Kohler Engine

[GlennT]

I'd appreciate opinions. I have a lawnmower with a 20HP Kohler Command vertical-shaft engine. The mower was purchased in April of 1998 and has 150 hours of use, as indicated by the clock on the instrument panel. When I took the mower to the "official" Kohler service person in our area to correct a problem with surging, he informed me that he detected a serious knock from one valve. He was at a service rep's workshop last week and found out that there was a manufacturing error on this engine and that the oil line to one valve is in the wrong place and air is being sucked up as well as oil and causing cavitation--hence the knock. Kohler's warranty is a two-year limited warranty and it expired in March of 2000. In view of an obvious manufacturing flaw, do I have any basis at all for asking the company to stand behind at least some of the repair cost? The engine will have to be torn down to correct this and it does need to be done. Some states prohibit placing a time limit on warranties; I don't know if Texas is one of these states. As a point of interest, the surging was caused by manufacturing debris in the carburetor. The debris was far too large to have passed through the fuel filter and the engine has the original filter. I think I have the first engine assembled on a Monday morning.

 

[cowboydoc]

Glenn,
All you can really do is write the company a letter and/or call them and tell them what is going on and ask them to fix the problem. They will probably tell you that there is no such problem and since you are out of your warranty period there is nothing they can do for you, but it's worth a try. Your only other recourse would be to get a lawyer which would cost way more than the repairs to the motor.

 

[Bird]

Glenn, you just never know; just depends on the company. If it were me, I'd write them a letter and find out. I once had an Onan generator on a motorhome go bad after the warranty had expired (to the tune of about $700). I got it fixed at an authorized service center and paid for it, then wrote a very courteous letter to Onan and included a copy of the repair order, and they very promptly sent me a nice letter of apology and a check for the full amount that I requested.

 

[MossRoad]

The key word there was 'courteous'. My father did the same thing with an old VW bus that we had in the 70s. After several repairs for the same item, even though it was out of warranty, he sent copies of the repairs and bills to VW of America with a nice but detailed letter explaining the problems. They sent a service order to the local VW dealer to replace the entire engine. My dad had to pay for belts and hoses.

 

[GlennT]

Thanks. I'll try a letter; perhaps the service rep will talk to some people, too. He seems like a nice person. I guess the thing that is most depressing is the fact that Kohler put out a motor with such problems. I've always thought that Kohler was a cut above the rest. The service rep claims that these problems are not unusual and he feels that they are the result of Kohler engines being assembled in China. I'm not sure that it's fair to blame the Chinese for faulty design and indifferent quality control. I remember a time when anything made in Japan was considered inferior. A few years later, being made in Japan was an indicator of quality. How the worm turns... I wonder if I would have had better luck with a Briggs.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

So you have a 4 year old engine that is surging by debris you
claim to be there from the manufacture? Original filter too?
I think that you might be a tad unreasonable. Fuel contamination is not warrantable by any brand. This tech that
"detected" a knock, what did he determine to be the repair
and cost of the repair? If it were not for his detection, you
would not have a knock? What type/weight oil do you use in
this engine? I am not trying to be antagonistic, but realistic.
Fish

 

[John_Mc]

I've got a 22 HP Kohler engine in my Craftsman Garden Tractor. I bought it used "reconditioned" from Sears, 1 yr old with 100 hrs. Within a month or so of buying it, I noticed backfiring: usually on shutdown (even after idling for a bit as the manual recommends). I had the Sears service plan, so I asked them to check it out. First, the replaced a severely corroded electronic ignition "brain" (so much for buying a "reconditioned" unit... I had kept it inside since purchase). Then they replaced the carb. The tech replacing the carb said "Kohler engines are known for this problem" they've got some valve problems in this model year. If the carb doesn't fix it, we'll tackle that next.

I moved, the service contract ran out, and now I'm wondering if I'm going to run in to the same problem you did. Keep us posted on what you find.

John

 

[GlennT]

Fisher 82662 - Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned the debris in the fuel system; it was the reason I took the mower in for service. The debris does not have any relation to the problem with the valve knocking. I cannot detect the knock; the service tech brought it to my attention. He brought it up at a regional meeting of service personnel in Austin during the first week in January and the group was informed that the tube supplying oil to one of the valves was not inserted properly during manufacture and allowed air to enter the tube as well as oil. The only way to eliminate the problem is to move the tube. The presenter at the seminar indicated that he had an engine with this problem and moving the tube had solved the problem. Before the first oil change I called the Kohler customer service rep and talked to that person about oil. That person and my local Kohler tech recommended 10W-30 oil and that is what I have used. I change oil and filter every 50 hours. I wanted to use synthetic oil, but was told by both reps not to do that so I haven't. Although expensive, I use Kohler filters.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

You should contact the distributor for Kohler for Texas, if I
can find out who it is I will post their number.
I question the knock that can only be detected by your
mechanic though{on an engine with 150 hours on it}. The
Kohler rep works for the distributor in your area, he is the
guy you need to talk to, and is your only hope for getting
any help from Kohler on this repair. If there was a service
update or bulletin on this problem that would be a plus in
your favor. Call a few shops in the area and ask who their
Kohler distributor is.
Fish

 

[GlennT]

Thank you. I'll do that.