersize. Anyone have an idea what it might cost to bring the journal back up to the standard 1.5" diameter?

I do not really need to rebuild this engine but it will fit the Gravely that I use to mow and blow snow and the last time it was rebuilt both the crank and cylinder were at their undersize and oversize limits. I also think the crank is specific to these tractors as a gear is pressed on and there is a pilot bushing in the gearbox. Finding a replacement crank might not be too easy.

Another option (not too desirable) grind crank smooth and modify rod for bearing insert? I do have a mill and might be capable of doing the rod modification.

Is that a K301?

If so, there is one on Ebay.

I would do some serious searching before trying to weld it up, especially if it will be a working engine.

Trying to undersize it further is going to remove any remaining hard surface.

I have seen several Kohler cranks over the years that have been welded up and reground strokers. Start with a 14 or 16 hp, bearing insert in the rod, bore a good bit oversize, big valves, much improved cam, on and on. Some have easily made around 45- 50 hp and at a pretty high RPM.

What I have done is find one where the output shaft is a lot bigger, and machine it down to fit. The rod journal can be welded, and then ground down, but you aren't going to be able to do it on a mill. They don't weld up, and grind down Kohler crankshaft for things like garden pulling tractors anymore. Now they are all made from 4340 chrome molly steel.
http://www.vogelmanufacturing.com/s...hler/crankshafts/steel-billet-crankshaft.html

(quoted from post at 20:13:36 12/16/17) Bought an old Gravely commercial for a snowy weather project. Upon tearing down the motor (broken rod) it appears the crank has already been turned and rods are only available to .030" undersize. Anyone have an idea what it might cost to bring the journal back up to the standard 1.5" diameter?

I do not really need to rebuild this engine but it will fit the Gravely that I use to mow and blow snow and the last time it was rebuilt both the crank and cylinder were at their undersize and oversize limits. I also think the crank is specific to these tractors as a gear is pressed on and there is a pilot bushing in the gearbox. Finding a replacement crank might not be too easy.

Another option (not too desirable) grind crank smooth and modify rod for bearing insert? I do have a mill and might be capable of doing the rod modification.

Click to expand...

All kinds of K341 16 HP Kohlers kicking around . One of my boys built one for “stock” tractor pulling. Making enough power to spin out in high gear . with just a cam, piston, billet high compression head , over size intake valve, stock rod machines for an inset and moderate porting.

B&D - Normally I agree with your comments, but your statement that there's plenty of K-341 16 hp Kohlers
around is WAY off the mark. Last I heard ANY 16 Hp K341 engine with no holes from a broken rod were $500
minimum IF you could find one. That's why my buddy and I built up 14 hp K-321's. I forget if it was Lakota
Racing, maybe Vogel who had pattern equipment made for a Heavy-Duty K-341 block casting, no cooling fins
but plenty of material for overbores, material to move the cam away from crankshaft, angle valves, more
head bolts, more support for crankshaft. BUT by the time you bought the rough casting, machined it,
assembled all the other parts needed to make a competitive pulling engine you had $10,000 to $15,000 into a
single cylinder engine.

Midwest SuperCub are putting all their work on V-twin OHV engines. Maybe nobody is pulling 16 hp 50 cid
classes anymore but I doubt it.

Must be a different market down there. All kinds around here. Probably more pullers down there looking for K341's ?

a 301-321-341-361 crank will work fine,thier a 20 dollar part at most.ive put hundreds of bearing inserts in the stock rods,very simple to do.turning it down much more than .030 will eventually cause the rod to stick to the crank (without a bearing)they get hot and stick,it will happen,eventually under full throttle and a decent load

What I saw at a machine shop was not spray welding.
They had a Mig welder layering steel on a journal. I did not get to see the finished job. I imagine either method would be kind of expensive compared to finding a suitable crankshaft. I have not seen a used one cheaper than $45 + $10 shipping and it needed turning.

Is there a part number for this crankshaft other than the Kohler engine type?

(quoted from post at 15:57:00 12/17/17) a 301-321-341-361 crank will work fine,thier a 20 dollar part at most.ive put hundreds of bearing inserts in the stock rods,very simple to do.turning it down much more than .030 will eventually cause the rod to stick to the crank (without a bearing)they get hot and stick,it will happen,eventually under full throttle and a decent load

Click to expand...

What do you use for bearing insert? I've cleaned the aluminum transfer off the crank and it measures about 1.460" to 1.480". What finished diameter do you shoot for on the crank? Do you allow any "bearing crush" when opening up the rod?

I know there are plenty of K301 cranks around but the one that fits this Gravely is not terribly common.

What is the spec on the engine, it will be something like K301-47123, or 47199, 47200, 47232, 47379, 47410, 47482, 47508, 47613, 47914, 47623, 47692, 47693, 47701, 47706, 47707, 47708, 47767, 47771, 47811, 47813, 47814, 47831, 47832,

(quoted from post at 19:31:00 12/17/17) What is the spec on the engine, it will be something like K301-47123, or 47199, 47200, 47232, 47379, 47410, 47482, 47508, 47613, 47914, 47623, 47692, 47693, 47701, 47706, 47707, 47708, 47767, 47771, 47811, 47813, 47814, 47831, 47832,

Click to expand...

No tag on the engine but it is slightly different than my other Gravely. This engine has a couple gears in the block that act as counterbalance.

I don't have the engine here to check the numbers. I remember seeing some numbers on the aluminum bearing plate. Would the 5 digit number be stamped into the aluminum plate?

Dr.Evil, Email open and I have good 341 short with insert rod and 321 complete engine plus other parts I would like to part with.

As long as its one of five digit specs that I listed, those are all the spec numbers listed by Kohler (12hp) K301 for use on a Gravely.

That insert update for the stock rod is an engine saver. Amazing the power that a modest cam upgrade, piston, intake valve and a CNC billet head from Vogel makes .
Starts, idles and sounds like stock. Runs on 100LL. Had to back off on the spark advance with the improved flame travel when the spark plug is central in the combustion chamber instead of in a corner .

(quoted from post at 12:06:55 12/17/17)

(quoted from post at 19:31:00 12/17/17) What is the spec on the engine, it will be something like K301-47123, or 47199, 47200, 47232, 47379, 47410, 47482, 47508, 47613, 47914, 47623, 47692, 47693, 47701, 47706, 47707, 47708, 47767, 47771, 47811, 47813, 47814, 47831, 47832,

Click to expand...

No tag on the engine but it is slightly different than my other Gravely. This engine has a couple gears in the block that act as counterbalance.

I don't have the engine here to check the numbers. I remember seeing some numbers on the aluminum bearing plate. Would the 5 digit number be stamped into the aluminum plate?

Click to expand...

Do you know which model the Gravely is?

(quoted from post at 20:34:07 12/17/17)

(quoted from post at 12:06:55 12/17/17)

(quoted from post at 19:31:00 12/17/17) What is the spec on the engine, it will be something like K301-47123, or 47199, 47200, 47232, 47379, 47410, 47482, 47508, 47613, 47914, 47623, 47692, 47693, 47701, 47706, 47707, 47708, 47767, 47771, 47811, 47813, 47814, 47831, 47832,

Click to expand...

No tag on the engine but it is slightly different than my other Gravely. This engine has a couple gears in the block that act as counterbalance.

I don't have the engine here to check the numbers. I remember seeing some numbers on the aluminum bearing plate. Would the 5 digit number be stamped into the aluminum plate?

Click to expand...

Do you know which model the Gravely is?

Click to expand...

The mower is at my shop in town so I can't tell right now. Pretty sure it is a 5000 series, likely a 56**.

Does it look like this?

Yes that is what the crank looks like.

With the way these old Gravely's keep ticking I don't expect there are lot of these cranks laying around that haven't been ground a time or two.

.........and thanks for sharing this information.

You could repower it http://www.smallenginewarehouse.com/CS10-ES-Gravely-2W.html?sc=17&category=1710485

The k301 is a very cheap engine to rebuild and will last hundreds of hours easily and well over a 1000 hours if cared for. I'd rebuild one of them long before I'd dream of replacing it. Even welding up the crank and turning it down it will still be a cheaper rebuild than a decent replacement engine.

(quoted from post at 10:20:48 12/18/17) The k301 is a very cheap engine to rebuild and will last hundreds of hours easily and well over a 1000 hours if cared for. I'd rebuild one of them long before I'd dream of replacing it. Even welding up the crank and turning it down it will still be a cheaper rebuild than a decent replacement engine.

Click to expand...

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