Posted by John on April 01, 1998 at 05:55:40:
In Reply to: Kohler 14hp posted by Mike on March 31, 1998 at 17:12:16:
: Have a Kohler 14 hp single cyl. that has smoke coming from the breather assembly under the carb. It just started doing this actually after it ingested the small brass screws that hold the throttle plate on the rod inside the carb.
: I assume it ate them cause they were nowhere to be found. Just need some expert advice on this, I am capable of tear down and rebuild but just need some good advice on where to start. It runs fine except for the smoke, and I have disassembled the breather and cleaned it once. It seemed to smoke less right after I did that.Thanx for the help
The screw was probably eaten, as it is much softer than the rings or cylinder wall. There is a chance you'll find it near the base of the intake valve guide, or (less possibly) imbedded in the top of the aluminum piston! The smoke is "blow-by", or combustion gasses leaking past the rings. This could be due to worn or broken rings, or a scratched cylinder wall. Kohler engines typically have a little hole in the cylinder wall which goes through to the compartment for the valve springs. This allows the breather assembly to exhaust pressure which may build up in the crankcase and under good conditions, the crankcase will actually operate at a slight vacuum. Combustion gasses will find their way to this "escape route" as soon as the rings start to wear, and if let go long enough, will actually erode the side of the piston.
A short-term measure for still using the engine would be to put in heavier oil, but this does nothing more than postpone the needed re-build. Check the valve guides for wear when re-building, as oil can "pump up" those guides and leak out the breather.