Kohler Oil Cooler

[Leo Rabon]

I bought a GT 2000 Cub (20 HP Kohler) in June of 2011. Obviously, I started out running the CUB during the hot summer months. Here in SC it is not unusual to get 95 degree ambient temps in July and August. I know that Air Cooled runs hot but IMHO, I think the Kohler ran very warm and it may be due to the shrouds installed by MTD, who knows. I have read many of the posts regarding installing the Kohler Oil Cooler and many comments regarding the difficulty of the installation. I am not a "wrench" but do have some knowledge and patience to "possibly?" install the oil cooler if it can be done with some of the suggestions by those that have intalled the oil cooler "without doing all of the MODs". Listed below are some questions and comments that would be helpful to me in making a decision about whether to install or not. Any comments would be appreciated.

1. Some have commented that they did the install "without removing the fan shroud". If so, what is the downside to not removing the shroud? Why would you need to remove the shroud?
2. Many have commented about attaching some type of piece to the end of the engine that came with a square hole and if you did not have the square piece on the engine, you would have to pull the flywheel. What is this thing that has to be attached to the end of the engine (since you have to pull the flywheel?) Is it a baffle to direct the air through the oil coller fins? If that is the case and you don't remove the fan shroud to place the baffle in, does the oil cooler work adequately?
3. For those that have installed the oil cooler, has it helped the heat situation?

I am concerned about the heat situation coming up this summer and I would like to go ahead and intall the oil cooler, if I can. I think I can do the job, if I don't have to remove the fan shroud but I need advice on whether the install can be done this way.

Any advice and pics on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
Leo

 

[savageactor7]

Yeah, I agree that the engine gets WAY too hot so this topic has peaked my curiosity.

In the mean time I switched to Shell Rotella, cut in 30m increments or so, and always leave the hood up when finished mowing.

 

[CCinCT]

With the tractor being so new, you may want to consider having your dealer install it so that you don't potentially void the warranty by making an installation mistake. Mine took about 2-1/2 hours to do so, only because it was the first one he had ever done (back in 2007/8). Most people who have done it themselves have taken anywhere from 1-1/2 to 6 hours, depending on their skills with a wrench. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures or anything to help you out. Most of the info I've seen on this topic is on another forum.

 

[SKIDOZER]

Run some synthetic oil also temp may drop as much as 20deg

I use amsoil small engine oil

 

[savageactor7]

20* difference ...Holy Cow SKIDOZER that's incredible perhaps this spring I'll give that amsoil small engine oil a try.

How many hours is it good for?

 

[MrFoPow]

I'm definitely going to get one of these. I've also switched to T5 Rotella and the motor seems much happier.

 

[Kernopelli]

Some tend to run hot. I swapped the engine in my Deere ZTR and the new one runs so much cooler you'd think it was a completely different design. I have a good used cooler from a CH20....same unit used on CH/CV18-25. Shoot me a PM if interested.

 

[Undercover]

I am thinking about running a synthetic oil in one of my magnums that runs hotter than the other.Is there any downside using a synthetic?

 

[Captain Ned]

I am thinking about running a synthetic oil in one of my magnums that runs hotter than the other.Is there any downside using a synthetic?

Nope. Rotella T6 is usually available at Wal-Mart. It's a diesel engine oil, so it's made for more stress and higher temps. It's also pretty low-cost for a full-syn oil.

 

[MrFoPow]

Nope. Rotella T6 is usually available at Wal-Mart. It's a diesel engine oil, so it's made for more stress and higher temps. It's also pretty low-cost for a full-syn oil.

Yep, whether you go T5 or T6 they're both very high quality oils.