Scotts GT2554

[rjkobbeman]

I have a Scotts GT2554 riding mower. Scotts was the line of riding mowers that Home Depot sold a number of years ago. They were a joint effort between Home Depot, Scotts (fertilizer/seed) and John Deere.

My first question is, is the the proper forum? I didn't see a "Scotts" forum. Probably since Scotts didn't make the mower.

My real question is in regards to the 25hp Kohler engine. I ran fine for about 75 hours, then out of the blue (no pun intended) it started blowing smoke. The thing burns about a quart of oil every two to three hours of use.

Currently, I just keep putting oil in it because it still runs and I don't want to buy anything to replace it right now.

My dilemma is what I do with this thing for next season. Do I have it fixed? Do I fix it myself? Do I throw it away and buy something new?

Nobody wants to work on it. They say, "take it to the Deere dealer". This blows my mind. Does nobody work on small engines any longer? It isn't like there is a Deere engine in this thing. Kohler is a pretty popular engine.

Also, does anyone know of any "common" problems with these engines? Valves? Rings? Not exactly sure what the problem is, but I imagine it is something like that. Are parts easy to come by? I know how to work on engines... however I may pass if I can get an idea how much it will cost to fix. Gotta weight my time vs money.

 

[Dusty Road]

I've got the same machine with the same problems. Those engines are known for blowing head gaskets. I have the repair parts sitting on my workbench waiting on me to finally get around to installing them. You can find the rebuild kit on ebay for $20 something bucks. My local Deere dealer doesn't carry them...

The mower deck is off of mine and I only use it for pulling the cart around the yard. If I were cutting grass with it, I'd probably be in a bigger hurry to fix the oil burning. There are several post on the net (from several years ago) that you should be able to easily search for.

 

[rjkobbeman]

I've got the same machine with the same problems. Those engines are known for blowing head gaskets. I have the repair parts sitting on my workbench waiting on me to finally get around to installing them. You can find the rebuild kit on ebay for $20 something bucks. My local Deere dealer doesn't carry them...

The mower deck is off of mine and I only use it for pulling the cart around the yard. If I were cutting grass with it, I'd probably be in a bigger hurry to fix the oil burning. There are several post on the net (from several years ago) that you should be able to easily search for.

Thanks for your help. I will get my engine model/serial number and do some searching tonight.

I may have more questions later.

 

[rjkobbeman]

I've got the same machine with the same problems. Those engines are known for blowing head gaskets. I have the repair parts sitting on my workbench waiting on me to finally get around to installing them. You can find the rebuild kit on ebay for $20 something bucks. My local Deere dealer doesn't carry them...

The mower deck is off of mine and I only use it for pulling the cart around the yard. If I were cutting grass with it, I'd probably be in a bigger hurry to fix the oil burning. There are several post on the net (from several years ago) that you should be able to easily search for.

I have been doing some searching, but have come up empty. I have found a few references to my engine model as being discontinued. The model is CV725S. Kohler doesn't even list it. I imagine this may be a Deere "special" model number... but I'm not sure. I imagine this model cross-references to a Kohler model or equivalent egine, but I can't find any info on that either.

Can you give me the part number for your head gaskets? I can do some searching that way.

Thanks.

 

[Dusty Road]

The tag on my engine says: CV25S. So, I don't know for sure if this will work for you. After the research I did several months ago I ordered "Head Gasket/Bolt Service Kit 24 757 31" from a seller on ebay. You might want to start searching with that info. The kit I got is Kohler original and services both heads. There is an instruction sheet included and based on that and my mechanical experience, I think this will be a pretty easy fix. I'm sure that someone who has actually done the job will add to the conversation soon. Good luck!

 

[rjkobbeman]

The tag on my engine says: CV25S so I don't know for sure if this will work for you. After the research I did several months ago I ordered "Head Gasket/Bolt Service Kit 24 757 31" from a seller on ebay. You might want to start searching with that info. The kit I got is Kohler original and services both heads. There is an instruction sheet included and based on that and my mechanical experience, I think this will be a pretty easy fix. I'm sure that someone who has actually done the job will add to the conversation soon. Good luck!

Thanks for the info. After a lot of digging on Kohler's site, I found that the CV725S is the same as the CV25 (S) and CV730. Upon digging farther in their parts catalog, when I drilled down into the Command Pro catalog (that included 25 horse engines), I found the exact model (725S) and Spec (69539) listed. What a score!

 

[Dusty Road]

Oh, and keep in mind that I haven't actually installed these parts so don't completely count on my advice. I am pretty sure I've got the right parts but you know what they say...

 

[rjkobbeman]

The tag on my engine says: CV25S. So, I don't know for sure if this will work for you. After the research I did several months ago I ordered "Head Gasket/Bolt Service Kit 24 757 31" from a seller on ebay. You might want to start searching with that info. The kit I got is Kohler original and services both heads. There is an instruction sheet included and based on that and my mechanical experience, I think this will be a pretty easy fix. I'm sure that someone who has actually done the job will add to the conversation soon. Good luck!

Looks like your kit has been discontinued. Here is the replacement (in case you need it):

24 841 03-S

Thanks again.

 

[Dusty Road]

If you'd like to see have some scans of the Kohler instruction sheet, IM me your email and I'll get them to you ASAP. It also has a parts list that the kits you are referencing don't include, i.e exaust gaskets, carb gasket, etc.

 

[rjkobbeman]

If you haven't done so, check this out: http://www.kohlerplus.com

You can find just about anything...