sbvandepol
New member
Hello---- I have a circa 1985 Gravely with a Kohler K301S 12 HP that blows some clouds of blue smoke when starting (and a constant bit while running) and has had power decline over the last 2 years. The tractor came with the house we bought 10 years ago, and I like its rugged frame and bulldog performance. I have a a pdf of the Gravely owner's manual and the Kohler engine owner's manual (but not a detailed shop manual). I tuned it up the best I could according to the manuals without much improvement. Then had a local repair shop also "tune it up" ---power not restored. Then ran engine until hot and tested compression myself: 95 psi. I cant find in the manual what compression should be.
I have seen some discussions that the K301S engine has a pressure relief valve (not sure how that works) requiring a vacuum leak test instead of a compression test, but 95 psi seems high if such a valve is active.
So is 95 psi compression good, or does it explain the progressive loss of performance? BTW it also has other problems: it needs new rear tires, and does not stay in the low range of gearing (pops out) but I dont use the low range of gears. In the plus department, I had the clutch rebuilt three years ago. So I would like to keep it going but I am worried about having a major rebuild expenses followed by it being a long-term unreliable money pit. I am not a tractor hobby person, but I like it, and would like to keep it going...
Recommended next step?
I have seen some discussions that the K301S engine has a pressure relief valve (not sure how that works) requiring a vacuum leak test instead of a compression test, but 95 psi seems high if such a valve is active.
So is 95 psi compression good, or does it explain the progressive loss of performance? BTW it also has other problems: it needs new rear tires, and does not stay in the low range of gearing (pops out) but I dont use the low range of gears. In the plus department, I had the clutch rebuilt three years ago. So I would like to keep it going but I am worried about having a major rebuild expenses followed by it being a long-term unreliable money pit. I am not a tractor hobby person, but I like it, and would like to keep it going...
Recommended next step?