267-H, Kohler CV18S governor stuck

[Carl in CT]

Hi, I have a 1997 Toro/Wheelhorse 267-H garden tractor in fair condition but a couple years ago the engine bent a push rod. I bought the parts but ran out of time to fix it. So it sat for a year and a half partly disassembled before I broke down and had a local guy do it but he could not get the governor to work right. The engine races terribly. He said he tried to adjust it several times, even going back to the Kohler manual to triple check it and still could get it to stop racing. He thinks it may be the wrong spring but I'm pretty sure I gave him the right one and I'm thinking a wrong spring would make it surge as the governor tries to compensate, not just race wide open but I don't really know.

I didn't have time to fiddle with it this fall and ran it the way it was and just was very careful with the throttle as to not let it race. So I would run it at half, engage the mower then raise it up to 3/4 throttle. If I was going up hill I had to go up the rest of the way on the throttle, then back it off at the top. The engine seems fine otherwise, it's just like an old school engine with no governor now. So I just put it in the shed for the winter but with spring just weeks away (despite the foot of snow still on the ground) I am thinking it would be nice to get it right again, especially since my wife likes to use it sometimes and I'm afraid she will forget and blow the engine.

From what I'm reading if it's a stuck governor then it means taking the engine down and splitting it to get to the governor weights to unstick them. I'm not equiped to do that and it would be too expensive to pay someone to do it for me.

I hate to give up on it but if I can't get it fixed am I playing with fire? Should I sell it while it's still in fair condition before the engine blows up? (I will be honest about the governor issues if I sell it)

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Bl8tant]

I have the same tractor. If I lived closer , I'd take a look at it. BUT...it sounds to me like 1) the wrong spring 2) Linkage not hooked up correctly 3)static adjustment of governor not done correctly or 4) the engine was re-assembled improperly.

Ask another shop to look at it. Stuck or failed governor is rare. I bet a good small engine guy can have you fixed pretty quickly.

If you are somewhat technical, you can download the SERVICE manual from Kohlers website for free. Get the service manual not the owners manual. It contains detailed diagrams of the governor and explains how it works.

 

[Molerj]

What is the Model & spec number of the Kohler engine. If the govenor was the problem, you wouldn't be able to throttle it down. It would run wide open all the time. I'm thinking the linkage is your problem. Pictures of the linkage would help. --Ron

 

[J_J]

Here is the PDF of your engine. Kohler CV18S

It will open up showing the COMMAND CV17-750
but read the whole PDF.

Your problem should be easy enough to fix, using the service manual as a guide.

http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/tp_2450_c.pdf

 

[Carl in CT]

J_J, thanks for the link to the manual. I printed that out years ago but I can't find it now and it was a crappy print-out, hard to see anyway.

I'm trying to adjust it now and I am at this step;

Loosen the lock nut on the high speed adjusting
screw. Turn the screw counterclockwise to
decrease, or clockwise to increase RPM speed.

I loosened the lock not but when I try to turn the shaft there isn't much movement in it, like almost none. Is this normal? Maybe there just isn't that much to adjust or is it tough to move and I need to get a better grip and apply more force? I don't want to break it and make it completely unusable.

Thanks!

 

[Carl in CT]

Well, I went ahead and tried it with just that small amount of adjustment and it seems to have worked, sort of. The engine is not racing anymore but when I engage the mower deck it almost stalls. In fact the engine seemed to be not reaching full revs even at full throttle. Not wanting to fiddle with the governor any more I adjusted the throttle cable a little to let it rev up more, that helped a little.

I decided to move the governor spring up the arm a couple holes so it is closer to the shaft and that seemed to help. I tried to mow a bit and the engine started to stall then recover and kept doing that, revving up and down. I just about got it back to the shed and shut it off, had enough for one day. Just before I shut it off I put the choke up a tad and it seemed like it wanted to smooth out a little so maybe it's not even related to the governor, I dunno.

 

[Carl in CT]

Lots has happened and I have the mower running well now. My governor adjustment is correct but the new problem was the fuel cutoff solenoid wire on the bottom of the carb. It was hanging by a thread and broke the rest of the way when I removed it. Broke way up in the solenoid so I don't think it can be re-attached.

A new solenoid online was $28 but I found a brand new carb with solenoid for $43, I just had to turn the fuel inlet down (that was a risk but it's working fine). I tried just the new solenoid from the new carb on the old one first and it started up and ran pretty good. I had also bought a new fuel pump for $10 and 25 feet of new fuel line for $18 and of course a new fuel filter for $2.50. I had already put a new fuel shutoff valve on the tank this spring. I did put the new carb on it so I ended up replacing the entire fuel system along with new breather hoses, new air cleaner with pre-cleaner and new battery. With all of that it's running super, like new again.

I had already treated myself to a new 2010 leftover Simplicity Conquest tractor a few weeks ago so the Toro/Wheelhorse is posted on Craigslist now. I'm asking too much for it to start since people always talk you down but any thoughts on what I should really be looking for? It's got about 550 hours on it, 48" deck in good shape, hydro tranny.

Here are a couple pics.